CORDELE — Classic storybook engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, is set to roll into Georgia Veterans State Park for the “Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour,” presented by HIT Entertainment, a worldwide leader in children’s entertainment and sponsored by The LEGO Group.

The event, which takes place Oct. 17-19 & 24-26, again this year will be hosted locally by SAM Shortline Excursion Train.

This fun-filled event offers children and their families the opportunity to take a ride with a 15-ton replica of Thomas the Tank Engine, star of the popular Thomas & Friends™ series. The tour, now in its 13th year, will make stops in more than 45 US cities and is expected to welcome more than one million passengers in 2008.

Fans will rally to nominate Thomas to the “National Toy Hall of Fame” when he steams into Georgia Veterans State Park on SAM Shortline Excursion Train. All attendees can add their name to the petition. The National Toy Hall of Fame, at the Strong National Museum of Play®, in Rochester, NY, recognizes toys that have achieved “icon status,” having enjoyed popularity over multiple generations.

By signing a petition at any of the 2008 Day Out with Thomas Events, fans can help Thomas make tracks to The National Toy Hall of Fame.

For more than six decades, children have been captivated with the tales of Thomas the Tank Engine. Day Out With Thomas is the only place for families to take a ride with a replica of everybody’s favorite #1 engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, and enjoy Thomas-themed activities at the Imagination Station, including stamps, temporary tattoos and hands-on arts and crafts.

Each year the tour grows, traveling to new destinations, adding new activities and welcoming new visitors.

Activities that are planned for the event include a 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine, the opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt™, controller of the railway, a Thomas & Friends Imagination Station featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts activities and coloring sheets, storytelling, video viewing and live music.

The tour provides a unique, interactive family experience at every station, offering a variety of entertaining activities that reflect the local flavor of each stop. In Cordele, the activities will include face painting, a hay bale maze, mini golf, live animals, bouncy houses, and much, much more!

The approximately 25-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine will depart every hour on the hour, rain or shine, with departure times at 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. daily. Tickets for the “Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour” are $18 plus tax for ages two and up.

Tickets are on sale now by calling toll-free 866-468-7630 or logging onto www.ticketweb.com/thomas.