"It's just for kids"

I say yes and no. I say no to the reason that Thomas & Friends should still be realistic, to teach kids how railways really run. I think that they can have it be unrealistic when they want something dramatic to happen to a character (which seems to happen mostly to Thomas) because it would obviously be too dark to let a major character die. I think that the toys should have play value like the newer Trackmaster so kids don't get bored with the toys. Now I'm not going to gain friends for this either, but if you want realistic, would it really be too hard for us to go with Hornby of Bachmann, because I am sure that some of the users on this site have spent more money on one of these trains than a Bachmann or Hornby model. That said, I agree with your point.
-TrainMan2001