North Western Railway

The North Western Railway is the main railway company featured in The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and the TV series Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends. Although the company's name has never been specifically stated in either the books or on television it was mentioned as such in tie-in books such as "Island of Sodor, Its History, People and Railways" by the Rev. Awdry and also on some maps that were drawn to accompany the Railway Series.

The railway is situated on the fictional Island of Sodor and is usually referred to as the Fat Controller's Railway after the nickname of its chief executive or chairman Sir Topham Hatt.

The railway's motto is "Nil Unquam Simile", which is Latin for "There's nothing quite like it"!

For a list of engines that work on the NWR, see Railway Engines.

The Main Line
This runs from Barrow to Tidmouth. It is run by the Fat Controller's biggest engines. The most important train is the Express (called the Wild Nor' Wester), usually pulled by Gordon, Alice, Sodor Castle, and Daphne, all of whom pull the express as far as Barrow-in-Furness; Phillipa (Pip & Emma) run triweekly overnight express services to London St. Pancras. Henry, James, Peter, and Bear handle mixed-traffic, and Diesel and Stanley handle the shunting work at Tidmouth. Donald & Douglas, Neville, Dennis, Arthur, and Sheffield are utility engines, working various trains along the mainline, and are also light enough to work on the branchlines. Others like Murdoch, Patrick, and the NW Freight locomotives can be seen pulling long heavy goods trains. It connects with the Skarloey Railway at Crovan's Gate, where the Crovan's Gate Works are located.

During Sectorisation in the 1980s, all stopping and limited-stop trains operated under the Provincial (later Regional) Railways branding, with limited-stop trains upgraded to Alphaline trains in the 1990s. The Wild nor' Wester was an InterCity-brand train, and coaches continued showing InterCity branding until 2001, when the Mark 2/3 coaches that had been used were replaced by the classic, 1922-era coaches.

Passenger services along the line are Express (only stops at Crovan's Gate and Barrow-in-Furness), Limited Stop (only stops at junctions) and Suburban (stops at all stations).

Traffic includes passengers, general goods, gold ore, anhydrite, cheese, butter, plasterboard, limestone, granite, cattle, logs, lumber, coal, fish, and intermodal traffic.

Along the line, in addition to the passenger stations, there are also the limestone works between Knapford and Crosby, and the anhydrite mines near Kellsthorpe Road.

Normal weekday traffic patterns include four express roundtrips, sixteen Limited Stop roundtrips, 28 Suburban roundtrips, and anywhere from five to twenty goods trains. Weekend traffic patterns include two express roundtrips, no Limited Stop trains, 14 Suburban roundtrips, and up to four goods trains.

Notable locations on this line include the main engine sheds at Tidmouth, Gordon's Hill and the Ballahoo tunnel in which Henry was bricked up. The Ballahoo Ridge Cut-Off was closed in 1966 for use as a storage tunnel to test the feasibility of a strategic steam fleet for use in the event of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union (in which case, EMP would knock out diesel and electric locomotives). After the sole locomotive in the tunnel, now NWR #15 Peter, was extracted and restored, the tunnel and its line were reopened as a through line for use by express passenger trains and through goods trains, so that express trains wouldn't have to slow for Norramby on the adjacent line.

