The Rev. W. Awdry's Island of Sodor Map EXPLAINED - Every Location in The Railway Series 

Gentle reminder that Wilbert mapped out Thomas’s branch line just to prove to his nieces and nephews that Thomas and Bertie’s race was fair

You have to respect Awdry's attention to detail, prioritizing consistency, and making sure everything lined up as well as possible. He really was passionate about creating this island, and it shows.

Nothing screams “adult responsibility” like kicking back over a weekend, cracking a cold one and watching a near 2 hour long video on Thomas lore

One time, when I was in college, I was telling some of my friends about how in-depth The Railway Series is, and one of my friends said, "It's like J. R. R. Tolkien wrote a train book!" It goes to show how one man's love and passion can lead to an immersive fictional universe.

What we learned from this video. 1. WW2 happen 2. S&m is jinx as hell 3.percy doesn't like being by the seaside 4.toby has his own bar 5. Everyone has lead poisoning

Awdry somehow made The North Western Railway feel so genuinely real, I love it.

I now see the real reason why Thomas' branchline is the "most important" part of the whole railway. Because Awdry had cleverly put his name in the company that laid the rails through the embankments to Knapford Harbor. "A.W.Dry & Co." = "Awdry".

My ancestors actually owned a clay mine in Cornwall at one point. Sadly all the land and money got lost by one ancestor who liked to drink, gamble and travel too much but it's interesting to hear about the real life connection to Bill and Ben.

If anybody says “why are you into Thomas and Friends? It’s a kid show” just tell them that it has a well thought out universe

Never noticed that the Big Three all have a location named after them. Edward’s Station, Gordon’s Hill, and Henry’s Tunnel.

The fact Wilbert even took the time to make a full 3D Model of the island for a map ( the one that resides in his study at the Talyllyn ) is beyond incredible. It just goes to show his sheer level of passion for creating a world full of wonder and escapism dedicated to making a child & adult enthusiasts alike smile. What he gave to the world is truly something special... a gift of lore that keeps on giving. Today's world needs a man like him again more than ever. 💔 This video deserves all the recognition & appreciation for the hard work put into in. I legit can't describe how glued and awe enthralled i am watching this with every passing detail. I can only imagine how many new fan stories & headcannons are gonna be written and changed now to accommodate all this clean history. Awdry would be more then proud of this Nic. Well Done!. 💙🤍🧡

Oh this should be interesting. When I was a kid, watching the show, I often found myself imagining the layout of the island, but when I occasionally read the books, I just defaulted to the TV map. I was a kid, I had no idea there could be any other design or layout for Sodor...

This video was amazing! Anyone who says "Thomas is just a kids show" has no idea what they are talking about. Sodor is so much more. Thank You Tug for this wonderful experience. Thanks to fans like you, Rev. Awdry's amazing work will live on!

Here are the time stamps for those who are interested. 0:00-4:40 Opening 4:40-31:20 The North Western Main Line (and Norramby branch) 31:20-35:09 Kirk Ronan branch 35:09-40:01 Peel Godred branch 40:01-46:14 Brendam branch (and Sodor China Clay Railway) 46:14-1:04:29 Ffarquhar branch 1:04:29-1:11:42 Arlesburgh branch and Harwick railway 1:11:42-1:24:14 Arlesdale and Mid Sodor Railways 1:24:14-1:30:34 Culdee Fell Railway 1:30:34-1:44:05 Skarloey Railway 1:44:05-1:47:27 Conclusion

As both a Tolkien fan and a Thomas fan, the attention to detail that Awdry put into his world is truly astounding. I think if the professor and the reverend ever met, I think they would get along famously. An excellent video as always, keep up the good work.

46:42-47:05 Christopher: “Dad, source?” Wilbert: “I made it up.” Jokes aside, it’s hilarious how this entire map spawned from Awdry, being the stickler to accuracy he is, trying to prove a point to his children. And the fact he didn’t just fabricate a lie to them on the spot is yet another example of just how passionate about this universe he was.

Love the occasional little toots and dings Tug gave to the engines whenever they make an appearance. As well as the subtle sound effects too. A very nice little addition.

