Mid Sodor Railway

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The Mid Sodor Railway is a fictional narrow gauge railway on the Island of Sodor in The Railway Series books of Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry. The railway was closed in 1947, but three of its engines and several of its coaches survive on the Skarloey Railway. Part of its route is now occupied by the Arlesdale Railway.

The railway ran from the coast at Arlesburgh along the Arlesdale valley then through the Sudrian mountains to King Orry's Bridge near the town of Peel Godred. At Arlesbrugh it met a branch of the standard gauge North Western or Fat Controller's Railway

The main sheds and works for the railway were at Arlesdale Green station.

The railway was at first a goods only line for mineral traffic from the lead mines in the valley but with the arrival of tourists to Sodor it started carrying passengers, with connections at Arlesburgh for the ferries to the Isle of Man. The mountain section to Peel Godred was built to give the people of Peel a rail connection after plans for the Sodor & Mainland Railway to extend here were cancelled. Although the MSR's station was on the edge of the town it had once planned to build one in the town centre.

The MSR was responsible for the creation of the Culdee Fell Railway although there was no connecting station for the two lines.

The railway has so far only appeared in the book Duke the Lost Engine, but has been mentioned in others.

Engines

Duke- The first and oldest of the engines, he worked from the line's opening to its closure. He is named after the Duke of Sodor, and when things do not go as he wants, his catchphrase is, "That would never suit His Grace." The younger engines believe him to be a "fusspot" and a "regular old fuddy-duddy", and nicknamed him "Granpuff". He is, however, the wisest of the engines, and Stuart and Falcon secretly have great respect for him. After the line was closed, he was abandoned in his shed and buried by a landslide, but has since been found and restored to working order on the Skarloey Railway. He is based on Prince, an engine on the Ffestiniog Railway.

Stanley- An American engine with a tendency to ride roughly and come off the rails. He was reckless, and laughed whenever Duke warned him to be careful. However, he stopped laughing when the Manager took away his wheels and turned him into a pumping engine. Unfortunately, while pumping water out of the Cas-ny-Hawin mine, he broke down and caused the mine to flood, resulting in the railway's closure. This character appeared in the television series as "Smudger" and looked significantly different from the book character.

Falcon- A young engine who was more interested in watching the view than taking care of where he was going. He was saved from a terrible accident by Duke. He was later bought by the Skarloey Railway, where he is better known as Sir Handel. He is named after the Falcon Works, where he was built. The character is based on the Corris Railway's loco No. 3 which was purchased by the Talyllyn Railway where he runs as "Sir Haydn".

Stuart- Youngest of the engines, he too thought he knew better than Duke. But Duke played a trick on him that showed him the error of his ways. He too was saved by the Skarloey Railway, where he took the name Peter Sam. He is named after Kerr Stuart, the company that built him. Stuart is also based on a Corris Railway locomotive, No.4 which was purchased by the Talyllyn Railway where he runs as "Edward Thomas".

Inspiration

The Mid Sodor Railway can claim many sources of inspiration. Most obviously, it takes inspiration from the Corris Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway. Some of the architecture, locomotives and rolling stock are clearly based on the former line. This is most notable in the case of Falcon and Stuart, who are based on the Corris Railway's number 3 and 4 respectively.

The Ffestiniog Railway's influence is most obvious in the character of Duke, an engine based specifically on a Ffestiniog locomotive, Prince. Again, some of the rolling stock is Ffestiniog-inspired. Like the Ffestiniog, the MSR is designed as a narrow gauge main line. In the history of the MSR, Awdry mentions Ffestiniog engineer James Spooner's involvement.

Readers have also identified elements of the Welsh Highland Railway and the Snailbeach District Railways among others.

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