Sudrian locations

On episodes set on **Sodor, locations across the isle** are shown.

## Vicarstown

**Vicarstown** is a large city on the eastern side of Sodor. It is also the first place on Sodor after crossing the Walney Channel at Barrow-in-Furness. It is home to the busiest station on Sodor.

### History

Vicarstown station was opened in 1915 by the North Western Railway with approval of the local vicar to construct a railway station. The aim was to complete what the bankrupt Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M) failed to do and that was connection Sodor's rail network with the British mainland rail network and increase trade. In 1918, the Vicarstown-Barrow bridge was opened and the first mainland connection services began with any NWR operation, other than the 'Wild Nor' Wester' express service to London, terminating at Vicarstown.

In 1928, Vicarstown station was rebuilt to a smaller design to improve operations.

### Accidents and incidents

* 1920: A passenger train overshot the station and derailed on a catch point. No one was killed but 16 people were injured.
* 1952: A BR-operated heavy goods train headed by ex-LMS Hughes "Crab" 2-6-0 No. 42736 collided head-on with an express-passenger train headed by NWR Black Five class 4-6-0 No. 11. Both locomotives were written off in the collision with around 138 killed and 212 injured. An inquiry found the signalman at Barrow-in-Furness had reported a set of faulty points that allows trains from Sodor to the mainland to be jamming. The signalman was cleared of all blame and all track work was to be inspected to any fatigue or corrosion.

### Trivia

Vicarstown is home to Vicarstown Recycling Co.(see below), a scrap metal industry which recycles old NWR and mainland rolling stock by contract.

The current Vicarstown station resembles the same one in the Railway Series.

A Mainline (Palitoy) poster is seen on the station notice board as nod to the historic brand.

## Vicarstown Recycling Co.

**Vicarstown Recycling Co.** is a scrap dealing business based at Vicarstown, Sodor. It has the contract since the 1960s to recycle old rolling stock from British Rail and the NWR and is the largest scrapyard on Sodor.

### History

Vicarstown Recycling Co. was founded during WWII when the need for scrap metal came about and a section of land was bought near the NWR's mainline to Tidmouth, but wasn't linked by rail until 1963. The company gained its first rail scrapping contract by BR to scrap rolling stock that was now unfit for the modernising railway, which was followed suit with the NWR when at train of old coaches were sent there in 1966, highlighting the need for a scrapyard shunter.

In 1974, the yard was expanded to cope with a large demand for recycling motor vehicles from both the mainland and Sodor, which once again highlighted the need for a scrapyard shunter. In 1984, Vicarstown Recycling Co. bought former NWR tank engine Windcombe as their needed scrapyard shunter while a diesel being built by Sentinel was under construction for the company. By the end of the century, Vicarstown Recycling Co. rivalled Crooks Scrapyard and had most of the Sudrian scrap trade. The yard is run by three locomotives as their shunters which are Windcombe, a Sentinel 4wDH and a Ruston 48DS.

### Basis

Vicarstown Recycling Co. is partly based on C. F. Booth Ltd, Rotherham. The company began operations in 1920 and has since become infamous for scrapping locomotives and rolling stock by British Rail (later the private companies), the London Underground and light railways across the UK. The yard owns a small fleet of Hunslet diesel shunters for moving rail-related stock into the yard. As of 2020, the company is still operational.

### Trivia

Despite being a scrapyard, Vicarstown Recycling Co. has never scrapped a locomotive due to them never having the contract but do have the contract for scrapping rolling stock, multiple units and light rail vehicles.

Vicarstown Recycling Co.'s layout is one of the largest built for a Sudrian location.

Vicarstown Recycling Co.'s main shunter is Windcombe, an old steam locomotive bought from the NWR following withdrawal.

Vicarstown Recycling Co. was partly inspired on Nerland Metal Recycling in The Tri-ang Railway Series, another fictional scrapyard created by Shane Sowter. Both have never scrapped a locomotive but have contracts to dismantle withdrawn rolling stock.

Vicarstown Recycling Co. replaces the Sodor Ironworks, aka the "Smelter's Yard", in this universe.

The car crusher in the yard resembles the one seen in the 1964 James Bond film 'Goldfinger' in terms of design.

Like the Ffarquhar Quarry Co., Vicarstown Recycling Co. owns a fleet of ex-BR "Dogfish" ballast hoppers that have been repurposed, in this case for scrap transport.