I wish the Island of Sodor book was in an audio format somewhere for the vision impaired fans. So much to know about this wonderful, not so little world. So much of it not easily available for all enthusiasts. Vids like this go a long way in helping to close the gap though, and my appreciation for their clarity, quality, and mere presence cannot be understated.

Imagine if Tug just started talking about all this and someone said,"Sir, this is a Popeyes."

Now I want to go on a Ffarquhar pub crawl

What I find interesting is that England is referred to as “the mainland” when it in of itself is an island

This map is amazing. Wilbert must have dedicated a lot of time to make it this intricate. I still can’t get over the idea of Sir Charles ballasting his railway with lead. Yikes XD

Not to be pedantic, but I’m confused what the hang up with “Cows” is. Bluebell wasn’t explicitly stated to be one of the cows that ran into Edward’s trains. Additionally, she’s black and white - the cows that ran into Edward’s train were brown, so they’re from different herds. Bluebell likely lived at a farm closer to the bridge where she blocked Gordon and Henry.

Okay, this is mow my official Island of Sodor guide book/video. Thank you so much, Unlucky Tug, for providing such a highly detailed and informative overview of one of the most incredible pieces of literature ever conceived.

26:57 me and the boys about to visit Vickerstown just ask people “Where is Thomas?”

I guess it makes sense that Wilbert Awdry, being a reverend, would use a few religiously inspired names for some of Sodor's locations. I should try to re-watch this just to remember how the Sodor railway is laid out.

Man it is great to be a Thomas and Middle-Earth fan. The thought and detail put into Sodor was brilliant it almost gives the same vibes of Middle-Earth being a "secondary world" being a world where you can learn its history, geography, etc. Everytime you upload, it just made me appreciate Thomas and Friends even more and gives me a new perspective on the world! Great video as always!

I found your channel through the Incredibles and Cars videos, but all this Thomas stuff is a fever dream to me. How did you manage to make so much quality content out of a show that I always skipped as a kid is beyond me. I have great admiration for your work but very little understanding.

You gotta love how the map makes so much sense… Until you look at specific stories were the details don’t add up

As someone from Walney (in particular Vickerstown) im glad you made this. My little island has finally had RU-vid recognition.

the work awdry did makes sodor feel like a real life location

I lived in Gwynedd for a few months and when their you can hear the Talyllyn's trains whistles every morning. I think i rode up and down it about a dozen times. If your ever in north wales, its definitely worth the visit.

Nostalgia overload I still watch the model series and read the books to this day 😢 where have the days gone….

I live in St Austell, Cornwall, UK, just a couple of miles from Par Docks where Alfred and Judy worked, and through volunteering at Bodmin & Wenford Railway, been fortunate enough to ride in the cab and work on them.

