Brendam
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Brendam is a fictional town from Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry's Railway Series books and the television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. It is a major port on the Island of Sodor.
Brendam differs significantly between the books and the television series.
The Railway Series
The Railway Series version of Brendam is a medium-sized port, inspired by Par in Cornwall. It is at the end of Edward's branch line. It is shunted by Bill and Ben, the mischievous tank engine twins belonging to Sodor China Clay. The main source of traffic is china clay, and the waste heaps from the claypits apparently spoils a pleasant view.As well as goods traffic, Sodor China Clay occasionally hosts days when rail enthusiasts may look around. Bill and Ben particularly enjoy the attention these visitors give them.
BoCo the diesel engine, Donald and Douglas work here, as well as Edward himself. Gordon the Big Engine once ended up here by mistake, and Thomas the Tank Engine was temporarily based on the branch line for a short period.
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
In the television series, Brendam is the main harbour for the whole of Sodor. It is a very large port which requires the services of Salty the Dockside Diesel to deal with the large volume of traffic, assisted by Bill and Ben. Most of the other engines have worked here at one point or another, and there is an engine shed to house them. Cranky the Crane is also based here, and works hard loading and unloading ships.A coastal branch line runs from the port, and is mainly used for fish traffic. The Sodor Shipping Company has a number of large warehouses here. Gordon's Express appears to start from here, meeting the passenger ships.
The post comes in through this port, and there is an ocean liner service. A popular attraction is the Regatta.
Christopher Awdry has criticised the design of this version of the harbour as being unrealistic, as it is far too large for the volume of traffic an island like Sodor would require. However, it should also be noted that the Sodor of the television series is generally very different to that of the books.
Many of the buildings, ships and cranes actually originated with another series, Tugs. This series was set in a large American port serving a major city, which goes some way to explaining the size of Brendam Docks.
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