The Railway Series (1945–2011) is a series of British children's books by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry (Books 1–26) and his son Christopher Awdry (Books 27–42).
Unless otherwise said on this page, the technical notes come from actual notes laid out by Wilbert Awdry when he was developing the characters and setting for his stories; these notes are cited in his publication The Island of Sodor: Its People, History, and Railways.[1]
The North Western Railway (NWR) is the main standard gauge rail network on the Island of Sodor. The railway's motto is "Nil Unquam Simile", which is Latin for "There's nothing quite like it". From nationalisation on January 1, 1948 until it was privatised, the railway was the North Western Region of British Railways (BR). From 1925 onwards, it has been managed by three Fat Controllers.
"Please tell everyone that whatever happens elsewhere, Steam will still be at work here. We shall be glad to welcome all who want to see and travel behind, real engines."
― Sir Charles Topham Hatt II/The Fat Controller, Little Western, Enterprising Engines
| Name | Number | Description | width=160 | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas | NWR 1 | A little blue 0-6-0T tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. He initially worked as the station pilot at Vicarstown. After helping to rescue James from a nasty accident, Thomas was rewarded by being permanently assigned to the Ffarquhar Branch Line with his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. | LB&SCR E2 class | |
| Edward | NWR 2 | A blue 4-4-0 mixed-traffic tender engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. He runs the Brendam Branch Line with BoCo and is one of the oldest engines on Sodor. | Furness Railway K2 class | |
| Henry | NWR 3 | A green 4-6-0 mixed-traffic tender engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. He was originally built as a dysfunctional prototype engine and needed special Welsh coal to operate properly. Following his accident when pulling the Flying Kipper, Henry underwent an extensive rebuild, giving him a new shape and better performance. | LNER Gresley Class A1 (prototype; Henry I) LMS Stanier "Black Five" (new shape; Henry II)[2] [3] [4] | |
| Gordon | NWR 4 | A big blue 4-6-2 tender engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. He is one of the fastest and strongest engines on Sodor and his main task is to pull the Wild Nor' Wester, which leads him to feel superior at times. He's mainly used for passenger duties, but has occasionally pulled goods trains, much to his disliking, as he believes that these are below him. He is Flying Scotsman's only surviving brother. Gordon works on the Main Line and was superseded by Pip and Emma in 2011. He now pulls other fast and stopping trains. | LNER Gresley Class A1 | |
| James | NWR 5 | A red (originally black) 2-6-0 mixed-traffic tender engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. He is proud of his splendid red paintwork, but tends to be vain, boastful, and overconfident, and does not like getting dirty. Despite being a mixed-traffic engine, he does not like pulling trucks and feels superior to the others except the big engines. James is an experimental version of his class. | L&YR Class 28 | |
| Percy | NWR 6 | A little green 0-4-0ST saddle tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway.[5] He was first brought to Sodor to help run the railway while Gordon, James and Henry went on strike and later became station pilot at Tidmouth.[6] Following the Knapford Harbour Improvement Scheme in 1955, Percy was moved permanently to Thomas' Branch Line, where he now works as a goods engine. His favourite job is pulling the Mail Train and he is Thomas' best friend. | GWR 0-4-0ST | |
| Toby | NWR 7/BR 68221/LNER 8221/7127 | A brown 0-6-0 square tram engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway.[7] He used to work on a tramway in East Anglia, however was later brought to Sodor after his line closed down to run the tramroad to Ffarquhar Quarry. He has three coaches: Henrietta, the Quarryman's Coach, and Victoria, as well as a luggage van named Elsie. | GER Class C53 | |
| Duck | NWR 8/GWR/BR 5741 | A green 0-6-0T Great Western pannier tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. One thing you may not know about Duck is that his real name is Montague. Montague goes by "Duck" because some engines say he "waddles", but he doesn't really waddle. In fact, Duck likes his nickname better than Montague. He thinks that there are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way and the wrong way. He runs the Little Western with Oliver and his two autocoaches, Alice and Mirabel. | GWR 5700 Class | |
