A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge).

Sodor is a fictional island in the Irish Sea used as the setting for The Railway Series books by Rev. W. Awdry, and later used in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x754, 256 KB)A map of the Island of Sodor from The Railway Series by Rev. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x754, 256 KB)A map of the Island of Sodor from The Railway Series by Rev. ... Relief map of the Irish Sea. ... Map showing the railways on the fictional Island of Sodor (click to enlarge). ... The Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, (June 15, 1911 – March 21, 1997) was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author, best known as the author of The Railway Series of books. ... Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, also known as Thomas the Tank Engine) is a British childrens television series which was first broadcast in 1984. ...

The name and location were chosen by the Rev. W. Awdry, an Anglican clergyman, while on a visit to the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man is part of the Church of England diocese of Sodor and Man, although there was no counterpart Island of Sodor. The Rev. Awdry sited Sodor in the Irish Sea, between the Isle of Man and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. ... Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England. ... Cumbria is a county in the North West region of England. ...

Sodor is usually shown as much larger than Man. It is often shown as roughly diamond-shaped, 62 miles wide east to west and 51 miles long north to south. Its northwest coast is separated from the Isle of Man by a sea strait called the Sudrian Sea, four miles wide. Its northeast edge overrides and replaces the real Walney Island. This shape is a rhombus In geometry, a rhombus (also known as a rhomb) is a quadrilateral in which all of the sides are of equal length. ... Simplified diagram A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. ... Walney Island, otherwise the Isle of Walney is the eighth-largest marine island off the coast of England. ...

The place names on Sodor are mostly a mixture of Manx and Norse. The island's language is Sudric, though like Manx, this is falling out of use. It has various small industrial sites, including a prosperous stone quarry served by the island's railway. Its highest mountain is Culdee Fell, which was modelled on Snowdon: the ridge of Devil's Back copies the Clogwyn ridge on Snowdon. The summit is reached by the Culdee Fell Railway, which is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway in Wales. The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages (including English, German Dutch) and the East Germanic languages (now extinct). ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales and the highest British mountain south of the Scottish Highlands, is probably the busiest mountain in Britain [1]. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... // A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Half way up the Mountain. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd in...

The ancient capital of Sodor was Suddery but Tidmouth is now the largest town. The other settlements on the Island are described in Locations on the Island of Sodor, while the six railway lines from The Railway Series are described below. The fictional borough of Tidmouth is the largest town on the fictional Island of Sodor created by The Rev W Awdry as a setting for his Railway Series childrens books. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ...

Inspiration and Creation

The need for consistency in the locations for The Railway Series necessitated the creation of a suitable location. Rev. W. Awdry required a setting for his books that would be within Great Britain, but would be sufficiently isolated from the rest of British Railways to allow him to do as he wished with the location. British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ...

Inspiration came on a visit to the Diocese of Sodor and Man. Awdry noted that while there is an Isle of Man, there was no similar Island of Sodor. A large island would meet the criteria he required, giving him the isolation from changes to the British railway system while giving him somewhere that people could believe in. For the fictional Island of Sodor, see Sodor (fictional island). ...

He and his brother George worked out the history, geography, industry and language of Sodor between them. Inspiration came from various sources. Dryaw was an anagram of Awdry. Elsbridge was named after Wilbert's parish of Elsworth. Some place names were Sudric equivalents of those in the real world (for instance, Skarloey was the Sudric version of the Welsh Talyllyn.) By the time they had finished, they knew more about Sodor than would ever be used in the actual Railway Series stories. There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Map of the Skarloey Railway On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Locomotive no. ...

Their abridged notes were published in 1987 in a book entitled The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways . // The Rev. ...

The Railways of Sodor

According to "research" conducted by Rev. W Awdry, a government-sponsored amalgamation of the standard gauge railways in the Island occurred in 1914 to build a strategic railway for coastal defence called the North Western Railway. The railways concerned were: The Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, (June 15, 1911 – March 21, 1997) was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author, best known as the author of The Railway Series of books. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ...

• The Sodor & Mainland Railway (1853-1901) which ran from Ballahoo to Kirk Ronan.
• The Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Railway (1883-1914) from Tidmouth to Elsbridge (the railway was known as the Knapford & Elsbridge Railway until 1908 when line extended to Tidmouth)
• The Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (1870-1914), which ran from Crosby to Brendam, with an extension from Crosby to Knapford in 1912 to amalgamate with the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Railway.

The North Western Railway has had running rights into Barrow Central Station since the agreement with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1925. There is a Schertzer Rolling Lift Bridge of 120ft span and double track over the Walney Channel, designed by Topham Hatt and erected in 1915. The NWR built its headquarters at Vicarstown in 1915, but the administrative offices were relocated to Tidmouth in 1926. Until the construction of the Jubilee Road Bridge in 1977, the NWR had rights for a car-ferry and worked an intensive and profitable service. British Rail had running powers over the Bridge to operate the joint NWR/BR suburban service from Barrow to Norramby. A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... The fictional borough of Tidmouth is the largest town on the fictional Island of Sodor created by The Rev W Awdry as a setting for his Railway Series childrens books. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS1) was a British railway company. ... Sir Topham-Hatt, The Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ...