Thomas' Branch Line
This runs from Knapford to Ffarquhar. It was originally part of the Tidmouth, Knapford &amp; Elsbridge Railway. When the Fat Controller took over, the original locomotives were replaced and the line was extended to serve the quarry at Ffarqhuar. A further extension a few miles further east to Ulfstead was opened in 2010. Thomas the Tank Engine was put in charge, with his coaches Annie and Clarabel (who were later joined by Becky, a third coach, and Drew, an ex-LBSCR luggage van, in 2009) and for many years ran the line single-handedly. Toby the Tram Engine was later brought to help on the quarry line after Thomas was ticketed by an overzealous police officer who was enforcing outdated Ministry of Transportation regulations, and after the rebuilding of Knapford Harbour Percy the Small Engine took charge of general goods traffic. A diesel railcar named Daisy assists with passenger services. The Ffarquhar Quarry Company owns a diesel shunter called Mavis, who sometimes comes down the branch line. Most passenger services run between Knapford and Ffarquhar but some commence and finish at Tidmouth. In 2003, a Stirling Single named Emily was built at Crovan's Gate Works and added to the Ffarquhar Branchline to further assist growing passenger traffic. Another locomotive named Brad was brought in in 1997 to help with increasing freight traffic, the expansion of Knapford Harbor and the Ulfstead extension. One of Brad's sisters, Rosie, was added in 2006 to serve double-duty as a station pilot at Tidmouth and work auxillery passenger services on the the Ffarquhar Branch, primarily passenger trains between Toryeck and Knapford Harbor to make the connection with NWR-owned ferries (ex-SeaLink). After Ted took over station-pilot duties in 2009, Rosie was shifted to full-time mixed-traffic services. Later in 2009 saw the addition of Lily, an ex-W&S tank engine recovered from a ship wreck off the coast of Kirk Ronan.

During Sectorisation in the 1980s, Annie and Clarabel were briefly replaced with a pair of BR Mark I coaches painted in Provincial Railways colors, but this only lasted three months when the TV series started; the NWR put Annie and Clarabel back into service against the wishes of BR. As a result, the Ffarquhar Branch was the first to be "de-branded" upon Regional Railways' dissolution on March 31, 1997.

The main branchline passenger service, run by Thomas, was officially named the Ffarquhar Central in 2009 when a third coach and luggage van were added.

Traffic includes passengers, gold ore, general goods, milk, and uranium. The line formerly carried stone and lead before the deposits were depleted. In the past, there may have also been slate operations according to a few employee's log entries from 1882, but there is no conclusive evidence aside from several remnants of old roadbeds, a few stretches of which still have ballast; the narrowness of the roadbed suggests this railway may have been narrow gauge, and a previously-unknown branchline of the Mid-Sodor Railway.

Normal weekday traffic patterns include eight roundtrips, four off-peak roundtrips, four quarryman's trains, a daily pickup goods, and up to twenty-five loaded gold ore trains, depending on a given day's ore output (trains for empties are run as extras). Weekend traffic patterns include six roundtrips, no off-peak trains, two quarryman's trains, and up to eight loaded gold ore trains, though more may be run depending on a day's ore output.

As well as the quarry at Anopha and the harbour at Knapford, notable locations on or near this line include the dairy at Toryeck, the bridge where Thomas went fishing near Elsbridge, Mrs Kyndley's house near Hackenbeck, Croarie Sidings (the exchange sidings for the Anopha Tramway), and the old lead mine (which has been reopened as a uranium mine) just off the goods line near the harbor.

Edward's Branch Line
This goes from Wellsworth to the harbour at Brendam. It also links the china clay pits at Brendam with the main line. Edward the Blue Engine is in charge here, assisted by BoCo the diesel and Jinty. Donald and Douglas help out. Sodor China Clay owns two small tank engines, Bill and Ben, who work at the clay pits and the docks. At peak times passenger services also run along the main line to and from Tidmouth.

Traffic includes passengers, carfloat traffic from Misty Island, China Clay, scrap metal, general goods, and cement.

Normal weekday traffic patterns include twelve roundtrips, four commuter trains (two up in the morning, two back in the evening; trains only run with passengers in one direction, with the return trip run empty), and up to twenty-four goods trains. Weekend traffic patterns include eight roundtrips, no commuter trains, and up to ten goods trains.

Upon Sectorisation in the 1980s, all passenger trains on the route were operated under Provincial/Regional Railways branding. The Mark 1 stock wearing Regional Railways livery were not withdrawn for repainting to Maroon coloring until 2010.

Some locations on this line featured in the stories include the Vicarage (where Trevor the Traction Engine lives) and the scrap yard.

