Mid Sodor Railway

## Map

The **Mid Sodor Railway** was a narrow gauge railway which ran from the port at Arlesburgh up to King Orry's Bridge. The railway was opened in 1880, and was in service for over fifty years until the railway was closed down in 1947.

Three of the original locomotives have been preserved on the Skarloey Railway, and part of the old track-bed was relaid for the Arlesdale Railway. However, the majority of the line is still closed.

## History

### Decline

In 1923, just after the Grouping, the Peel Godred Power Company obtained powers to build a dam and hydro-electric power plant a mile or so northeast of the town. The Power Company thought of using the port at Arlesburgh and the Mid Sodor Railway for the transportation of their equipment, and although the port facilities were adequate, the slim clearances of the mountain section were an obstacle. They agreed with the North Western Railway to construct a branch line from Killdane to Peel Godred, leading to the formation of the Peel Godred Branch Line.

The opening of the new branch line had a disastrous effect on the Mid Sodor Railway. Passenger and goods traffic to and from Peel Godred steadily fell, and although plenty of tourists came during the summer, the mountain section ran almost empty, and by 1935, the Isle of Man steamers ceased to call. The mountain section was closed to all traffic in 1936.

Three of the six locomotives were sold in an attempt to keep the railway going, and with them went the saloon stock used for the Boat Trains and the Picnic, the latter finding homes as summerhouses, henhouses, garden sheds and holiday chalets all over the Island. The three engines that remained - Duke, Falcon and Stuart - were in the best condition, and they, along with the four-wheeled passenger and goods stock, were kept on the railway. When this local traffic took to the roads, the railway became what it had been at first - a mineral tramway - with trains only running when required.

### Closure

World War II brought an upsurge in traffic, and although the locomotives were well-maintained, both traffic and goods stock suffered. The mines also suffered too; they were stripped beyond safety margins to assist the war effort, and were subsequently closed down one by one in 1945. The mine at Cas-ny-Hawin remained, but in December 1946, it was closed after the pumping engine had broken down and was flooded. With no reason to stay open any longer, the Mid Sodor Railway closed in 1947.

### Legacy

After the railway's closure, two of the engines, Stuart and Falcon, were sold to the Sodor Aluminium Company, who used the two engines to assist in an expansion project they had on hand. When the project was complete in 1951, both engines where sheeted up and locked inside a shed until they were purchased by the Skarloey Railway for a total of £50, and were renamed to "Peter Sam" and "Sir Handel" respectively.

However, Duke, the first engine, received no buyers after the railway's closure, and was oiled, greased and sheeted up by his crew to be left abandoned at the engine shed at Arlesdale. In 1969, Duke was rediscovered and brought to the Skarloey Railway, and after a complete overhaul, he entered service in 1982. Much of the old rolling stock that had been used on the Mid Sodor made it to the Skarloey Railway too.

In the 1960s, it was discovered that lead spoils from the mines made for excellent weed-killing ballast. A miniature railway was built along the Mid Sodor Railway's old trackbed in 1967 to bring the lead spoils down from the mines to the North Western Railway at Arlesburgh. However, most of the original track, particularly the mountain section, remains closed.

## Background Information

### Thomas & Friends

The Mid Sodor Railway first appeared in the fourth season of *Thomas & Friends*, and, like its Railway Series incarnation, was the original home for Duke, Stuart and Falcon. Excluding Arlesdale, all of the Mid Sodor Railway sets were used for the Skarloey Railway, and Skarloey, Rheneas and Duncan appeared as engines working on the railway.

## Trivia

* The Mid Sodor Railway is based on the Ffestiniog, Corris and Snailbeach Railways, and the engine sheds at Arlesdale are based on the sheds from the latter railway.