Sodor (fictional island)
Encyclopedia
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
used as the setting for The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
books by the Rev. W. Awdry
W.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
, and later used in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
television series.
Inspiration and creation
The need for consistency in the locations for The Railway Series necessitated the creation of a suitable location. The Rev. 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.Inspiration came on a visit to the Diocese of Sodor and Man
Diocese of Sodor and Man
Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets.-Early history:...
in 1950. Awdry noted that while there was an Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, 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.
Between them, Awdry and his brother George worked out Sodor's history, geography, industry and language ("Sudric"). Inspiration came from various sources. Dryaw was an anagram of Awdry. Elsbridge was named after Wilbert's parish of Elsworth
Elsworth
Elsworth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 9 miles west of Cambridge. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 657.-History:...
. Some place names were Sudric equivalents of those in the real world (for instance, Skarloey
Skarloey Railway
On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, the Skarloey Railway is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the main line at Crovan's Gate to the passenger terminus at Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey the line continues to a slate quarry.In the stories, the railway is run by...
was the Sudric version of the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
Talyllyn
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
). By the time they had finished, they knew more about Sodor than would ever be used in the actual Railway Series stories.
Their abridged notes were published in 1987 in a book entitled The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways .
Etymology
The bishop of the Isle of Man is known as Bishop of "Sodor and Man"Diocese of Sodor and Man
Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets.-Early history:...
. This is because the Isle of Man was part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, which included the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
, known in Old Norse as the Suðreyjar, (anglicised as "The Sudreys") i.e. "Southern Isles" in contradistinction to Norðreyjar ("The Nordreys"), or the "Northern Isles
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles is a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney...
", i.e. Orkney and Shetland. The Sudreys became "Sodor", which was fossilised in the name of the Diocese, long after it ceased to have any authority over the Scottish Islands. After the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
took the name for itself.
Thus there is no Island of Sodor; rather, the fictional island takes its name from an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
.
Awdry was intrigued to find that although the Bishop had the title "Sodor and Man", he had only Man for his diocese. "Everybody knew that there was an Isle of Man, but we decided to 'discover' another island – the Island of Sodor – and so give the poor deprived Bishop the other half of his diocese!" (Rev. W. Awdry) Hence Awdry sited Sodor in the Irish Sea, between the Isle of Man and Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
in Cumbria.
Language
The historical language of Sodor is "Sudric", a language similar to ManxManx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
and, like Manx, is falling out of use. The differences between Manx and Sudric are not enough to prevent the two communities understanding one another.
A lot of the place names on Sodor are clearly based on Manx forms, but often the nouns are inverted to match English word order. Some of the locations have quasi-Manx names, e.g. Killdane, which comes from "Keeill-y-Deighan" (Church of the Devil), hills are called Knock and Cronk, while "Nagh Beurla", means "I speak no English", a distortion of the Manx. The names of some of the 'historical' characters – used in the background but not appearing in the stories – were taken from locations on the Isle of Man, such as Sir Crosby Marown (Crosby
Crosby, Isle of Man
Crosby is a small village 6 km west of Douglas, Isle of Man on the Isle of Man. It has a population of about 900. The River Dhoo flows through the village.-Village:...
being a small village in the parish of Marown) and Harold Regaby.
Geography
Sodor is usually shown as much larger than the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. The island is roughly diamond
Rhombus
In Euclidean geometry, a rhombus or rhomb is a convex quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. The rhombus is often called a diamond, after the diamonds suit in playing cards, or a lozenge, though the latter sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 45° angle.Every...
-shaped, 62 miles (99.8 km) wide east to west and 51 miles (82.1 km) long north to south. Its north-west coast is separated from the Isle of Man by a sea strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
called the Sudrian Sea, four miles (6 km) wide. Its north-east edge overrides and replaces the real Walney Island
Walney Island
The Isle of Walney, also known as Walney Island, is an island in the United Kingdom which lies off the west coast of England, at the northern tip of Morecambe Bay. It forms part of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, and it is separated from the mainland at Barrow by Walney Channel, a narrow channel...
.
The place names on Sodor are mostly a mixture of Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
and Norse. Its highest mountain is Culdee Fell, which was modelled on Snowdon
Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
: the ridge of Devil's Back copies the Clogwyn ridge on Snowdon. The summit is reached by the Culdee Fell Railway
Culdee Fell Railway
The Culdee Fell Railway is a fictional narrow gauge rack and pinion railway appearing in the book Mountain Engines written by the Rev. W. Awdry. The stories are based on incidents in the history of the Snowdon Mountain Railway....
, which is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway
Snowdon Mountain Railway
The Snowdon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales....
in Wales.
The ancient capital of Sodor is the 'city' of Suddery but Tidmouth has grown to be the largest town on the island. One of the more famous settlements on Sodor is Ffarquhar
Ffarquhar
Ffarquhar is a fictional town or village on the equally fictional Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends children's TV series and in Reverend W. Awdry's The Railway Series books on which the TV series was based....
, the terminus of Thomas the Tank Engine's Branch Line.
All of the other settlements on the island are described in Locations on the Island of Sodor
Fictional locations in The Railway Series
There are many fictional locations in The Railway Series of books by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son Christopher. This is a summary of the locations as they appear in The Railway Series books...
, while the six railway lines from The Railway Series are described below.
Railways
Most of the known history concerning the railways on the Island of Sodor has been determined through "research" conducted by the Rev. W AwdryW.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
.