On through or express trains, engines from the NWR are detached at Barrow and "Other Railway" engines take over. Since 1925 the NWR has also had its own loco shed, turntable and servicing facility here. There is also a joint goods yard for exchange traffic. In the childrens books The Railway Series, by the Rev W Awdry The Other Railway refers to British Railways (later British Rail), the UK nationalised rail organisation that existed from 1948 until 1997. ...

When the railways in the United Kingdom were nationalised the North Western Railway became the North Western Region of British Railways. It was allowed to keep a large degree of independence from the rest of the network, which is why steam traction was preserved. The other railways on the island were not affected by the nationalisation. Since privatisation, the railway has again become the North Western Railway Company and, unlike most post-privatisation train companies, is responsible not just for the running of the freight and passenger operations, but also for the maintenance of the track and infrastructure of the railway. Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ...

The current railway system

The Island of Sodor Railway in the style of Harry Beck (click to enlarge).

All of the railway lines created in The Railway Series have their own pages with information on routes and the stations served. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x736, 208 KB) Summary A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x736, 208 KB) Summary A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Harry Beck (Henry C. Beck, 1903–1974) was a graphic designer, best known for creating the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. ... Map showing the railways on the fictional Island of Sodor (click to enlarge). ...

• The North Western Railway is the main railway company featured in the book. It controls the mainline railway and lots of the branch lines on the island and is often referred to as The Fat Controller's Railway.

• The Mainline runs from Barrow on the mainland, joining the island at Vicarstown and transversing the island to Tidmouth. Its main traffic is Gordon's express which has to safely navigate Gordon's Hill.

• Thomas's Branch Line runs from Knapford to Ffarquhar

• Edward's Branch Line goes from Brendam to Wellsworth. It links the china clay works at Brendam to the mainline.

• The Little Western is known as Duck's Branch Line and runs along the coast from Tidmouth to Arlesburgh.

• The Peel Godred Branch runs from Kildane to Peel Godred and connects with the Culdee Fell Railway.

• There are three other North Western Railway branch lines detailed on the maps of Sodor that have not featured in The Railway Series. They run from:

Vicarstown to Norramby, via Ballahoo

Ballahoo to Crovan's Gate

Kellsthorpe Road to Kirkronan

• The Arlesdale Railway or Small Railway is a miniature railway taking waste from the mines in the hills to Arlesburgh where it could be distributed to the rest of the Island. It also carries tourists.

• The Culdee Fell Railway is a rack-and-pinion mountain railway that runs from the summit of Culdee Fell down to Kirk Ronan where it joins the standard gauge line from Kildane to Peel Godred .

• The Mid Sodor Railway was a narrow gauge railway that closed in 1947. It started at Arlesburgh to King 'Orry's Bridge. Part of its route is now on the Arlesdale Railway on which some of its engines still work.

• The Other Railway refers to the nationalised British Railways company that ran the Railway System in the United Kingdom until 1997.

• The Skarloey Railway runs from Crovan's Gate up to the slate works at Skarloey.

A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Sir Topham-Hatt, The Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... The fictional borough of Tidmouth is the largest town on the fictional Island of Sodor created by The Rev W Awdry as a setting for his Railway Series childrens books. ... Gordon the Big Engine. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Ffarquhar is a fictional town on Thomas The Tank Engine series Thomas is the best known engine at the town the station has only got one platform and 1 single track. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Kaolin Kaolinite (Aluminium Silicate Hydroxide) Kaolinite is a mineral with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... Montague Duck the Great Western Engine. ... The fictional borough of Tidmouth is the largest town on the fictional Island of Sodor created by The Rev W Awdry as a setting for his Railway Series childrens books. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... // A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Small Railway Engines book cover, showing the engines (L to R): Mike, Bert and Rex (with Duck in the foreground) The Arlesdale Railway, more commonly known as the Small Railway, is a fictional railway on the Island of Sodor from the Railway Series books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... // A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... The Mid Sodor Railway is a fictional narrow gauge railway on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series books of Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ... Small Railway Engines book cover, showing the engines (L to R): Mike, Bert and Rex (with Duck in the foreground) The Arlesdale Railway, more commonly known as the Small Railway, is a fictional railway on the Island of Sodor from the Railway Series books by Rev. ... In the childrens books The Railway Series, by the Rev W Awdry The Other Railway refers to British Railways (later British Rail), the UK nationalised rail organisation that existed from 1948 until 1997. ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... Map of the Skarloey Railway On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. ... There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by Rev. ...

The Island as portrayed on screen

The Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series differs significantly from that in the books. Wilbert and George Awdry's notes have largely been ignored. This version of Sodor appears considerably larger, and has far more industry. It does not appear to be connected to the Mainland. Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, also known as Thomas the Tank Engine) is a British childrens television series which was first broadcast in 1984. ...

In the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad Sodor was a magical land that could only be accessed via a Magic Railroad or by using mysterious "gold dust". Thomas and the Magic Railroad was a movie made in 2000 based on the well known TV Series and its American spinoff. ...