Misty Island
Misty Island is an island off the coast of Brendam, accessible by the NWR via carfloats. The main industry on Misty Island is timber, with an expansive logging operation. Misty Island also plays host to three company towns and a museum about logging railroads around the world, plus a tourist service. The Misty Island operation has three locomotives: a pair of L&YR Class 23s named Bash and Dash, and an LMS Fowler 4F named Ferdinand. All cars used on excursion trains are converted bogie flats.

In recent years, Misty Island has gained notoriety for its depiction in the TV series. Whereas the real Misty Island has various stringent safety regulations, the Misty Island in the TV series has been described by NWR officials as a deathtrap with zero safety standards, no personnel, a wobbly trestle that should have collapsed years ago, and a crane that flings logs at will. It has also been criticized for using a fictional wood type (Jobi wood), when Misty Island actually has Redwood (not unlike in California). Not only that, but Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand are depicted in a very unflattering light: Bash and Dash are Gypsie-gear locomotives, while Ferdinand is a Class C Climax, and all three are depicted as offensive American redneck stereotypes. Railway employees on Misty Island, their families, and the real Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand were so offended by the depiction, that when Andrew Brenner came onboard as head writer, he removed almost all references to Misty Island, aside from Ferdinand making a small cameo in the eighteenth season, and the Misty Island Tunnel (which does not exist in real-life and has also been scoffed at by NWR officials for being allowed to have steam locomotives inside without ample ventilation) was reportedly boarded up, but this rumor was debunked.

The Little Western
This is the newest branch line on the NWR, having been reopened to regular services again in 1968, and is also known as Duck's branch line. It runs along the coast from Tidmouth to Arlesburgh West, where it connects with the Arlesdale Railway. It is used for transporting ballast, and is also very popular with tourists. Duck and Oliver are in charge, and the whole line is decorated in the style of the Great Western Railway. When the line was first opened in the 1920s it connected with the Mid Sodor Railway and intended to go further up the Sudrian western coast to Harwick but this extension was never built. This changed after gold ore was found in Harwick, and an extension to Harwick is set to open in September 2015. When the Mid Sodor closed in the late 1940s the Arlesburgh branch became used only very rarely. In 2014, slip coach service was inaugurated, the first use of slip coaches in the UK since 1936.

Passenger services on the Little Western were not subject to Sectorisation in the 1980s, unlike the other branchlines on the railway.

Passenger trains run hourly, with a twice-daily through service to Barrow-in-Furness run by Donald and Douglas using ex-GWR Clerestory coaches. A twice-daily commuter train, the Gold Digger Limited, is run for workers at the Harwick gold mines and is run by Ryan. Up to ten ballast and twenty gold ore trains run daily.

Traffic includes passengers, ballast, and gold ore. There are plans for a transload facility in the future.

Peel Godred Branch
This branch runs from Kildane to the aluminium works at Peel Godred connecting with the Culdee Fell Railway at Kirk Machan. Although the line has never featured prominently in the Railway Series books or the TV series, according to the Rev. Awdry, the line uses electric locomotives powered from the power station at Peel Godred. Christopher Awdry says in the book Sodor: Reading Between the Lines that goods traffic is hauled by Class 87 electric locomotives. Passenger trains consist of Class 308 EMUs, with occassional appearances by locomotive-hauled trains (mainly diesels due to the dangers of having steam locomotives under live catenary).

The construction of this branch was largely responsible for the closure of the Mid Sodor Railway.

The Peel Godred branch was seen in one illustration in the book Mountain Engines but without any indication that it was an electric railway. However in Henry and the Express an electrified line is visible.

Passenger trains ran under Regional Railways branding from 1990 until Privatisation in 1996, though both multiple units continued wearing Regional Railways until 2003.

Passenger trains run every 15 minutes due to the quick turnaround of the EMUs, and their starting and stopping power. Goods trains are run as needed.

Traffic includes passengers, goods, coal, steel, and gold ore.

