Great Waterton is an old town, situated deep in the forests north of the Skarloey Railway. Once the main town and rail hub of Sodor, Great Waterton was abandoned, but was rediscovered by Thomas and restored to its former glory. The station connects to the North Western Railway via Stepney's Branch Line and a spur of the Main Line.
History
Great Waterton received its name from the water works in the town, which supplied water to all the towns of Sodor. When the first steam engines came to work on Sodor, they lived at this town. The town was served by Sodor Tramways, which supplied the coal and water to the town and water works. Overtime, the waterworks and tramway was closed, and people began moving to the other towns of Sodor.
Great Waterton was left abandoned and largely forgotten about by the people of Sodor, until Thomas discovered the town when he was trying to take a shortcut to the Wharf. To celebrate Sodor Day, Sir Topham Hatt decided to have the town restored. All the engines of Sodor and the Sodor Construction Company helped with the reconstruction of the town, and by Sodor Day, the town was restored and reopened to the public. The tramway also came back into business, operated by Flora.
The town has a water wheel on display, which was brought to the town by Edward. The Sodor Construction Company also helped to erect a bandstand, which is located in a park behind the town.
Places in Great Waterton
- Great Waterton Station, the railway station for the town. The station has two platforms, one shorter than the other, a green footbridge and a small station building.
- Great Waterton Sheds, the engine sheds where the first engines of Sodor used to rest. The shed was restored for Thomas, who was staying in the town during the reconstruction of the town.
- The Water Works, which supplies water for the town and other places on Sodor. The water works has several buildings which house the steam engines that pump the water, and a huge standpipe.
- Waterton Butcher's, a butcher's shop.
- P.L. Groceries, a grocery store.
- Timothy's Tailors, a tailor shop.
- Sodor Sweets, a sweet shop.
- Reeves & Tola Cycleshop, a cycle shop.
- Ben's Books, a book store.
- Waterton Post Office, the main post office for the town.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
- Season 12 - Steady Eddie, Toby's Special Surprise, James Works it Out, Tram Trouble, Gordon Takes a Shortcut, Percy and the Bandstand and Best Friends
Specials
- 2008 - The Great Discovery
- 2014 - Tale of the Brave (mentioned)
- 2016 - The Great Race (mentioned)
- 2017 - Journey Beyond Sodor (mentioned)
Trivia
- The green bridge by the entrance is depicted as it has rails, but it doesn't in behind the scenes, though this might just be to get a good angle.
- In the book adaption of the special, the town was abandoned because the springs there were drying up.
- Great Waterton is now on display at Drayton Manor.
Merchandise
- Take Along (discontinued)
- Take-n-Play
- Wooden Railway (discontinued)
- LEGO (discontinued)
- Mega Bloks (discontinued)
- Motor Road and Rail
- Hornby (discontinued)
| Locomotives | Stepney | Flora |
|---|---|
| Former | Sodor Tramway Engines |
| Rolling Stock | Branch Line Coaches | Flora's Tram Coach |
| People | Stepney's Controller |
| Locations | Skarloey Railway Depot | Bluebell Valley (Engine Sheds) | Rolling River Bridge (Junction) | Green Hills Junction (The Man in the Hills) | Great Waterton (Engine Sheds) | Morgan's Mine |