| Donald and Douglas | NWR 9 and 10/BR 57646 and 57647 | A pair of blue (originally black) 0-6-0 goods tender engines from Glasgow, Scotland who live and work on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. Originally known as "57646" and "57647", the twins also work as utility engines wherever or whenever they are needed, primarily on the Main Line, the Brendam Branch Line, and the Little Western. | Caledonian Railway 812/652 Classes | |
| Oliver | NWR 11/GWR/BR 1436 | A green 0-4-2T Great Western tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor on the North Western Railway. After being saved from scrap by Douglas, he runs the Little Western with Duck and his two autocoaches, Isabel and Dulcie. Oliver also has his own brake van, Toad. | GWR 1400 Class |
| width=120 | Name | Number | Description | width=150 | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daisy | NWR D1 | A green diesel railcar who came to work on the Ffarquhar Branch Line after Thomas crashed into the Stationmaster's house. | British Rail Class 101 | ||
| BoCo | NWR D2/BR D5702 | A green mixed-traffic diesel engine who primarily works on Edward's Branch Line and occasionally on the Main Line. He, along with Edward, are mentors to Bill and Ben. | British Rail Class 28 | ||
| Bear | NWR D3/BR D7101 | A green (originally blue) mixed-traffic diesel engine who works on the Main Line. Originally known as "D7101", he first came to Sodor in 1967, and was accompanied by another diesel engine, D199, who talked about taking over the railway, which 7101 did not like. After 7101 suffered from a leaked brake ejector and was helped by Henry along with 199 and their trains, he befriended him. After 199 was sent back home, the Fat Controller decided to give 7101 another chance to stay and work on the North Western Railway. 7101 was given another name "Bear", a new number D3, and a new coat of paint. Nowadays, Bear pulls the 'Limited', the semi-fast passenger train, and the Wild Nor' Wester whenever the big engines are busy or unavailable. | British Rail Class 35 | ||
| Pip and Emma | Two diesel-electric engines which make up an InterCity 125 trainset. They had experienced problems with their cooling systems, and came to Sodor in 1986 when Gordon was deputizing for an excursion train to Carlisie. In 2011, following Privatization, the Fat Controller purchased them in order to run a faster express service to London.[8] They brought Prince Charles to Tidmouth to unveil a statue of the Thin Clergyman to celebrate his 100th birthday. | British Rail Class 43 High Speed Train |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Annie and Clarabel | Thomas' faithful coaches whom he loves dearly. They are a pair of orange-brown push-pull coaches who work on the North Western Railway. Annie can only take passengers, but Clarabel can take passengers, luggage, and the guard. The pair usually work on the Ffarquhar Branch Line with Thomas. | |
| Henrietta | A faithful tram coach that travels with Toby, Elsie, Victoria, and the Quarryman's Coach. | |
| Isabel, Dulcie, Alice and Mirabel | Four ex-Great Western Railway autocoaches who are pulled by Oliver (Isabel and Dulcie) and Duck (Alice and Mirabel) on the Little Western. Isabel joined Oliver and Toad when they escaped from the Other Railway. Afterwards, the Fat Controller was able to rescue Dulcie, Alice and Mirabel in order to handle the passenger traffic. | |
| Toad | A 20-ton Great Western brake van who lives and works on the North Western Railway. He escaped from scrap along with Oliver and Isabel, and is now Douglas' loyal brake van. | |
| Troublesome Trucks | Open wagons which they carry goods on the North Western Railway, nicknamed because they can be very troublesome and play tricks on the engines. | |
| Victoria | A vintage four-wheeled coach originating from the Furness Railway. She was built in 1882 and worked on the Lakeside branch line with Albert and Helena. After being out of service, Victoria was moved to Sodor and was turned into a summer house in a garden close to Elsbridge. In Thomas and Victoria, after being discovered, it was a decision Victoria could be restored and used on the line to Ffarquhar Quarry to help Toby and Henrietta. |
The Skarloey Railway (SR) is a 2' 3" narrow gauge railway, which runs from the North Western Railway's station Crovan's Gate to Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey, the line continues to a former slate quarry, now used as ammunition dumps. The railway is owned by Sir Handel Brown, who serves as its chairman, and is run by Mr. Roger Sam, son of the previous controller, Mr. Peter Sam. The engines are all based on their Talyllyn Railway counterparts.