Here's some things to note as well as some headcanons: 8:25 I like to think of this station as _TRS_ version of Lower Tidmouth, which I like to call Tid-Knock, basically translating to "The Hill of Tid". It's a station meant to service that part of Tidmouth to the west that isn't connected to the rest of the town. 8:58 "The loop" was in fact just a small balloon loop a ways outside Tidmouth, similar to the one Thomas uses in "Thomas and the Babysitter." It was originally used to turn engines around before the installation of the turntable, after which it fell into disuse and was pulled up in the early 1940's to provide scrap metal for the war effort. It wasn't terribly large so it wasn't featured on any maps of Sodor. 10:42 The original Knapford station south of the river is now a goods station called Els Wharf, with a rebuilt station building similar to the one at Nunnington. It has a decent size yard and its main purpose now to allow passage of goods to and from the Main Line and Knapford harbor through the spur line to the northern quay. Due to its appearance and placement on the Main Line, it is believed by locals to have inspired Callan as seen in _Thomas & Friends._ 25:42 This is the one part of Sodor's history I don't believe. Why would they bother walling Henry up and building a second bore? I personally think a second bore had already been dug as a result of to the central collapse, but was being used for foot and road traffic. After Henry's incident, the NWR bought the route and fitted it with rails, hence why there is now no road connection near the tunnel now. I think this is a good compromise between realism and Topham shutting Henry up, as he shows Henry how silly he for trying to block the Main Line by literally building rails around him. 28:11 It is actually never mentioned that the station at Vicarstown was rebuilt. However, given its proximity, I'd say it's more than likely that the original station was destroyed in the Barrow Blitz, and rebuilt into one similar to the one Clive Spong drew, with a similar-looking halt nearer to the yard where car ferries from Barrow arrived and where Sudrians bridge workers currently embark from to perform repairs. However, I personally like to think that due to its promixity to the Mainland, the station quickly modernized in the 1980s, and as a result looks more like a generic BR station (albeit with a Sudrian flair). Both Awdrys, upset at this change, had the the station portrayed as it was before the new rebuild out of spite. 33:01 Not a headcanon, Neil is canonically still around. _Sodor: Reading Between the Lines_ and Luke Ryan have confirmed he not only survived up to the formation of the NWR, but he is still alive today, just with his current whereabouts and occupation unknown. We also know that he was sold to the Crovan's Gate Mining Company once the Sodor & Mainland stopped carrying freight. 52:31 Something that isn't mentioned here is technically all illustrations of Knapford Harbor are inaccurate, since only the southern quay is shown to have rail access. In truth, according to the Thomas' Branch Line Surprise Packet Map, the northern quay actually has a spur from the Main Line, going over a bridge in front of the main line one and into the northern quay. In fact, both of the quays are connected by a small bridge crossing the river which is not present in the book illustrations. However, both the spur and the bridge are present on the map shown in this video among others. 56:33 Callandale is a location only found on the Sam Wilkonson map regarding _Thomas & Friends._ Why is it on this map? 1:00:32 You literally just showed there were no buffers on those tracks. There aren't any here because it's where goods can be unloaded directly from wagons to be transported on waiting lorries. 1:04:06 Fun fact, if a railway line were to be built to Ulfstead now, it wouldn't be from Ffarquhar! Maps of the town show there is nothing but houses surrounding the station, and I don't think the residents would be ok with getting their homes demolished for a tourism line. If anything, the line would have to be built from somewhere less populated, most likely Elsbridge. 1:14:38 Since ballast from the mines are regularly brought to the Arlesdale Ballast, Granite and Gravel Company in Killdane, which opened the same year as the Arlesdale Railway, it's safe to assume they were aware of the risks and the process ballast isn't harmful.

Yes sir finally all three era of Thomas and friends have gone there on Maps. Keep up the good work unlucky tug, and will see you the next one by the way love your videos.

Too many people view world building as the icing on the cake, but I say it's the eggs. It's only one part, but you literally can't make a good story without it. It does one's heart good to see Awdry was devoted to this island he created.

0:09 Intro Main Line 4:39 History 5:47 Tidmouth 8:00 South-Tidmouth Tunnel 8:25 Unnamed station in JATTH 9:06 Knapford 10:37 ML Bridge & Closed Knapford 11:04 Crosby Tunnel 11:55 Crosby 13:32 Wellsworth 14:09 Wellsworth Yards 15:15 Gordon’s Hill 16:19 Maron 17:56 Cronk 19:28 Killdane 21:47 Kellsthorpe Road 22:36 Crovan’s Gate 24:12 Ballahoo 25:23 Ballahoo Tunnels 26:39 Vicarstown 29:27 Barrow In Furness Kirk Ronan Branch 31:19 History 33:32 Rolf’s Castle 34:04 Kirk Ronan Peel Godred Branch Line 35:08 History 36:34 Killdane 36:44 Abbey 37:26 Kirk Machan 38:34 Peel Godred 39:12 Sodor Aluminum Works The Brendam Branch 40:00 History 41:51 Wellsworth 42:20 Suddery 43:59 Brendam 45:36 China Clay Pits The Ffarquhar Branch 46:13 History 49:47 Knapford 50:21 Dryaw 51:17 Toryreck 54:33 St. Pedroc's Dairy 54:55 Elsbridge 58:13 Hackenbeck 59:02 Ffarquhar 1:02:26 Anopha Quarry The Arlesburgh Branch 1:04:28 History 1:06:00 Tidmouth 1:06:55 Haultraugh 1:08:06 Arlesburgh West Mid Sodor Railway 1:12:09 History 1:21:01 Arlesdale 1:21:45 Cas-ny-Hawin 1:22:43 Ulfstead Road 1:23:03 Ballamoddey & Old terminus 1:23:19 King Orry’s Bridge The Arlesdale Railway 1:14:09 History 1:15:39 Arlesburgh West 1:16:51 Arlesburgh Bridge St. 1:17:33 Ffarquhar Road 1:18:13 Marthwaite 1:18:52 Arlesdale Green 1:10:09 Arlesdale Culdee Fell Mountain Railway 1:24:13 History 1:26:03 Kirk Machan 1:26:52 Shiloh 1:28:05 Skarloey Road 1:28:34 Devil’s Back 1:29:20 Culdee Fell Summit Skarloey Railway 1:30:33 History 1:33:25 Crovan’s Gate 1:36:11 Cros-ny-Cuirn 1:37:43 Glennock 1:40:03 Rheneas 1:41:03 Lakeside 1:41:41 Skarloey 1:44:08 Outro

