Knapford

**Knapford** is a small town on the River Els estuary, south of Tidmouth, of which it is a dormitory. Knapford serves as the junction for the Ffarquhar Branch Line; as such, its station is called **Knapford Junction**. In the television series, Knapford is home to the main station on Sodor.

## History

### *The Railway Series*

For centuries the area below Elsbridge had been flooded both at high tide and when the river was in spate. At other times it looked innocent enough to tempt unwary invaders to choose this route inland. All without exception found themselves engulfed in bog.

During the 1880s the Ulfstead Mining Company became interested in the minerals (lead mostly) waiting to be found on the higher ground east of the marsh; but without a firm footing they could not be either extracted or transported away. Accordingly they called in A. W. Dry & Co who had experience of working on drainage problems in East Anglia. A. W. Dry built embankments across the flats north and south of the river (along which the main line of the railway now runs), and installed tide gates. The river was then embanked along its south eastern side, but the opposite bank was left open to provide a flood-pool for the normal river flow which could be drained off every day at low tide. It thus remained a marsh where the Elsbridge fenmen could carry on their activities as before, and since this, fortunately, was the side of the river they preferred, they offered little opposition to A. W. Dry's drainage operations on the east.

The present station at Knapford is the third on the site, and dates from 1956 when Sir Charles Topham Hatt disturbed by the congestion at Tidmouth, launched his Knapford Harbour Development Scheme. There are now two stations at Knapford - Junction and Harbour. Knapford has been useful as a supplementary harbour, but its exposed position has not enabled it to provide the best answer to Sir Topham Hatt’s problem. That was why in 1966 he went north to see what could be done at Arlesburgh.

The town of Knapford itself, though an important railway junction, is in a bleak position. It is a railway and dock town. Few people live here apart from railwaymen, dock workers and drainage engineers. It had a population of 2,200 in 1951. Farming, fishing and fowling also form part of the local economy.

### *Thomas & Friends*

Knapford is the "Big Station" in the television series. It has a large canopy. The station has six tracks total, four being through tracks and two being terminal tracks. Knapford has a refreshment kiosk, the Engine Drivers locker room, MC BUNN, Sir Topham Hatt's Office and a bookstall. At one point, the bookstall was temporarily replaced by a toy shop. In Tale of the Brave, the station is given a new track layout and signal gantries were added above the lines.

In P.A. Problems, Sir Topham Hatt decided to upgrade the public announcement system with a new one called the TX-1000, but this caused problems as the sound quality was bad. He decided to switch it back afterwards.

Knapford High Street is located here. A bus leaves from the front of Knapford Station to there every ten minutes.

Thomas was the original station pilot (Edward in The Adventure Begins), but he left upon gaining his branch line. Sometime after Percy was bought, he became the station pilot, but when he left for Thomas' branch line, he was replaced by Duck, who eventually left upon gaining his own branch line. Starting with the nineteenth series, Philip has been the station pilot.

## Appearances

* Railway Series
* Television Series

* **James the Red Engine** - James and the Top-Hat
* **Tank Engine Thomas Again** - Thomas andthe Guard and Thomas and Bertie
* **Troublesome Engines** - Tenders and Turntables and Percy Runs Away
* **Henry the Green Engine** - Coal
* **Toby the Tram Engine** - Thomas in Trouble, Dirty Objects and Mrs. Kyndley's Christmas (*mentioned*)
* **Gordon the Big Engine** - Down the Mine
* **Percy the Small Engine** - Duck Takes Charge (*mentioned*), Percy and Harold and Percy's Promise
* **The Eight Famous Engines** - The Fat Controller's Engines
* **The Twin Engines** - The Missing Coach (*mentioned*)
* **Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine** - Bluebells of England
* **More About Thomas the Tank Engine** - Thomas, Percy and the Coal (*mentioned*), The Runaway and Better Late Than Never
* **Thomas and the Great Railway Show** - Muesem-Piece
* **Thomas Comes Home** - Snow Problem, Washout! and Thomas Comes Home
* **Wilbert the Forest Engine** - Percy's Porridge and Foaming at the Funnel
* **Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines** - Rabbits and Golden Jubilee
* **Thomas and Victoria** - Eels on Wheels and Toby's Vintage Train
* **Thomas and his Friends** - Thomas and the Swan

Other* **Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree**
* **Thomas and the Evil Diesel**
* **Thomas and Gordon Off the Rails**
* **Thomas and the Hurricane**

