- Sodor (fictional island)
Sodor is a fictional island in the
Irish Sea used as the setting forThe Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and later used in theThomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series.Origin of name
The name and location were chosen by the Rev. W. Awdry, an
Anglican clergy man, following a visit to theIsle of Man in 1950.cite book
last =Sibley | first =Brian | authorlink =Brian Sibley
title ="The Thomas the Tank Engine Man"
publisher =Heinemann | date =1995 | pages =p154 | id =ISBN 0 434 96909 5 ] The bishop of the island is known as Bishop of "Sodor and Man". This was because the Isle of Man was part of theKingdom of Mann and the Isles , which included theHebrides , known in Old Norse as the "Suðreyjar", [Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) "Orkneyinga Saga". Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9] (anglicised as "The Sudreys") i.e. "Southern Isles" in contradistinction to "Norðreyjar" ("The Nordreys"), or the "Northern Isles ", i. e.Orkney andShetland . 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 theReformation , theChurch of England took the name for itself.Thus there is no "Island" of Sodor, rather the fictional island takes its name from an
archipelago .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 inCumbria .Geography of Sodor
Sodor is usually shown as much larger than the
Isle of Man . The island is roughly diamond-shaped, convert|62|mi|km wide east to west and convert|51|mi|km long north to south. Its northwest coast is separated from the Isle of Man by a seastrait called the Sudrian Sea, four miles (6 km) wide. Its northeast edge overrides and replaces the realWalney Island .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'srailway . Its highest mountain is Culdee Fell, which was modelled onSnowdon : the ridge of Devil's Back copies the Clogwyn ridge on Snowdon. The summit is reached by theCuldee Fell Railway , which is based on theSnowdon Mountain Railway inWales .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 isFfarquhar , 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, while the six railway lines from The Railway Series are described below.
Inspiration and Creation
The need for consistency in the locations for The Railway Series necessitated the creation of a suitable location. Awdry required a setting for his books that would be within
Great Britain , but would be sufficiently isolated from the rest ofBritish Railways to allow him to do as he wished with the location.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.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.Their abridged notes were published in 1987 in a book entitled .
The Railways of Sodor
Most of the known history concerning the railways on the Island of Sodor has been determined through "research"cite book
last =The Rev. W. Awdry
first =
authorlink = W.V. Awdry
co-authors = G Awdry
title =The Island of Sodor, its People, History, and Railways
publisher =Kaye & Ward
date =1987
pages =
id =ISBN 0 434 92762 7 ] conducted by the Rev. W Awdry.The first railway on the island, dating from 1806, was a horse-worked
plateway from Cros-ny-Cuirn to Balladwail , a port south-east of Crovan's Gate, which is no longer rail-connected.Pack horse s were used to bringcopper 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. At the same time, the rest of the 1806 line was rebuilt with fish-belly edge rail. The line continued in use until theSkarloey Railway 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. The railways concerned were:
*The "Sodor & Mainland Railway " (1853-1901) which ran from Ballahoo to Kirk Ronan.
*The "Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Railway" (1883-1914) fromTidmouth 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 aScherzer rolling lift bridge of convert|120|ft|m|abbr=on 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.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.
When the railways in the
United Kingdom were nationalised the North Western Railway became the North Western Region ofBritish 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. Sinceprivatisation , 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.The current railway system
All of the railway lines created in
The Railway Series have their own pages with information on routes and the stations served.*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' 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 Kirk Ronan
*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 Machan 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 theArlesdale Railway on which some of its engines still work.*
The Other Railway refers to thenationalised British Railways company that ran the Railway System in theUnited Kingdom until 1997.*The
Skarloey Railway runs from Crovan's Gate up to the slate works at Skarloey.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.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".References
External links
*http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/mapsection.htm Maps of Sodor
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