Awdry really went and created a company called A. W. Dry and co for his fictional world

I always liked the 1958 endpaper maps in the complete RWS collection volume. It showed the Isle of Man 🇮🇲 which interested me enough to visit it.

Man I'm so glad I stuck around with this show. You have no idea how much my jaw dropped when I found out how lore heavy the books were and how realistic they became overtime. Thank you Unlucky Tug for getting me really invested in this.

I remember watching these videos when I had Covid a year ago… I’m so glad I found them again

I'm glad a lot of my RWS Christopher Awdry book scans appeared in this video that I put on the wiki! Really happy to help provide those in high quality!

10:30 This map error was probably the real cause of Knapford becoming the main line's terminus, but I always thought it was because the show's creators wanted to have only one significant location in each town (for the sake of simplicity and memorability). There is Tidmouth Sheds, Knapford Station, Ffarquhar Quarry, Brendam Docks, Suddery Junction, and Crovan's Gate Works (the presence of the Transfer Yards here kind of breaks my theory).

I have an idea about the loop line. In the book, James was shunting the next train and it sounds like Gordon was gone only a few minutes. So my idea is that the loop is a small loop created for the station pilot to turn coaches around after the train ended in Tidmouth. So I think that the loop line is still cannon.

What I'm learning is that the Sodor & Mainland Railway is the Railway Series equivalent of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in Colorado. An absolute clusterfuck of a railroad that ended long after it probably should've.

So incredibly interesting how awdry incorporated real history into his works. With the Norman invasions of 1066 basically forming a part of the islands identity through place names and the scars of war and later conquest and conversion to Christianity. It’s a form of Alt history in a way. I’m genuinely surprised Awdry stopped with the Normans: he coudve added more battles and historical conflicts. I would’ve loved to know what side Sodor fell on during the the invasions of Scotland, the wars of the roses, or the English civil war.

Like your railway series timeline video this was quite the informative one. Who likes learning about real history when you can learn about fictional history with real life bits sprinkled into it. Keep up the good work Nic

I know what you mean about new realizations every read through. Last time I realized that the Mid-Sodor railway's final mine flooded when the pump broke down. That pump was none other than their old #2 engine Stanley. Part of me does wonder if he died out of spite to take down the railway that condemned him to being a pump.

These videos always make me think about how awesome it would be to have a dynamic 3d render of the entire island of sodor. Some of the model series visuals and the illustrations are beautiful. Imagine the whole thing entirely explorable and in immaculate detail, with weather, seasons, a day/night cycle, and what'd really be neat is if the passage of time was reflected. Like if you set the date to between henry entering the tunnel and him leaving, and it would have a work crew quickly trying to bore a new one. Or you'd see abandoned buildings slowly fall into disrepair on closed lines. It would be a massive undertaking but it'd be entirely unique if every detail really did change, towns would grow bigger, new houses would have different styles than old ones etc, the lore is detailed enough for that kind of thing.

It strikes me how much smaller Sodor seems in the books compared to the tv show. Also love how much of the geography is shown in the RWS illustrations that I never saw before!

This map is just wonderful to stare at

Now, this is the love and attention that both the Raikway Series and the Thomas & Friends model series deserve. ... Well done, Unlucky Tug. Well done, indeed.

I like to think that the station and Luke plane from James’s book did exist, but were shut down due to the beaching axes

Awdry's world of Sodor feels real and fantasy-like at the same time. Way to strike a good balance of real life locations and talking trains based on real engines.