*Thomas & Friends** **Series 1** - Thomas and Gordon, Edward, Gordon and Henry, Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks, Thomas and the Breakdown Train, James and the Coaches, Troublesome Trucks, James and the Express, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Trouble in the Shed, Percy Runs Away, Coal, The Flying Kipper (*deleted scene*), Whistles and Sneezes, Off the Rails, Down the Mine and Thomas' Christmas Party (*deleted scene*)
* **Series 2** - Old Iron, Percy and the Signal, Duck Takes Charge, Wrong Road and Edward's Exploit
* **Series 3** - Time for Trouble, Gordon and the Famous Visitor, Thomas Gets Bumped, Thomas, Percy and the Dragon, The Trouble with Mud, No Joke for James, Thomas, Percy and the Post Train and Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure (*mentioned*)
* **Series 4** - Thomas and Stepney and Paint Pots and Queens
* **Series 6** - It's Only Snow, Twin Trouble, Middle Engine, Percy's Chocolate Crunch, Thomas, Percy and the Squeak, Thomas the Jet Engine and Edward the Very Useful Engine
* **Series 7** - Emily's New Coaches, Best Dressed Engine, Gordon and Spencer and Three Cheers for Thomas
* **Series 8** - Thomas and the Tuba, Henry and the Wishing Tree, Thomas Saves the Day, Percy's Big Mistake, Emily's New Route, Thomas and the Firework Display, Gordon Takes Charge, Spic and Span, Edward the Great, Squeak, Rattle and Roll, Thomas Gets it Right, As Good as Gordon, Fish and Percy and the Magic Carpet
* **Series 9** - Percy and the Oil Painting, Molly's Special Special, Respect for Gordon, Thomas and the Birthday Picnic, Thomas and the Toy Shop, Thomas and the New Engine, Toby Feels Left Out, Thomas' Day Off, Saving Edward and Keeping Up with James
* **Series 10** - The Green Controller, It's Good to be Gordon, Toby's New Shed, Thomas and the Shooting Star, Emily and the Special Coaches, Thomas and the Colours and James the Second Best
* **Series 11** - Dream On (*deleted scene; mentioned*), Smoke and Mirrors, Toby's Triumph and Thomas in Trouble
* **Series 12** - Thomas and the Billboard, Rosie's Funfair Special, Heave Ho Thomas! and Gordon Takes a Shortcut
* **Series 13** - The Lion of Sodor, Double Trouble, Slippy Sodor, Play Time (*mentioned*), Percy's Parcel, Toby's New Whistle (*mentioned*), A Blooming Mess, Thomas and the Runaway Kite, The Biggest Present of All, Snow Tracks and Hiro Helps Out
* **Series 14** - James in the Dark, Pingy Pongy Pick Up, Charlie and Eddie, Toby and the Whistling Woods, Pop Goes Thomas, Being Percy, Merry Winter Wish, Thomas and the Snowman Party, Thomas' Crazy Day, Thomas and Scruff, O the Indignity, Jitters and Japes and Henry's Magic Box
* **Series 15** - Gordon and Ferdinand, Toby and Bash, Edward the Hero, Happy Hiro, Henry's Happy Coal, Stuck on You, Big Belle, Percy the Snowman, Tree Trouble and Fiery Flynn
* **Series 16** - Express Coming Through, Percy and the Monster of Brendam, Ho Ho Snowman, Flash Bang Wallop!, Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor, Salty's Surprise, Sodor Surprise Day, Emily's Winter Party Special (*mentioned*), Whiff's Wish, Welcome Stafford, Don't Bother Victor! (*mentioned*) and Happy Birthday Sir!
* **Series 17** - Kevin's Cranky Friend, Scruff's Makeover, Gordon Runs Dry, Calm Down Caitlin, Henry's Hero, Not Now, Charlie!, The Lost Puff, The Thomas Way, The Missing Christmas Decorations, The Smelly Kipper, No More Mr. Nice Engine and Thomas' Shortcut
* **Series 18** - Old Reliable Edward, Disappearing Diesels, Signals Crossed, Duck in the Water, Duck and the Slip Coaches, Thomas and the Emergency Cable, Missing Gator, Spencer's VIP, Long Lost Friend, Last Train for Christmas, Duncan the Humbug, The Perfect Gift and Samson at Your Service
* **Series 19** - Who's Geoffrey?, The Truth About Toby, Lost Property, Henry Spots Trouble, Toad and the Whale, Very Important Sheep, Salty All at Sea, Slow Stephen, Two Wheels Good, The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead, Philip to the Rescue, Diesel's Ghostly Christmas, Thomas the Babysitter, The Other Side of the Mountain, No Help At All, Goodbye Fat Controller and Wild Water Rescue
* **Series 20** - Sidney Sings, Toby's New Friend, Henry Gets the Express, Diesel and the Ducklings, Ryan and Daisy, Pouty James, The Way She Does it, Love Me Tender, The Railcar and the Coaches, All in Vain, Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks, Three Steam Engines Gruff, Engine of the Future, Hugo and the Airship, The Missing Breakdown Train, The Christmas Coffeepot and Over the Hill
* **Series 21** - A Most Singular Engine, Dowager Hatt's Busy Day, P.A. Problems, Hasty Hannah, Cranky at the End of the Line, Unscheduled Stops, Philip's Number, The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor, A Shed for Edward, The Big Freeze, Terence Breaks the Ice and Confused Coaches
* **Series 22** - Forever and Ever, Confusion Without Delay, Trusty Trunky (*fantasy*), What Rebecca Does, An Engine of Many Colours, School of Duck, Apology Impossible, Samson and the Fireworks, Thomas' Animal Ark, Rosie is Red, Banjo and the Bushfire (*fantasy*), Counting on Nia and Hunt the Truck
* **Series 23** - Free the Roads, Chucklesome Trucks, The Other Big Engine (*Photo*), Gordon Gets the Giggles, Steam Team to the Rescue!, Panicky Percy and Rangers of the Rails