* The company also owns a fleet of flatbeds to transport crushed road vehicles to steel mills either on Sodor or the mainland.

An old furnace is seen in the yard but hasn't been used since 1991 following a tragic accident that year. This device was used to burn asbestos/ cremate metal carriages which was carried out in real life.

* Due to Health & Safety reasons, this practice has since been abandoned for more conventional methods.

The shape of Vicarstown Recycling Co. looks like a oddly-shaped hexagon, possibly a coffin, while the track layout is that of long, skinny fingers. This makes the yard a combination of features related to horror movies.

## Glennock Colliery

**Glennock Colliery** is a colliery located north of Glennock on Sodor. It is where most of the North Western Railway (NWR) and the Moorland Steam Railway (MSR) get their coal since the 1980s.

## Ffarquhar

### Railway (opened)

North Western Railway

**Ffarquhar** is a small village located on the end of the Ffarquhar branchline, better known as "Thomas' branchline" by many. Considered more a village, Ffarquhar is referred to as a railway town since the railway allowed it to grow.

### History

Ffarquhar was founded in the medieval period like Maithwaite a few miles south-west but served as a fortress villager against any inland invasions. But 1870, the town's fortress had since fallen into ruin and the village itself moved for better access to better resources brought in by canal boats from Tidmouth. In 1925, Ffarquhar was finally linked to the rest of Sodor by rail following the construction of an extension to Elsbridge line to Ffarquhar which was proposed back in 1910 by the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway (TK&E) but was completed by the North Western Railway (NWR).

Ffarquhar grew thanks to the railway along with modernising the nearby Anopha Quarry located north of the village, allowing greater volumes of Ffarquhar stone to be moved around the Isle.

### Basis

Ffarquhar is based of two terminus stations, Camden in NSW, Australia, and Pickering in North Yorkshire. Unlike the former, Pickering was formerly a through station until the line from Pickering to Rillington Junction was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1965 and now serves as the southern terminus of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR). Camden station was a pure terminus station opened in 1881 and was finally closed on New Years Eve, 1962.

### Trivia

The name Ffarquhar was created by the Rev. W. Awdry and his brother George back in 1928. It was a made-up word derived from "Far-away Quarry" and made for the terminus station on a model railway that was never completed.

Compared to Ffarquhar seen in The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends, this Ffarquhar station is completely different.

As seen in Stories from the Wars, Ffarquhar use to have a three-row shed near the station but it appears to have been demolished by the 1990s.

## Hackenbeck Tunnel

**Hackenbeck Tunnel**, better known as **"Hackenbeck Witch's Tunnel"**, is a half-mile long tunnel located on the Ffarquhar branchline between Maithwaite and Hackenbeck. It is known to be haunted by a teenage witch and is the only tunnel on the line.

### History

Hackenbeck Tunnel was a part of the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway's (TK&E) extension from Elsbridge to Ffarquhar in 1910 but construction didn't begin until 1918, three years after the forming of the North Western Railway (NWR) in 1915. Construction of the tunnel was meant to take a few months but it was delayed due to mysterious circumstances plaguing construction of the tunnel, which it was not finished until 1920, a full two years after work began on it. Like the rest of the extension, Hackenbeck Tunnel was opened in 1925.

### Basis

Hackenbeck Tunnel is based on no particular single-track railway tunnel in the UK. This's due to multiple tunnels matching Hackenbeck's design is copied across several branch lines in the UK and all over the world.

### Trivia

Hackenbeck Tunnel is known as "Hackenbeck Witch's Tunnel" because of accounts of a phantom woman in with mysterious powers has been seen around the tunnel site. The accounts are older than the tunnel after a 14-year-old woman named "Megumin" was burned outside what is now the Southern end on the tunnel.

The remains of the late Mrs Kyndley's cottage is located near the track on the Southern end of the tunnel.

## Knapford

### Railway (opened)

Tidmouth & Knapford Light Railway

**Knapford** is a major city south of Tidmouth on the western side of Sodor. It rivals Vicarstown as being one of the busiest stations on Sodor as well as one of the most famous stations on Sodor. The Ffarquhar branch line begins here and stone from Anopha are delivered in the station's small goods siding.