You know what I’d love to see, a combination of all 3 maps.

Ya know I realized I’ve been watching so many of these videos for a long time. Every time you’ve been posting I wake up or take a moment to watch. I gained such an appreciation to Thomas. And I thought it was weird in the beginning but the innovation, world building, well crafted characters, and depth of lore within Thomas is so inspiring. I am so invested and I really have come to love this series.

I am a man who's in love with geography and world history, and the network connections imput behind every landmark and location the Rev. Wilbert Awdry and his brother, George Awdry, displayed on their map of the fictional Island of Sodor itself over time is what makes things very, very fascinating to puzzle together in my head and dig deep into the roots of what remarkable background history, lore and importance they've embedded into it. This video here is what got me loving geographical worldbuilding even more, even though it's mainly about the map layout of Sodor from the _Railway Series_ universe, but I do love it so! Unlucky Tug, you sho' do know how to make us Thomas fans token our appreciation and respect to you on keeping the Awdrys' legacy to a more illuminating degree of grand authenticity. And the Island of Sodor book is one heckuva piece of international treasure that its sanctification must be preserved. Straight up geniusness 💯💯💯💯

Oh boy, this will surely be very interesting to see.

One thing that’s interesting. Awdry’s consistency is top tier. But logical sense? I think that’s the thing that makes this even funnier. He was such a stickler for consistency that I feel like he purposely made the ‘Sodor’ logic the way it is because he knew it would work as a joke. Like, “The signal box has to be here at all times! No exception. But a high speed crash and everyone’s fine and dandy? Good to go!” It’s one of the things that just elevates Awdry’s work that much higher in my opinion.

I remember these shows when i was real young but I didn't know there was a whole universe behind it. Amazing work on this!!!

I really enjoy watching the video explaining about the whole map of Sodor. From watching the video, there is a lot of stations and towns that Sodor has among the railway lines that Sodor has. From watching the video, here are the names of the stations that is on Sodor and what lines they run on. 1) The Northwestern Main Line calls at Tidmouth, a small station that was called Tidmouth before it moved, Knapford, another small station that was called Knapford before it moved, Crosby, Wellsworth, Maron, Cronk, Killdane, Kellsthrope Road, Crovan's Gate, Vicarstown and Barrow in Furness. 2) The Norramby branch line would call at Barrow in Furness, Vicarstown, Ballahoo and Norramby. At the end of the line, they have the Norramby Docks 3) The Kirk Ronan Branch line calls at Ballahoo, Crovan's Gate, Kellsthrope Road, Rolf's Castle and Kirk Ronan. It is a line that was used by the Sodor & Midland Railway. At the end of the line their is the Kirk Ronan Docks. The engines that worked on the line are Neil, Clive and Owen. 4) The Peel Godred Branch line calls at Killdane, Abbey, Kirk Machan and Peel Godred. At the end of the line they have an Aluminium Works. 5) The Brendam Branch line calls at Crosby, Wellsworth, Suddery, a small station and Brendam. At the end of the line they have Brendam Docks and the China Clay Works. It is a line that was used by the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway. The line is run by Edward. The other engines that work with Edward are Bill, Ben, Boco, Trevor and Derek. 6) The Ffarquhar Branch line calls at Knapford, Dryaw, Toryreck, Elsbridge, Hackenbeck and Ffarquhar. At the end of the line their is the Ffarquhar Quarry. The line is run by Thomas. The other engines that work with Thomas are Percy, Toby, Daisy and Mavis. Ulfstead castle is another top attraction to visit at the end of the line. 7) The Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway called at Tidmouth, Knapford Harbour, Knapford, a small station which use to be called Dryaw before it moved, Toryreck and Elsbridge. 8) The Arlesburgh Branch line calls at Tidmouth, Haultraugh, Arlesburgh West and Arlesburgh Harbour. The line is run by Duck and Oliver. It was suppose to extend to Harwick and then Ballaswin but construction stopped after World War 1. 9) If Harwick had a branch line it would call at Droghan-y- Claghan and Cregwir but because the construction up to Harwick stopped, it didn't happen after the war ended. 10) The Arlesdale Railway line calls at Arlesburgh West, Arlesburgh Bridge Station, Ffquarhar Road, Marthwaite, Arlesdale Green and Arlesdale. The line is used by Reg, Bert, Mike, Jock and Dave. At the end of the line their is an old mine and a town called Kirkleas. 11) The Mid Sodor Railway line that ran from Arlesdale Green before it closed calls at the old Arlesdale station, Cas-ny-Hawin, Ulfstead Road, Ballamoddey, Arlesdale Road and King Orry's Bridge. The engines that worked on the line before it closed are Duke, Falcon (Sir Handel) and Stuart (Peter Sam). 12) The Culdee Fell Mountain Railway line calls at Kirk Machan, Shiloh, Skarloey Road, Devil's Back and Cludee Fell Summit. The line is famous for the death of number 1 engine called Godred who fell down the mountain near Devil's Back. 13) The Skarloey Railway line calls at Crovan's Gate, Cros-Ny-Cuirn, Glennock, Rheneas, Lakeside and Skarloey. The line is used by Skarloey, Rheneas, Peter Sam, Sir Handel, Duncan, Duke, Rusty and Huddlest. At the end of the line their was a slate quarry but now it is owned by the Ministry of Defence and it is government property. That is all the railway lines and stations that are used on the Sodor map from the popular books. It was really lovely hearing the description of the whole Island of Sodor.