| Name | Number | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skarloey | SR 1 | A red narrow gauge saddle tank engine. He is the oldest engine on the Skarloey Railway. Talyllyn, from the Talyllyn Railway, is his twin and Rheneas is his brother. | Talyllyn | |
| Rheneas | SR 2 | A red narrow gauge well tank engine and the Skarloey Railway's second engine. Rheneas has the nickname "Gallant Old Engine", after saving the railway from closure. Dolgoch, from the Talyllyn Railway is his twin, and Skarloey is his brother. | Dolgoch | |
| Sir Handel | SR/MSR 3 | A red narrow gauge saddle tank engine, and is named after Sir Handel Brown, the first manager. His real name is "Falcon". | Sir Haydn | |
| Peter Sam | SR/MSR 4 | A red narrow gauge saddle tank engine who lives and works on the Skarloey Railway, and is named after the previous controller. His real name is "Stuart". Following an accident with some slate trucks in 1958, Peter Sam lost his old funnel and was fitted with a Giesl ejector in 1961. | Edward Thomas | |
| Duncan | SR 6 | A grumpy red Scottish narrow gauge well tank engine on the Skarloey Railway. He came to the Skarloey Railway as a spare engine after Peter Sam's accident with some slate trucks.[9] | Douglas | |
| Ivo Hugh | SR 7 | A young narrow gauge tank engine. He is named in honor of the former Chief Mechanical Engineer, Mr. Ivo Hugh. Ivo Hugh was built in 1996 at Crovan's Gate Works by the Engineering Department in New Little Engine. Ivo Hugh is unique in the engine roster due to being a side-tank engine and he is powerful enough to handle the heaviest work. He was replaced by Freddie in the television series. | Tom Rolt | |
| Duke | SR 8/MSR 1 | An orange-brown narrow gauge tank-tender engine, who is widely respected and considered a hero amongst all the engines. He initially worked on the Mid Sodor Railway from its opening until its closure in 1947, he was left in the abandoned sheds for the next 22 years before being found and rescued in 1969, and he was moved to the Skarloey Railway where we works today. | Prince |
| Name | Number | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusty | SR 5 | A little narrow gauge diesel engine who carries out maintenance work and odd jobs around the Skarloey Railway. | Midlander | |
| Fred | SR 9 | A narrow gauge diesel engine who works on the Skarloey Railway. He is the railway's second diesel engine. He is mentioned in New Little Engine. According to Sodor: Reading Between the Lines, Fred entered service in 1989, having been acquired from the National Coal Board (NCB). | Alf |
| Name | Number | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes, Ruth, Jemina, Lucy and Beatrice | SR 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 | The oldest coaches on the Skarloey Railway, whilst Beatrice is the guard's van. On Market Days, the coaches were sometimes very full that third-class passengers were allowed to ride in Agnes, to the latter's anger. In 1952, Sir Handel made fun of the coaches by calling them "cattle trucks", which resulted in them holding him back on the hill. | |
| Ada, Jane and Mabel | SR 6, 7, and 8 | Three open-topped carriages who were acquired at one point prior to 1958, while Rheneas and Skarloey were away being overhauled. They were originally used for transporting quarry workmen, but are later used for tourist traffic during sunny days. When some BBC television producers visited Sodor to film a documentary about the Skarloey Railway, Ada, Jane and Mabel had the honour of transporting the television equipment and cameras for them, as part of the "Television Train". | |
| Cora | SR 9 | A tool van, and also occasionally a guard's van, who works on the Skarloey Railway. Cora was built by the Falcon Works for the Mid Sodor Railway, where she was a tool van, however she served as Stuart's guard's van for one time. She was accepted for sale following the closure in 1947. Cora was used as a guard's van whenever Beatrice was not available, then she returned to her original use after Millicent's arrival in 1955. |
The Culdee Fell Railway (CFR) is Sodor's only rack railway. It climbs to the top of Sodor's highest mountain, which shares the railway's name. It is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway in North Wales, was opened in 1900 and for many years was operated under the direction of Mr. Walter Richards, the General Manager. The railway was only featured in Mountain Engines. The engines on the line are all s.
