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The Skarloey Railway (abbreviated as SR), also known as the Little Railway, the Narrow Gauge Railway or the Mountain Railway, is a 2'3" (686mm) narrow gauge railway which runs from the North Western Railway's station at Crovan's Gate to Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey, the line continues to a slate quarry.
The railway was owned by Sir Topham Hatt, but starting from the ninth series, Mr. Percival is the controller of the railway.
Operations and Route
1994 Map
In the Thomas & Friends television series, the Skarloey Railway is considerably expanded. Map co-ordinations on official concept art confirm that the Skarloey Railway operates as a large loop line. The line starts from Crovan's Gate where trains connect to those from the North Western Railway. The line begins to climb before reaching a bad stretch of track just before the first station, Cros-ny-Cuirn.
The line crosses over the Old Viaduct before reaching the middle station, Rheneas. After passing through Lakeside, the main line comes to a halt at the top station, Skarloey.
The loop line begins by passing through the Skarloey Slate Quarry before eventually passing over Special Funnel Bridge, through Peter Sam's Tunnel, across the Timber Bridge, past the level crossing and alongside the road, before returning to Crovan's Gate through the rear.
Unlike in The Railway Series, this depiction of the Skarloey Railway is also closely intertwined with the Mid Sodor Railway and Stepney's Branch Line, with various junctions connecting the three lines together. A line to Vicarstown Goods Depot is also present somewhere along the loop line.
2010 map
Unfortunately, most of the locations with the exception of the Skarloey Slate Quarry and The Wharf are not shown in the Hit era or Season 7, and none of the original locations from the hit era are shown on the map either aside from The Wharf, but the main layout of the line is similar to The Railway Series with an extension along part of The Railroad.
2014 Map
As of 2014, the line was modified to closer resemble the railway's layout in The Railway Series, albeit with several new branch lines to account for locations created for the television series. It starts at Crovan's Gate near the Steamworks and follows the Railway Series route until the loop around the lake. A branch then continues west from Skarloey to the Blue Mountain Quarry and then crosses the Peel Godred Branch south of Kirk Machan. After crossing the line it terminates in Ulfstead where it connects with the private railway at Ulfstead Castle. Here it connects with the Ulfstead Branch Line. It also has a goods-only branch line that separates from the main line in-between Glennock and Rheneas that runs to Vicarstown. Stepney's Branch Line also works alongside it until it splits at Green Hills Junction and the line continues all the way to Vicarstown Goods Depot. The Standard Gauge and Narrow Gauge Viaduct is located near the depot and is the terminus for the goods line.
On Crovan's Gate, there's an exchange siding that engines from the Skarloey Railway were transferred from the main line to the line leading to The Wharf at Norramby.
Appearances
Locomotives
Rolling Stock
Non-Rail Vehicles
Trivia
- The line was inspired by and based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales, where the Rev. W. Awdry volunteered as a guard in the 1950s. Additional inspiration was taken from the Ffestiniog, Corris, Welsh Highland and Croesor railways.[1] In addition to his personal experiences on the Talyllyn, Awdry drew inspiration from L. T. C. Rolt's book Railway Adventure for his own stories.
- In the television series various elements are based on the Leighton & Buzzard Railway, the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway and the Isle of Man Railway.
- When the railway returned to the series in CGI, the line became double tracked.
- In the CGI series, the railway is modelled as metre gauge (3ft 3.37in) rather than the prototypical gauge of 2ft 3in. This was likely done so that Victor could fit on the Skarloey Railway's tracks and so the narrow gauge tracks in the Steamworks did not need to be remodeled.
- In the Official Website, the railway is incorrectly listed as a branch line of the North Western Railway.
References
- ↑ "The Thomas the Tank Engine Man" p. 206