Kellsthorpe

**Kellsthorpe Road** or just **Kellsthorpe** is a town on Sodor. In the south west, its station is at the junction of the Kirk Ronan Branch Line on the Main Line.

## History

### *The Railway Series*

The town of Kellsthorpe gets its name from Thorkell of Norwich. He and Godred Crovan fought on opposite sides at the battle of Stamford Bridge (1066). Both were wounded and struck up a friendship afterwards. When Saxon resistance to William I collapsed in 1067, Thorkell marched his men across to the Lancashire coast. They were welcomed in Sodor by Jarl Ogmund, and granted land in return for help when required in the defence of the Island.

Thorkell's descendants, the Kellson family, still live here and are well known on the Island. Many of the towns other inhabitants can also trace their lineage back to Thorkell's men. The station is inconveniently located about 2.5 miles away from the town of Kellsthorpe. James' bootlace incident happened a mile east of the station, while Edward once caught a runaway James west of the station. Donald and Douglas rescued Henry from a snowdrift also west of the station and Henry started his "super-rescue" at a signal box and level crossing here.

The station consists of two platforms connected by a footbridge, with the northern platform having the station building.

### *Thomas & Friends*

When Kellsthorpe Road was being built a new station, Thomas had the job of taking workmen to and from the construction site with Annie and Clarabel. There is a difficult bend before the station that Thomas had trouble navigating, but was able to do so with his coaches advice. When his coaches were sent to the Works for a refit, Thomas derailed at the bend. Shortly after he was re-railed, he noticed some trucks from Edward's train heading towards the station at speed. Fortunately, he was able to warn a signalman who diverted the trucks into a siding, preventing any damage to the station. The following day, Kellsthorpe Road's Grand Opening took place and was a great success.

The station has five platforms, connected by a long footbridge and two buildings, with the northern platform having the main building and the central platforms having a smaller building, which includes an ice cream shop. It also has a signal box and a small yard. Gordon and the Express stop here.

## Appearances

* Railway Series
* Television Series
* Other Media

### *The Railway Series*

* **Edward the Blue Engine** - Old Iron
* **Enterprising Engines** - Super Rescue
* **Gordon the High-Speed Engine** - Gordon Proves His Point
* **Thomas and his Friends** - Gordon's Fire Service

### *Thomas & Friends*

* **Series 8** - Thomas Saves the Day, Gordon Takes Charge, As Good as Gordon and Percy and the Magic Carpet
* **Series 9** - Thomas' Milkshake Muddle, Thomas and the Birthday Picnic, Thomas Tries His Best and Thomas' Day Off
* **Series 10** - The Green Controller and Topped Off Thomas
* **Series 17** - Wayward Winston, Gordon Runs Dry, Calm Down Caitlin, The Missing Christmas Decorations and The Smelly Kipper
* **Series 18** - Disappearing Diesels, Spencer's VIP and Last Train for Christmas
* **Series 19** - Lost Property, Henry Spots Trouble, Reds vs. Blues and Best Engine Ever
* **Series 20** - Henry Gets the Express, Pouty James and Hugo and the Airship
* **Series 21** - P.A. Problems (*mentioned*) and The Big Freeze
* **Series 23** - Steam Team to the Rescue (*map only*)

#### Specials

* **2005** - Calling All Engines!
* **2015** - The Adventure Begins
* **2016** - The Great Race
* **2017** - Journey Beyond Sodor (*map only*)

#### Learning Segments

* **Calling All Engines!** - Which Engine for Which Job?, Which Diesel Engine with Which Steam Engine? and Which Things are the Same?
* **Series 9** - Getting to Bluff's Cove and Being Kind
* **Series 10** - Percy's Story

### Books

* **2016** - The Last Train for Christmas

## Trivia

* In the TV series, the station is modelled on Taplow, on the Great Western main line between Paddington and Reading.
* Nitrogen Studios reconstructed Kellsthorpe Road in CGI but went unused until the seventeenth series when Arc Productions took over animation for the series.[1]
* The station and surrounding area have undergone several changes during the television series.
	+ Series 17:
		- The unique signal box in the same architectural style as the station was replaced by a generic white signal box.
	+ Series 18:
		- The track layout slightly changed and a diesel refuelling station was added.
* The signal box used to be on display at Nitrogen Studios.