| Name | Number | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godred | CFR 1 | A mounting-climbing engine who works on the Culdee Fell Railway. He was the original engine on the railway and is named after one of Sodor's historical rulers. Culdee tells a made-up story about Godred in Mountain Engines:[10] Shortly after the railway opened, he lost contact with the rack rail at a loosened rail joint and plunged sideways over a cliff. Fortunately, no one was injured. Godred, however, was so badly damaged that he was scrapped, with his parts being used to repair the other engines. This incident is based directly upon the Snowdon Mountain Railway's opening day accident when their 1 L.A.D.A.S suffered a similar accident. | L.A.D.A.S. | |
| Culdee | CFR 4 | A mountain-climbing engine who works on the Culdee Fell Railway. He is the principal engine on the Culdee Fell Railway. When introduced in Mountain Engines, he had been overhauled in Switzerland between 1962 and 1963 and was on the last stage of his journey home. Culdee has great respect for dangers found on the line and relies on his coach, Catherine, to help him travel safety. | Snowdon | |
| Lord Harry | CFR 6 | A mountain-climbing engine who works on the Culdee Fell Railway. He arrived in 1962 and was named after the manager. When he was new, Lord Harry was reckless and scared his coaches by taking risks. After he derailed and disgraced himself, Lord Harry got punished by having his name taken away. He asked for a second chance and was given a job of doing lowly shunting. But he was fittingly renamed "Patrick" in honor of the climber who risked his life to help the others. | Padarn |
The Arlesdale Railway is Sodor's smallest railway. It is based on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in Cumbria. The railway is run by Fergus Duncan (The Small Controller). Its five engines appear in the books. The diesel engines are mentioned in the companion books: Sigrid of Arlesdale, Blister I and Blister II.
| Name | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike | A red miniature tender engine who works on the Arlesdsle Railway. He prefers goods trains to passengers. | River Mite | |
| Rex | A green miniature tender engine who works on the Arlesdale Railway. He enjoys nothing more than teasing Mike. He is a hard worker, but sometimes has a problem with traction. | River Esk | |
| Bert | A blue miniature tender engine who works on the Arlesdale Railway. | River Irt | |
| Jock | A yellow 2-6-2 built by the Arlesburgh Works between 1972 and 1976 to cover a shortage of power. Jock was built in the workshop at Ravenglass in 1976, then to the design of chief engineer, Ian Smith. | Northern Rock |
| Name | Number | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil | S&M 2 | A dark green tank engine with an unusual box shape and a heavy Scottish accent, originating from the Sodor and Mainland Railway (S&M). In a flashback in Very Old Engines, he helped to transport Skarloey from Kirk Ronan Harbour to his new home at Crovan's Gate. He warned Skarloey about V-tipper wagons and they became friends. It is mentioned by Christopher Awdry in Sodor: Reading Between the Lines that Neil is still around but is unknown of his whereabouts. | ||
| Bill and Ben | SCC 1 and 2 | A pair of dark yellow 0-4-0ST saddle tank engine twins belonging to the Sodor China Clay (SCC). They both work in the china clay pits, and at Brendam Docks, where they shunt trucks. | Alfred and Judy | |
| Mavis | FQC 1 | A privately owned diesel shunter who works for the Ffarquhar Quarry (FQC), mainly rearranging trucks in different sidings.[11] [12] | British Rail Class 04 |
Various engines from British Railways (BR; also known as "the Other Railway"), and some from preserved/private railways and museums have visited the North Western Railway, both on regular trains to-and-from the Mainland, for special events, or under a lease agreement.
| width=150 | Name | Number | Description | width=165 | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87546 and 98462 | Two blue tender engines who once visited the North Western Railway on trial from a railway on the Mainland. They stayed at Vicarstown Sheds with the other engines, and notably made fun of Edward for being too old and weak to work. For their rude and nasty behavior, the Fat Director decided to send 87546 and 98462 away. It is unknown what happened to them since the end of steam, but it's most likely that they were scrapped. | ||||
| Percy's Workshop Friends | Many unnamed engines appeared at the Workshop, where Percy originally lived before coming to Sodor. Some engines, old and new, were built, repaired and stored until they could be purchased by railways or other industrial workshops. When things were not going well on Sodor, the Fat Controller went on a visit to the Workshop, where they showed him all of the engines they had. Some of the engines were happy, sad, and anxious hoping the Fat Controller would choose them. He finally chose a little green saddle tank engine and called him Percy. Later on, Percy mentioned to Edward, that the engines would have to wheesh loudly to make themselves heard. | ||||
| Big City Engine | An express tender engine who worked for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later British Railways. Once, he had gotten into an argument with Gordon and Duck about what was the name of the big station in London: King's Cross, Euston, Paddington, and St. Pancras. However, none of the engines realized that London had several major stations, not just one. | LMS "Patriot" Class | |||