### History

The first Knapford station was opened in 1885 by the Tidmouth & Knapford Light Railway (later the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway or TK&E) as the railway's southern terminus. A branch line was opened in 1895 out of Knapford and in 1914, the original station was closed for a rebuild by the TK&E but was carried out by the NWR. The second station was opened in 1919 following delays by WWI and was built to a different design to the original station by being larger and longer to cope with the "possibily of larger services in the near future for Britain's railway networks."

In 1925, a large glass canopy was constructed over the platforms in order to compete with Vicarstown and the other large stations across the UK and for weather protection for passengers waiting for services. This made the station look larger than its rival of Vicarstown on the other side of Sodor. During WWII, Knapford station served as a vital transport point for the British army and was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1940, damage which was not repaired until 1948. In the 1990s, the station was undergoing a major revamp and restoration work to the canopy carried out for safety reasons.

### Basis

Knapford is loosely based on the original Birmingham Snow Hill station. It was opened in 1852 by the Birmingham & Oxford Junction Railway but is more known for being used by the Great Western Railway. The station was one of three major stations in Birmingham until it was closed in October 1972, but the building wasn't demolished until 1977. A new Snow Hill station was constructed in 1987 on the site of the original station and is still active.

### Trivia

Knapford's design is close to its basis instead of the station seen in the television series.

Knapford's name is inspired from the parish of Knapwell, where the Rev. W. Awdry was a vicar.

An Azur Lane poster can be seen on one of notice boards, despite the station is only seen in its 1940s and 1990s conditions and Azur Lane was released in 2017.

Until 1918, Knapford was home of the NWR's main MPD until the opening of Tidmouth. It was later used by the Ffarquhar locomotives following the terminus' shed being demolished.

## Crovan's Gate

### Opened

1865 (S&M and Skarloey station), 1934 (NWR and rebuilt Skarloey station)

### Purpose

Connect with the slate mines within Sodor

**Crovan's Gate** is a "railway town" located on the eastern side of Sodor. It is the mainline connection station with the narrow gauge Skarloey Railway and home to the NWR's main workshops. Crovan's Gate is referred to as the "heart of Sodor's railways".

### History

Crovan's Gate station was opened in 1865 by the Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M) with the Skarloey Railway operation from Crovan's Gate that same year. The station had an additional transfer yard constructed in 1909 by the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (W&S), which absorbed the network and rolling stock of the S&M in 1901 and even rebuilt the station. In 1910, a new railway workshop was constructed to help with maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock since Brendam workshops was being closed and the Skarloey Railway needed a bigger facility of maintenance and overhauls.

In 1934, the current Crovan's Gate station was opened to replace the original 1865 station with a revised track layout to cope with increased rail traffic on the NWR.

### Accidents and incidents

* 1934: A goods train heading through Crovan's Gate derailed and was struck by a passing suburban train heading to Vicarstown. No deaths were recorded but 35 were injured in the derailment, with an investigation finding the wagons to feature faulty brakes and leaded to the withdrawal of all ex-TK&E rolling stock.

### Basis

Crovan's Gate appears to be based on Crewe and Tywyn Wharf stations. Crewe station was opened in 1837 by the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) and became the first railway station in the UK to feature an adjacent hotel, the Crewe Arms Hotel opened in 1838. It became famous under the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) by being home to both railways' major locomotive workshops (Some of the Moorland Steam Railway's ex-LMS locomotives were built here). The station was added to the UK heritage list in August 2016.

Tywyn Wharf station was opened in 1866 as "Kings station" by the Talyllyn Railway and opened to passenger in 1911 as "Towyn Wharf". The station was preserved and a loop was finally added in the station in 1951. In 1975, Towyn Wharf was renamed "Tywyn Wharf" and is home to the Talyllyn Railway's Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, which also hold the original models built by the Rev. W. Awdry.

### Trivia

Crovan's Gate is named by King Godred Crovan, a former monarch of Sodor and the nearby Isle of Mann.

Crovan's Gate appears to have a LMS style unlike the other stations.

Crovan's Gate's nickname refers to the workshops since it's said to be the "heart" of a railway.

* This could also be a reference to Swindon, which is said to the "heart of the Great Western Railway" due to it being home to the railway's main locomotive workshops.

## Tidmouth

**Tidmouth** is a port town on the western side of Sodor located north of Knapford. It is also home to the NWR's main motive power depot since 1918 (se below).

## Tidmouth MPD

**Tidmouth Motive Power Depot (MPD)**, better known as **"Tidmouth Sheds"**, is the main motive power depot of the North Western Railway. It is located on the western side of Sodor and the only MPD that was not bombed in WWII on Sodor.

