[3] Several J70s worked on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway in East Anglia only 28 miles (45 km) from Awdry's parish at Elsworth.

[5] Further inspiration was drawn soon after when Teddy Boston, then curate at Wisbech, arranged for Awdry to ride on the footplate of one of the last surviving steam tram engines on the Tramway.

Research by Awdry's brother, George, revealed that tramway regulations required the fitting of cowcatchers and sideplates for railway locomotives running on tracks alongside roads, and the story "Thomas in Trouble" (published in 1952, the year steam trams were replaced) evolved to provide a reason for Toby being summoned to Sodor.

They rode in the trucks and crowded in the brake van.This was a common occurrence during the closing of real railway lines; demand decreased to an unprofitable amount, but services were often full for the last workings of steam.

[citation needed] Christopher Awdry has said that Toby is his favourite character, partly because he was there when his father received the inspiration to create him, but also because as a child he had travelled in the cab of two J70s.

First, he was Rector of Elsworth with Knapwell from 1946 to 1953, then he was Vicar of Emneth from 1953 until 1965 when he retired from full-time ministry and moved to Stroud, Gloucestershire.

The first story, Toby and the Stout Gentleman, describes the closure of his old tramway due to the lack of passengers and freight.

[13] The Fat Controller, urgently needing to rectify this,[14] is discussing the fitting of these, when Thomas remarks that "everyone will laugh...they'll say I look like a tram".

[17] His chosen livery of chocolate brown with blue sideplates replicates that which he would have worn on the Great Eastern Railway.

[18] In Tramway Engines, Toby tried to mentor a young diesel named Mavis to work at the quarry.

The trucks carried out their plan regardless and Toby was left on a wrecked bridge dangling over a raging river.

While the movie itself has received polarising views from fans, Toby's scene and portrayal throughout has generally been seen as one of its highlights.

The face is also whitish-grey, as are those of the engines and much of the rolling stock, as opposed to the same brown as her paintwork as she appears in the book.

Toby also has a baggage car named Elsie, mentioned in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and the 1979 Thomas the Tank Engine Annual.

W. Awdry, she is based upon a Wisbech and Upwell Tramway luggage van and shares a shed with Henrietta.

There are no surviving J70 trams; however, there is a replica based at the East Anglian Railway Museum, albeit it is a diesel-hydraulic 0-4-0 shunter with a metal casing over it.