| Jinty and Pug | Two ex-LMS tank engines who once visited the North Western Railway on loan from British Railways, while the Fat Controller and his engines went to be on display in London. Both are friends of Percy. | LMS Fowler Class 3F (Jinty) LMS Kitson 0F (Pug) | |||
| Diesel | A black diesel engine, who originates from the Other Railway and is the first known standard gauge diesel engine to ever arrived on Sodor, and also, the first diesel engine created by the Rev. W. Awdry. | British Rail Class 08 | |||
| City of Truro | GWR 3440 | A famous tender engine from the Great Western Railway, In The Railway Series, he once visited the Island of Sodor in 1957 on a railtour and stayed for one night. City of Truro befriended Duck, as the two were both Great Western engines and talked all night, much to Gordon's annoyance. Gordon tried to beat City of Truro's speed record, but only to have his dome blown off on the Viaduct. He normally resides at the STEAM Museum in Swindon, Wiltshire. | GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro | ||
| Stepney | LBSCR 55 | A tank engine, named after a district in London, from the Bluebell Railway. In The Railway Series, his friendly, enthusiastic attitude makes him a welcome visitor on the Fat Controller's railway. | LB&SCR A1X class | ||
| Class 40 | BR D4711 | A big diesel engine who once visited the North Western Railway on loan from British Railways. He was brought to Sodor to help the other engines. He intentionally sucked in an inspector's bowler hat through his air intake, which lead to his engine failing. Afterwards, he was sent away in disgrace, leaving behind "a rather nasty smell, and a battered bowler hat". | British Rail Class 40 | ||
| Flying Scotsman | LNER 4472/BR 60103 | An LNER Class A3 Pacific, and formerly a LNER Class A1. Flying Scotsman holds the record for being the first engine to officially run at over 100 mph. In addition, Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam engine. Flying Scotsman is named after a service that runs from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley. He is the last of Gordon's brothers. | LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman | ||
| Diesel 199 | BR D199 | A diesel engine who once visited the North Western Railway on trial from British Railways. He soon made himself an enemy of the steam engines. The next day, 199 failed while pulling a train of fuel and oil tankers at a signal box in Kellsthorpe Road. After Henry came to help, the signalman called 199 "Spamcan" as an insult. After 7101 fails with the Limited, Henry helps both diesels and their trains to the next station. The Fat Controller wasn't pleased with 199 and soon sent him back for offending his engines. | British Rail Class 46 | ||
| Wilbert (originally named "G.B. Keeling") | DFR 3806 | A dark blue saddle tank engine after the Thin Clergyman (Wilbert Awdry), who was a one-time president of the Dean Forest Railway. In Wilbert the Forest Engine, the Fat Controller arranged for Wilbert to come help on his railway. During his visit, Wilbert tells Thomas and Toby the story of his brother, Sixteen, accidentally filled up with milk instead of water, and used a coil of wire to couple it up to his damaged ballast truck. | Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST | ||
| Albert | A red tank engine who worked on the Furness Railway with his two coaches, Victoria and Helena. Albert was once buried at a tunnel by an avalanche when he lets off too much steam starting from the station, one day after boasting about the snow. | Furness Railway J1 class |
| Name | Description | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terence | An orange caterpillar tractor who usually works near Thomas' Branch Line, and is driven by Farmer Finney. When Thomas first met Terence, he insulted him for having 'ugly' caterpillar tracks, but later regretted it and befriended Terence after he pulled him out of a snowdrift. | Caterpillar Model 70 | |
| Bertie | A red single-deck bus who works alongside Thomas' Branch Line. Bertie had a race with Thomas to Ffarquhar after claiming he was the faster of the two, but lost after having to stop at a traffic light. | Leyland Tiger | |
| Trevor | A traction engine who resides at the Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard and driven by Jem Cole. He was due to be broken up for scrap before he was saved by the Vicar of Wellsworth. | William Foster & Co. Traction Engine No. 1459 | |
| Harold | A white and red helicopter belonging to the Coastguard Service who patrols the skies of Sodor, searching for emergencies. When Harold first met Percy, he insulted the railways were "slow and out-of-date". Percy, who was cross at this when taking some trucks, decided to race Harold to Knapford Harbour. | Sikorsky S-55 | |
| George | A grumpy green steamroller whose interactions with engines generally lead to trouble. Whenever he is flattening a road, he is seen rebelling by saying "Railways are no good! Pull 'em up | Turn them into roads!" | |
| Caroline | An elderly car owned by a cricketer from the Elsbridge Cricket Club. She tends to overheat when traveling at high speeds. | ||
| Bulgy | A bad-tempered double-decker bus with an ideological opposition to railways. His catchphrase is "Free the roads from railway tyranny!" | AEC Regent III |