I'm honestly glad you made a video dedicated to Awdry's Sodor map even though you initially had no interest in doing so. It's just nice having one big concise video with all the necessary history and details for what is in my eyes, the one and only Island of Sodor while still keeping it simple enough as to not take forever to watch or read. I thank you kindly for your dedication on this.

I can’t believe you didn’t mention the cultists in killdane! 0/10! Jk I really love your work in this video and it is really good! Great job again dude!

Gotta love how Awdry created his first map to shut his kids up 😅

Everybody F in the live chat for Godred 🤣

I love all the sound effects you added in the background of this cinematic masterpiece of a video!

In the video description I found something I really admire: the IOS book. I am reading it all right now and rewriting it to paper form one or two pages a day. And, so far( I am on the Culdee Fell railway) I have to say that you did a great job turning it into a video. Some things are missed in more detail ( Sir Handels letter, Stationmaster of Ffarquhar letter, James Catherick at Cronk, Further description of Brendam and Abbey schools etc.) However those do not take of the quality of this video. Great job man. Fame deserved.

I've always assumed the loop line was a loop in the yard used for turning entire passenger consists to reduce the time it takes to do that

If the Thomas fandom had a leader Tug would definitely be it.

There is a small error with the Ffarquhar carriage sheds bit. Henrietta, Elsie and Victoria are actually stationed at Knapford since Daisy arrived. Before Daisy came, Henrietta and Elsie used to be in the carriage sheds at Ffarquhar but there wasn't room for all the coach stock and daisy when she arrived, so someone had to be moved and Daisy wasn't one of them. Considering Toby's first train in the branch's timetable takes place at Knapford, this kind of makes sense. Plus it explains why there are sheds at the new Knapford station. Hope this makes sense. Also, visual error, You showed the wrong layout regarding the bit where the Reverend couldn't include Hackenbeck, for the one you showed (Ffarquhar MrkI) has the halt featured, just after the bridge. It's was really the layout of MrkII that saw Hackenbeck not being featured. You might know this, but it's just for those who don't know. One last thing. The Three Beetles are actually at Hackenbeck, not Ffarquhar.

Discovering what a realm of information and effort Rev. Awdry went into in shaping up Sodor is really profound, and your work Tug showcases it with style. This tied perfectly with a special announcement I have to make; I have just sent off my finalised outline for a Thomas & Friends revamp pitch to the CEO of Mattel no less. A lot of serious thought and preparation went into it, and I considered everything put into it with utmost priority, all the while focusing on family affairs. I had to re-send it (because I didn't realise Mattel's employees use capital letters in their email addresses), but it is off. All the hints I gave to my plans in past comments on this channel will soon - hopefully - pay off. Regards, Samuel Farris.

Now I get to hear tugs voice talk about things I'm interested in for almost 2 hours??!? Thanks Unlucky tug!

Awdry stated in his NWR Model Railway that the Brendam Branch Line's Push-Pull Trains are managed by Thomas.

Nick, you outdid yourself with this one. Amazing!