The first railway on the island, dating from 1806, was a horse-worked plateway
Plateway
A plateway is an early kind of railway or tramway or wagonway, with a cast iron rail. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later....
from Cros-ny-Cuirn to Balladwail, a port south-east of Crovan's Gate, which is no longer rail-connected. Pack horses were used to bring copper ore from a mine in the mountains down to Cros-ny-Cuirn, where it was loaded into wagons for the journey to the port. In 1820, the Crovan's Gate Mining Company extended the line up the valley to the mine by building a series of five inclined planes
Cable railway
A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
. At the same time, the rest of the 1806 line was rebuilt with fish-belly edge rail. The line continued in use until the Skarloey Railway
Skarloey Railway
On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, the Skarloey Railway is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the main line at Crovan's Gate to the passenger terminus at Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey the line continues to a slate quarry.In the stories, the railway is run by...
was built, after which it was abandoned, although the overgrown remains can still be seen to this day.
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
North Western Railway (fictional)
The North Western Railway is the main railway company featured in The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry. Although the company's name has never been specifically stated in the books, it was mentioned as such in tie-in books such as The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and...
. The railways concerned were:
- The Sodor & Mainland RailwaySodor & Mainland RailwayThe Sodor & Mainland Railway is a fictional railway that existed on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry. In the books it is known as the S&M and was built when railway-mania was still in force, opening in 1853...
(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
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
in 1925. There is a Scherzer rolling lift bridge of 120 ft (36.6 m) 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
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
had running powers over the Bridge to operate the joint NWR/BR suburban service from Barrow to Norramby.
On through or express trains, engines from the NWR are detached at Barrow and "Other Railway
The Other Railway
In the children's books The Railway Series, by the Rev. W. Awdry, The Other Railway refers to British Railways , the UK nationalised rail organisation that existed from 1948 until 1997....
" 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.
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.
Current system
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
have their own pages with information on routes and the stations served.
- The North Western RailwayNorth Western Railway (fictional)The North Western Railway is the main railway company featured in The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry. Although the company's name has never been specifically stated in the books, it was mentioned as such in tie-in books such as The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and...
is the main railway company featured in the book. It controls the mainline railway and many of the branch lines on the island and is often referred to as The Fat ControllerThe Fat ControllerThe Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by the Rev. W. V. Awdry. In the first two books in the series he is known as The Fat Director...
'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 GordonGordon the Big EngineGordon the Big Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive in The Railway Series books by Rev. W. Awdry. Gordon is painted blue and carries the number 4. Gordon views himself as the most important engine because he is the biggest and he pulls the Express...
's express which has to safely navigate Gordon's Hill. - Thomas' Branch Line runs from Knapford to FfarquharFfarquharFfarquhar is a fictional town or village on the equally fictional Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends children's TV series and in Reverend W. Awdry's The Railway Series books on which the TV series was based....
- 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 DuckDuck the Great Western EngineDuck the Great Western Engine is a fictional steam engine from The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends. He is a green 0-6-0 pannier tank locomotive and lives and works on the Island of Sodor....
'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 RailwayCuldee Fell RailwayThe Culdee Fell Railway is a fictional narrow gauge rack and pinion railway appearing in the book Mountain Engines written by the Rev. W. Awdry. The stories are based on incidents in the history of the Snowdon Mountain 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 Kirk Ronan
- The Mainline runs from Barrow on the mainland, joining the island at Vicarstown and transversing the island to Tidmouth. Its main traffic is Gordon
- The Arlesdale RailwayArlesdale RailwayThe Arlesdale Railway, more commonly known as the Small Railway, is a fictional railway on the Island of Sodor from the Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry....
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 RailwayCuldee Fell RailwayThe Culdee Fell Railway is a fictional narrow gauge rack and pinion railway appearing in the book Mountain Engines written by the Rev. W. Awdry. The stories are based on incidents in the history of the Snowdon Mountain Railway....
is a rack-and-pinion mountain railway that runs from the summit of Culdee Fell down to Kirk Machan where it joins the standard gauge line from Kildane to Peel Godred . - The Mid Sodor RailwayMid Sodor RailwayThe Mid Sodor Railway is a fictional narrow gauge railway on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev.W.Awdry and Christopher Awdry. The railway was closed in 1947, but three of its engines survive on the Skarloey 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 RailwayArlesdale RailwayThe Arlesdale Railway, more commonly known as the Small Railway, is a fictional railway on the Island of Sodor from the Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry....
on which some of its engines still work. - The Other RailwayThe Other RailwayIn the children's books The Railway Series, by the Rev. W. Awdry, The Other Railway refers to British Railways , the UK nationalised rail organisation that existed from 1948 until 1997....
refers to the nationalised British RailBritish RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways company that ran the Railway System in the United Kingdom until 1997. - The Skarloey RailwaySkarloey RailwayOn the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, the Skarloey Railway is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the main line at Crovan's Gate to the passenger terminus at Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey the line continues to a slate quarry.In the stories, the railway is run by...
runs from Crovan's Gate up to the slate works at Skarloey.
On screen portrayal
The Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and FriendsThomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
television series differs significantly from that in the books. Wilbert and George Awdry's notes have been largely ignored. The television version of Sodor appears larger and has more industry, and the connection to the mainland of Britain is not obvious (although there must be one to allow visiting locos to visit).
In the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British/American film based on the well-known TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and the United States TV series Shining Time Station. The film was co-produced by Gullane Entertainment and the Isle of Man Film Commission. It was written, produced...
the Island was portrayed very differently from either the books or the television series. Sodor was a magical land that could only be accessed via a Magic Railroad or by using mysterious "gold dust".
Further reading
- Timpson, Trevor (4 July 2011). "Where is Sodor, home of Thomas the Tank Engine?". BBC News website. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.