Skarloey

**Skarloey** is a narrow gauge saddle-tank engine who works on the Skarloey Railway. He was the first engine to work on the railway, and is one of the oldest engines on Sodor. He has a twin brother named Talyllyn, who lives on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales.

Skarloey is an old and wise engine, full of knowledge from his many years of working on Sodor. Although he is old and often tires more easily than the younger engines, Skarloey is always determined to get the job done, no matter what it takes.

## Biography

### The Early Years

Skarloey was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in Whitehaven, England in 1864, and was brought to Sodor the following year. He was delivered to the port at Kirk Ronan by a ship, and was transported to the Skarloey Railway's terminus at Crovan's Gate by rail. Skarloey was young and immature upon his arrival, and when he found out that he would not be allowed to pull coaches, he became cross, as he felt that trucks were beneath him. As the Railwaymen did not understand engines well, Skarloey found it easy not to work for them, and refused to cooperate. After several days of failing to make him steam, Mr. Mack, the railway's controller, had Skarloey sheeted under a tarpaulin until he could behave better.

Eventually, Skarloey realized the error of his ways and apologized, and was glad to work when Mr. Bobbie, a man who helped to build him in England, came to the railway to work with him. When he was chosen to pull the Directors' Train, Skarloey became bouncy and excited, and ignored Rheneas' advice about being careful. Due to his short wheelbase and excessive overhang, Skarloey bounced along the track, which made him a rough rider. When Mr. Mack closed his regulator too quickly, the coaches bumped into Skarloey, and Mr. Mack was sent flying off the footplate and landed in a bush. Mr. Mack had Skarloey shut up in the shed, and Rheneas was chosen to pull the Directors' Train in his place. Mr. Mack later returned to the shed and apologized to Skarloey, and when the Inspector arrived, he advised Mr. Mack to have Skarloey fitted with trailing wheels to improve his performance.

Skarloey was sent back to Whitehaven, and returned with a set of trailing wheels and a cab. This made him conceited, especially when the coaches complimented him. He began boasting about his new cab too, and even got into an argument with Rheneas about it, calling him a "stick-in-the-mud". The feud went on for several days, and the two engines would refuse to speak to each-other. Then, on one rainy Monday morning, Skarloey derailed and became stuck in the mud while taking the workmen up to the quarry. Rheneas came to his rescue, and the two engines laughed when they realized Skarloey actually *was* the "stick-in-the-mud". After this incident, Skarloey began to mature into a wiser engine.

In spite of his shy steaming, Skarloey was popular with the Railwaymen, and was used more often than Rheneas. In 1897, he was sent back to Whitehaven to undergo an extensive overhaul. This was the last time he returned to Whitehaven for repairs, and the last time he would undergo an overhaul for sometime. Any general maintenance was carried out at Crovan's Gate, and by 1945, Skarloey's boiler and firebox were in such a poor state that he had to be laid aside, only to be used for emergency purposes.

After Rheneas was sent to England for an overhaul, Skarloey was left in the sheds at Crovan's Gate, and two new engines, Sir Handel and Peter Sam, were brought to the railway in 1952 to do all the work. However, when Sir Handel was left damaged after a minor accident and Peter Sam needed repairs, Skarloey came out of the shed to pull Sir Handel's passenger train. At first, the train ran smoothly, but before he could reach the station, Skarloey became damaged when one of his springs broke, causing his body to tilt to one side. Although he was left weakened, Skarloey refused to give up, and bravely limped back to the station with his train. The Owner was proud of Skarloey, and promised to have him repaired at once.

Skarloey was sent back to England to undergo an extensive overhaul, and was reunited with his twin, Talyllyn, who had been sent to the same workshop for the same reason. In 1958, Skarloey returned to the railway after his overhaul was complete. Upon his return, he was helped off his truck by Rusty, and was sent out to rescue Duncan when he became stuck inside the tunnel. When the BBC was filming a television documentary about the railway, Skarloey gave a speech for the programme, and told everyone about the Talyllyn Railway.

Although he returned as good as new after his overhaul, Skarloey was still a shy steamer. After many experiments, Mr. Hugh managed to cure this issue by building a brick arch inside his firebox, and a Kylchap cowl was fitted on his blast pipe. This was done in the Skarloey Railway's workshop with no outside help at all, and Skarloey's performance vastly improved.

When Duncan stalled on the viaduct with a passenger train, Skarloey was sent out to take him and his train back home. After this, Duncan began complaining about the passengers, so Skarloey told him about Rheneas and how he single-handedly saved the railway, and successfully changed his opinion on passengers. Skarloey was later present at the Wharf when Rheneas returned to the railway.

In 1965, Skarloey and Rheneas celebrated their 100th Birthday. He was chosen to take the Duke of Sodor around the new loop line, and was filmed for a second television documentary.

Skarloey was later chosen to bring the special guests to Crovan's Gate for Ivo Hugh's naming ceremony. Along the way, his train was delayed when a sow and her piglets strayed onto the line, and the guests had to help put the pigs back in their field. Skarloey managed to arrive at the sheds in time for the ceremony.

## Trivia

* The Rev. W. Awdry created a model of Skarloey for his model layout. The model is now on display at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn, Wales.
* His name means "Lake in the Woods" in Sudric.

## References

1. ↑ Very Old Engines
2. ↑ The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways
3. ↑ Four Little Engines
4. ↑ The Little Old Engine
5. ↑ Gallant Old Engine
6. ↑ Very Old Engines
7. ↑ New Little Engine