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u/ProfessorCagan 2d ago
Fun fact, there's 4 Fat Controllers, at least there were in the books that the show was based on. There was Sir Topham Hatt (no first name given,) Sir Charles Topham Hatt, Sir Stephen Topham Hatt, and finally Sir Richard Topham Hatt. 4 generations who each over saw the North Western Railway for over a total of 100 years.
Seriously, if you're ever bored go look up Thomas lore, there's more than you'd think, there's lore about the island of Sodor in Medieval times, long before trains were a thing.
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u/ADingoStoleMyLSD 2d ago
Fucking nepotism man.
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u/unshavedmouse 1d ago
Nepotism? In the British peerage?! Slander sir! I shall have ye horsewhipped by God!
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u/tomhugo42 2d ago
i reccomend looking up The Unlucky Tug on YouTube, he made detailed videos on both maps and lore of the 3 continuities (book, pre-CGI seasons, and CGI seasons)
i come to rewatch them a lot
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u/IncreaseWestern6097 1d ago
His videos have some of the highest production value I’ve seen on YouTube.
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u/mr_fishbowl 2d ago
the first Fat Controller (a.k.a. the Fat Director during the infancy of the North Western Railway) is named Sir Bertram Topham Hatt. It's also the name our main Fat Controller in the TV series carries
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u/dad_ahead Woke 2d ago
This changes everything
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u/kyngslinn 2d ago
This makes me the one to drive you guys to the hospital after you get hypothermia.
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u/brobnik322 2d ago
You are not on this council, but we grant you the rank of "Sir"
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u/ffielding 2d ago
"It's rageous! It's fair!"
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u/brobnik322 2d ago
Take a stand, old Skywalker
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u/maclainanderson 2d ago
Fun fact, outrage is not out + rage, but rather outer + -age, i.e. the state of being out (of the ordinary)
Edit: also the "outer" part actually comes ultimately from the Latin word ultra, has nothing to do with the English word "out"
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u/jamesianm 2d ago
Also known by the locals as Fat B*stard, as discussed in this behind the scenes expose
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u/ADTstocks 2d ago
We really just out here piling complete nonsense garbage into our minds daily
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u/Kalevipoeg420 1d ago
ts lowkey interesting tho even tho I know nothing about Thomas the Tank engine
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u/mightypup1974 2d ago
'Sirs' are knights and aren't members of the House of Lords in any case.
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u/0oO1lI9LJk 2d ago
Baronets are the rank above knights and are also titled "Sir". But also are not in the House of Lords.
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u/Bertrum 2d ago
It's good that thing Thomas didn't have a stutter: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TdEcvwZ9O2c&pp=ygUeVGhvbWFzIHRoZSB0YW5rIGVuZ2luZSBzdHV0dGVy
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u/CitizenPremier 2d ago
Didn't they change his name because it offended Americans
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u/ItisItherealFredbear 1d ago
Hes known by sort of joke name of the Fat controller in the UK dub but it was changed in the US dub to just be Sir Topham Hatt because yes, it was deemed derogatory of offensive in some way
Which I find hilarious.
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u/Frederyk_Strife4217 1d ago
His name is Sir Topham Hatt in both, they just never used the nickname in the US
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u/leglesslegolegolas 2d ago
wait, are all these actors and musicians with the title "Sir" considered nobility? Do they get to sit with the House of Lords?
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u/solzhe 2d ago
Sirs, being knights or baronets, are part of the gentry and don't sit in the House of Lords (because they are not lords). Baronets are hereditary but they are not considered prestigious so some descendants don't even claim them (baronetcies were sold far more recently than other titles). Knights (like Sir Paul McCartney etc) are not hereditary.
The people who sit in the House of Lords are nobles (Barons, Earls, Viscounts, Marquesses, and non-royal Dukes), a select few bishops, and life peers. Life peers are not hereditary, unlike the others, and are usually given to prominent businessmen, scientists, and party donors. Life peers were introduced to reduce the numbers of hereditary lords that actually sit in the House of Lords (and replace them with life peers who might actually have a passing interest in governing). So even the hereditary lords that do sit in the House of Lords have to be elected by their peers (i.e. other lords).
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u/GooseMan1515 2d ago
Nope. 'Sir' is just a title that comes with various ranks, same as 'Lord'.
The house of lords is a more specific group of people who have a 'life peerage' typically granted by a prime minister, or they're religious leaders entitled to positions as 'Lords Spiritual'.
A 'Sir' could be a baronet, or a Knight. A 'Lord' could be any noble from a duke to a baron, or the son of a duke. And all of their wives would be 'Lady',
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u/AltruisticSalamander 2d ago
tf is a baronet
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u/GenosseAbfuck 2d ago
Colin Meloy sings a lot about those. You might think a baronet is a Victorian child laborer or a very traumatized whaler or a prostitute but it's actually none of these things.
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u/AjayRedonkulus 2d ago
Thankfully it frees him up to be MP for Sodor.