Other branch lines
On the maps of Sodor are shown three other branch lines that run from Vicarstown to Norramby via Ballahoo, Ballahoo to Crovan's Gate and Kellsthorpe Road to Kirkronan. Parts of these branches were first built by the Sodor & Mainland Railway. Apart from a brief glimpse of Kirkronan in the 1860s and the prominent appearance of Kirkronan Station in Series 5 of the TV series, none of these lines have featured in either the books or TV series, and nothing is known of the locomotives that worked them. With the advent of the internet and increasing tourism, it is now known the Kirk Ronan Branch is run by an ex-LNER V3 named Eric and the Norramby Branch is run by Eagle (James' brother) and Hunter (a 51xx Pacific still in BR Green colors). The "Ballahoo Branch" is a secondary line used by stopping and limited-stop passenger trains, plus slower goods trains, with faster trains using the Ballahoo Ridge Cut-Off.

It is known that the Kirk Ronan Branch's traffic includes passengers, goods, and fish, and the Norramby Branch's traffic includes passengers, cattle, agricultural traffic from McColl Farm (barley, oats, wheat, animal feed, eggs, meat) and gold ore, plus any parts needed for the Norramby Minature Railway.

Both lines were subject to Sectorisation, both carrying Provincial/Regional Railways branding. This branding remained on rolling stock until 1998 on the Kirk Ronan branchline, and 2013 on the Norramby branch, the last holdout.

History
According to "research" by the Rev. Awdry the railway company was formed in 1914 from a government-sponsored merger of the two standard gauge rail companies that existed on Sodor. These were:


 * The Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M)
 * The Tidmouth, Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (TW&S). This Railway had been formed in 1912 from a merger of the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Railway (TK&E) and the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway.

The three railways were extended and brought into one system as a means of coastal defence against German forces during World War I. The railway was connected to the British mainland by a Shertzer Lift Rolling Bridge designed by Topham Hatt and built in 1925. The bridge runs from Vicarstown to Barrow-in-Furness.

A little-known fact is that the NWR was part of the "Big Four" grouping, unofficially under the name "Big Five", alongside the LNER, LMS, GWR, and SR. It was not recognized in most history books, however, because the railway's size and non-standardized locomotive roster made up of second-hand locomotives meant that, by government definitions, the NWR was a light railway.

The company first had its headquarters at Vicarstown but were moved along with the main engine sheds to Tidmouth in 1926.

The main repair works for the railway are at Crovan's Gate close to the interchange station with the independently owned Skarloey Railway. Connections to Sodor's other railway companies are at Kirk Machan for the Culdee Fell Railway and Arlesburgh West for the Arlesdale or 'Small' Railway.

The North Western Railway has had running rights into Barrow Central since the agreement with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1925. Until the construction of the Jubilee Road Bridge in 1977, the NWR had rights of 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. This practice has mostly been abandoned after the advent of diesel multiple units (DMUs), and now, all NWR mainline passenger trains turn around at Barrow. Only the Sudrian Flyer, a Tidmouth-London St. Pancras overnight train run by Pip and Emma, continues on from Barrow. 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 Sodor was affected too with the North Western Railway becoming the North Western Region of British Railways however the railway was allowed to keep a large degree of independence from the rest of the network. When the Beeching Report was released in 1962, the following passage was found towards the end of the report:

''Whilst looking over the BR network, one region stood out to us: the North Western Region. Famous for being prominently featured in the Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series books, the commission has found that the region is the most profitable of the BR network. All of the branchlines are still profitable, and the low amount of locomotives in the region has allowed the region's controller, Sir Charles Topham Hatt II, to control maintenance costs. As a result of being allowed to maintain its operational independence, the railway still uses several obsolete locomotive types and has yet to adopt the BR Black scheme for its entire fleet. To our knowledge, only a pair of Caledonian 812 0-6-0 locomotives numbered 9 and 10 under the region's numbering scheme have been painted in BR Black. The region also only has a single diesel: an experimental single carriage Class 101 in standard BR Green; a Class 08 was trialed in 1958, but was sent back for being troublesome and stirring up dissent amongst the engines of the mainline. Due to the railway's continued profitability with branchlines and steam traction, the commission has decided that the North Western Region will be exempt from the Modernisation Plan of 1955 and this report.''