Specials* **2000** - Thomas and the Magic Railroad
* **2005** - Calling All Engines! (*stock footage*)
* **2008** - The Great Discovery (*music video*)
* **2009** - Hero of the Rails
* **2010** - Misty Island Rescue (*mentioned*)
* **2011** - Day of the Diesels
* **2012** - Blue Mountain Mystery
* **2013** - King of the Railway
* **2014** - Tale of the Brave
* **2015** - The Adventure Begins and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure
* **2016** - The Great Race
* **2017** - Journey Beyond Sodor
* **2018** - Big World! Big Adventures!

Learning Segments* **Series 8** - Sounds, Being Blue, How Does Emily Get to the Station?, Being on Time and Sharing
* **Series 9** - Getting Up Gordon's Hill and What Goes Where?
* **Series 10** - Which Outfit for Which Occasion? and Old Route New Route

Videos* **2019** - Meet Rebecca, Meet James and Meet Gordon

## Trivia

* The name is derived from the parish of Knapwell, where the Rev. W. Awdry was vicar.
* Several maps show the main line terminating at the junction, though some books mention that the terminus is Tidmouth. Furthermore, Knapford appears to be larger than Tidmouth, whereas the Rev. W. Awdry stated in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways that it is smaller than Tidmouth.
* On one of Wilbert Awdry's layouts, Knapford had a quarry close by the station.
* Knapford has appeared in every series except the fifth (where it was replaced with Kirk Ronan) and every special except The Great Discovery and Misty Island Rescue, although it was mentioned in the latter special.
* Knapford and its station has had numerous modifications throughout the years:
	+ Series 3:
		- The harbour seen in the background vanished.
	+ Thomas and the Magic Railroad:
		- The town beside Knapford was missing and replaced with trees.
	+ Series 6:
		- The town beside Knapford returns.
	+ Series 17:
		- A duplicate of the bookstall seen behind tracks 3 and 4 has been placed in the car park, making it impossible for a normal-sized car to enter one of the parking spaces.
		- The luggage weight also overlaps part of the car park lines.
	+ Series 18:
		- The tracks into Knapford station gain crossovers, and gantries similar to those seen in the first four series were added.
			* These redesigns were aided in part by SiF users Simon Martin and Sean O'Connor.
		- The tracks leading out from Platforms 3 and 4 also end at sets of buffers.
	+ The Adventure Begins:
		- A shunting yard was added near the station, complete with a coal hopper, several sheds and sidings. Signal gantries were also added at the front and back of the station.
		- The station was redesigned with new brickwork.

## Merchandise

* Wooden Railway (*normal, "Sights and Sounds", and Talking versions; discontinued*)
* Wood
* Motor Road and Rail (*discontinued outside Asia*)
* TrackMaster (*discontinued*)
* Take Along (*discontinued*)
* Take-n-Play ((*discontinued*)
* Collectible Railway
* LEGO (*discontinued*)
* Bachmann
* Capsule Plarail
* Pocket Fantasy (*discontinued*)
* Thomas Town
* Thomas Engine Collection Series (*with The Breakdown Train; discontinued*)
* Departing Now (*discontinued*)
* Thomas Town (*discontinued*)
* Choro-Q (*as transforming destination; discontinued*)
* Motorized Railway