Thank you Awdry. You shaped my childhood.

The consequences of the ballast containing lead could make for an interesting fan story. Like what happens to the miniature railway once they decide to stop mining the stuff for the safety of the environment, since the railway was built to get the ballast in the first place

Listen, I know Sodor has a lot of lore but there are some things I didn’t even know about in here. Everytime I think that’s everything the RWS has to offer there’s more stuff we don’t know about, I still love it, makes me wonder what other Thomas stuff we don’t know yet. Anyway Fantastic Video of the Awdry map man, keep it up!

That was a great analysis of the original RWS map comparing both TV maps and this one does make the Thomas universe well thought out mostly by it's creator.

I love the attention to detail and established lore.

8:44 I’ve been thinking that maybe the original coastal track connecting Knapford to Tidmouth could have been rebuilt, but due to its more meandering layout and concerns about it falling into the sea again, it would have been secondary to the newer, more direct tunnel line and only meant to be heavily used if the tunnel ever collapsed or became blocked. Eventually faith in the structural integrity of the tunnel rose enough that the NWR stopped considering the original line worth the cost of maintaining, so it was closed and torn up. (Maybe British Rail made them do it.)

👏👏 Exactly the type of content I'm subscribed for, so thank you so so much for this one. Loved every second of it, learned so many new tidbits of lore, and can't wait to read the PDF file!

This video has quickly become my most favorite rws/tvs video ever surpassing the hit era defensd by the Thomas cynic. I can already see myself listening to this on the background a million times. Thank you Nic you are awesome.

Wow, really detailed! Well done on indicating on the locations for me, and many others! I never realised so much about the history of Sodor, along with its geography! I should look into reading those pages of the history book when I get the chance. Everyone should know all about the Island of Sodor and its inspirations (looking at you, Mattel!).

This is remarkable! I loved the original show. Warm feelings and imagination sparking. Coming across this video and learning about all the background I experienced the surface of is just fantastic! My appreciation has increased exponentially!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this video!!! I’ve read through the Sodor book once, and looked at the maps, but this is the first time I’ve been able to actually visualize everything! Love your work, please keep up the amazing work!

There's something similar to the Mid Sodor here in America in Southwest Colorado. An abandoned 3 foot narrow gauge line known as the Rio Grande southern. Only highways, dirt roads, and a few intact remnants remain, but it is still amazing. Look it up if you haven't already.

love how your syaing rennihas, as thats how they say it in the book

Just when I thought I knew everything there is to know about the Railway series I find out there is still much to learn. Ive come to the realization that alot of things that were told in the very first books were done on the eastern side of the line rather than the western side like in the TV series. I know the show did it's own thing while still being faithful to the original but I didn't truly realize that Henrys tunnel was so far east on Awdrys map. I really need to go and read island of Sodor book but I feel as though this video has taught me what I need to know. But Yet theres so much more I'd like to know. I'm really glad you made this video as it really helps shine a light on Awdrys creation even more and in a visually appeasing way. It's also precise and easy to understand and makes it all that more enjoyable to watch. Wonderful job as always and I look forward to future videos as you're by far the best Railways Series/Thomas and Friends RU-vidr there is around. Keep up the great work and thanks again.

54:15 as a cricketer I can tell you that a match ball can be anywhere up from $100 each (in modern money) so to lose a match ball back in the 30's would have been a substantial blow to a small club.

The Vickers part of Vickerstown comes from the company Vickers, now part of BAE Systems, which was a major employer in Barrow, building ships.

Been waiting for this, thank you! I noticed that the Railways Series compilation book from my childhood had a map with several locations for the stories up through Duck and Diesel Engine, but nothing beyond that. So glad you put this!

This video is your best yet! And they’re all amazing!

This is a rather wholesome/map history video! Great work!

you could say the the dryaw by pass is propley still in use on the tv map, food for thought

I’m a bit late here and will have to watch the part I missed later, but MY GOD, is this in depth!

Phenomenal video, I love the passion you put into this 1 HOUR video 👏👏👏

Incredibly good job! I don't understand where you are getting all your information from. Fantastic!

11:01 RIP Dalby’s version of Knapford Junction. This one is yet another big banger, great job on working on it

I like the SFX you added