The other railways on the island were not affected by the nationalisation.

The railway was affected by Sectorisation in the 1980s. All local and limited-stop trains came under the Provincial (later Regional) Railways brand, the Wild nor' Wester became an InterCity train (though the practice of locomotive swaps at Barrow was quickly becoming time-consuming and expensive; BR carried out a trial program in 1988 to have passengers transfer to another train, but a passenger survey revealed that this was way too inconvenient, and baggage transfers were also time-consuming; BR attempted to rectify the problem by having a baggage coach at the rear of the train that would be switched on using a shunter, but this caused delays with goods trains; BR admitted defeat and continued the locomotive-swapping practice), the mail trains now carried the Rail Express Systems branding, and goods trains were divided between Trainload Freight and Speedlink.

Since privatisation the railway has again become the North Western Railway Company and unlike most post-privatisation train companies is responsible for the running of the freight and passenger operations and for the maintenance of the track and infrastructure of the railway. It is also the only railway in the UK that still has traditional goods trains, locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and of course steam traction. The NWR is considered a traditional railway, rather than a train operating company, as all tracks are owned by the railway, rather than Network Rail (National Rail, though, still handles ticketing, though with a very different look than on the mainland). Many enthusiasts call the NWR a "railway frozen in time", due to its infrastructure mostly being 1950s vintage, with several pieces of infrastructure dating back to at least the 1880s.

Many infrastructure improvements have taken place over the years, including: In 2005, in order to more efficiently compete with road transport, especially the S1 motorway, the NWR established NW Freight, a freight distribution service very similar to Freightliner and the EWS. The service operates on the mainland with a Class 37, three Class 60s, two Class 66s, and a Standard 9F (the 9F was later transferred to normal mainline services on Sodor). While at the forefront of railway pop culture for years, the NWR made international headlines when massive deposits of gold ore were discovered around the island in 2013, including: The gold strike was called by many the "Sudrian Lode", while many in the United States called it the "Second Comstock Lode", due to how the mining resembled the Comstock Lode of Nevada in the 1870s, with the NWR filling the role of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The discovery of gold in Harwick spurred an extension that had been part of the origianl plans for the NWR. Geologists and metallurgists estimate there is much, much more gold than at the current mining sites, and hypothesize that the NWR may expand even more just to serve the sites. After the strike, Parliament put a ban on open-pit mining.
 * Replacement of all jointed rail with continuous-welded rail
 * Centralized Train Control on the entire system and Block Signals on the Peel Godred Branch
 * Installation of Wi-Fi on all passenger cars starting in 2009
 * Replacing Tidmouth Sheds with a roundhouse built in 1985; the old sheds are still maintained as a wagon repair shop
 * Construction of new distribution and transload facilities at Tidmouth, Elsbridge, Arlesburgh, and Barrow-in-Furness
 * Expansion of the Ffarquhar Branch to Ulfstead
 * Underneath all of the depleted stone deposits at Anopha Quarry
 * Toryeck Mines
 * North of Arlesburgh
 * Just west of the Peel Godred Steel Works
 * South of Norramby
 * In and around Harwick

In 1996, a massive deposit of oil initially estimated at 50 million barrels but found to be much bigger in 2004 was discovered off the coast of Brendam. A new company known as SodOil was founded shortly after the discovery of the oil, and a refinery was built along the Sodor China Clay Co.'s private line.

In 2005, Sodor's first airport opened on a large plot of vacant land near Knapford. The NWR (especially the engines) were highly concerned that people would start travelling by air instead of the rails. It got to the point that construction efforts for the airport were obstructed by NWR personnel, helped along by an intense Modernisation Plan-related fight between the steam and diesel locomotives. The airport was eventually completed, with a clause banning domestic flights. Trans-Atlantic and International flights were still allowed, bringing with them a boom in the tourist trade. The airport is served by the NWR, operating passenger shuttles (using a pair of ex-BR Class 142 DMUs named Evan and Edwin) and trains with goods and fuel refined at the SodOil refinery.

On some promotional items to tie-in with the Railway Series books dating from the 1970s the NWR is called Sodor Rail and uses a logo similar to the famous British Rail one now used by the organisation National Rail. This, of course, is viewed as a major embellishment by the NWR, as most merchandise usually is, even though a merger of all Sudrian railways under the name was considered in order to gain complete independence from BR and avoid an increasingly-hostile Conservative government.

Retired/Former Locomotives
Not all of the locomotives who have been in service on the NWR have stuck around. In the early days, until 1922, seven locomotives were leased from the Midland Railway. Several other locomotives have either been destroyed (whether by accident, enemy action, or their own hubris) or sent back to the mainland in disgrace.

Carriage Stock
When the NWR was first formed in 1914, the coaching stock comprised of stock from the Tidmouth, Wellsworth & Suddery Railway and Sodor & Mainland Railway. Most of the carriages were four-wheel carriages. By 1922, new bogie stock had replaced the S&M carriages, three of which were set aside for preservation. Two of the 1922 bogie coaches are Annie and Clarabel. The TW&S stock remained in service until 1986, when the final three were withdrawn from service and set aside for use on the Vintage Train during galas. A third bogie coach built to 1922 specifications was built in 2009 for the Ffarquhar Branchline and named "Becky" after the daughter of Percy's fireman. The 1922 bogie stock remains in service alongside ex-British Railways Mark 1/2 coaches, LNER Gresley Corridor coaches, and GWR Clerestory coaches. In 2015, the 1922 carriage stock was withdrawn for overhaul (sans Annie and Clarabel), leaving the Mark 1 coaches to handle the bulk of mainline and branchline service trains. The only branchlines not using Mark 1 stock are the Ffarquhar and Little Western branchlines, as they have their own unique carriage sets.

In addition, the railway owns an ex-Wisbech & Upwell 4-wheel carriage (Henrietta), an ex-Furness Railway 4-wheel carriage (Victoria), a pair of ex-LNER 6-wheel carriages (Martha and Jennifer), an ex-LBSCR 8t luggage van (Drew), four ex-GWR Autocoaches (Isabel, Dulcie, Alice, and Mirabel), and three ex-GWR Slip Coaches.

Goods Stock
The railway owns very little in the way of goods stock. Most goods wagons (the Troublesome Trucks) are owned by the Sodor Freight Commision, and are strictly used only on Sodor due to wagonload freight being eliminated by British Rail in the mid-1970s. Larger, more modern goods stock, mainly owned by DB Schenker and Freightliner, are interchanged with the national network. All publicly-owned wagons are brought to transfer facilities at TIdmouth to be transferred over to the larger equipment. The only equipment not brought to Tidmouth are container trains, as these run from Brendam to the mainland on express freights.

What goods stock is owned by the NWR includes brakevans (of LB&SCR, SR, and BR vintage, with a single GWR 20t "Toad" brakevan, appropriately named Toad, and an ex-Wellsworth & Suddery brakevan found in the mid-1990s by Sheffield named Brian), mail vans (formerly vans built at Crovan's Gate Works, but later replaced by ex-BR GUV vans in 1994; two of the original mail vans are at the Vicarstown Railway Museum), and over 80 goods wagons used on demonstration trains for galas.

Works Department
The Works Department owns many pieces of rolling stock, including a pair of cranes and accompanying flatbeds, three work coaches from the TW&S, a steam crane named Rocky, several ballast hoppers, and utility vans repurposed from BR 12t Fitted Vans.