### History

Tidmouth MPD was built in 1917 and opened a year later as a simple three-row engine shed to replace the original Knapford shed complex built by the TK&E. The complex saw major refurbishments such as a larger turntable to allow their newer and larger locomotives to be turned around such as a series of loaned locomotives that were seen on Sodor in the 1920s. The depot was spared from being bombed by the Germans in WWII while the others were hit.

## Wellsworth

### Opened

1870 (original station), 1875 (remodelled station)

### Railway (opened)

Wellsworth & Suddery Railway

**Wellsworth** is an industrial town located north of Brendam and east of Crosby. It's station sits on the western side of Wellsworth Bank ("Gordon's Hill") and is the mainline connection of the Brendam branchline.

### History

Wellsworth was founded in 1800 following the theorised discovery of raw minerals such as coal was discovered north of Suddery. It has been claimed that the town took its name from a phrase used by English-specking Sudrians "Well's worth it" and has since become the reference to the site itself until it was officially established as an industrial town in 1839. In 1870, the newly formed Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (W&S) built an intermediate station at Wellsworth to its own design until it was replaced by a more LBSCR-style station in 1875. Both stations had originally two platforms which served trains heading to either south towards Brendam via Suddery or west towards Croshbyr (later renamed Crosby in 1910).

In 1888, the line from Wellsworth station was extended eastwards Maron with a 1in75 gradient built on a tall hill outside Wellworth known as "Deighan Fell" or "Devil's Hill" translated to English from Sudric. The gradient became known by staff and locomotives as "Deighan Bank" after the hill itself but became more infamous as "Wellsworth Bank" (more about Wellsworth Bank below). In 1912, a new bay platform was built into the original 1875 station by the W&S to handle small trains terminating from the Brendam line at Wellsworth, which these operations are still run today.

Wellsworth station later gained a yard before the 1900s began thanks to the growth of the W&S and the riches of the town's industrial complexes and gaining the nickname "Sodor's Manchester". During the early years of the NWR, Wellsworth was unaltered and after bomb damage destroyed the former W&S motive power depot in 1940, the shed was rebuilt with a new roof much to match the original shed. During the 1990s, Wellsworth remained mostly unchanged thanks to the NWR's respect to its Sudrian railway history.

### Accidents and incidents

* 1930s: Avonside 0-4-0ST No. 6 was nearly damaged in a near miss with Gresley A1 4-6-2 No. 4. No. 6 ran away and didn't stop until he crashed at Suddery.
* 1974: An excursion train headed by ex-LBSCR K class 2-6-0 No. 13 derails and is later struck from behind by 'The Sudrian' express service headed by NWR Hatt class 4-6-0 No. 705 'Westlin' and ex-LNER B17/6 class 4-6-0 No. 18 'Leicester City'. Leicester City was repaired and put back to service, No. 13 was undamaged along with five coaches while No. 705 'Westlin' and eight coaches were written off and later scrapped. An investigation discovered that an axle fractured on the fourth carriage of the excursion train from Tidmouth to Crovan's Gate and faulty signalling by the Crosby signalman were the causes of the collision. 17 were killed and 226 were injured. The safety of the Collett coaches were soon called into question following the accident.

### Basis

Wellsworth appears to be based on both Manchester, Lancashire and Horsted Keynes, West Sussex. Manchester became famous from its riches thanks to the cotton industry and its large number of mills. The city's fame only grew after George Stephenson engineered the world famous Liverpool to Manchester Railway (L&MR), which opened for public service in 1830. Manchester became the home of Beyer Peacock & Company, a locomotive construction firm, and the Great Central Railway's (GCR) own workshops in its outer suburb of Gorton. Manchester is still world famous for its industrial past.

Horsted Keynes, located in West Sussex, was founded in 1086 as its name was first recorded in the Domesday Book. It was believed that Horsted Keynes hosted the first official cricket match in the UK and a station was opened by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in 1882 about 1 1/2mile (2.4km) from the village itself. The station was electrified in July 1935 by the Southern Railway (SR) and services to Sheffield Park (closed in 1958 by BR) by the Bluebell Railway began in 1962 and BR ceasing services a year later. The line to East Grinstead was reopened by the Bluebell Railway in 2013. Horsted Keynes has since been featured in countless movies, television shows and music videos filmed on the Bluebell Railway.

### Trivia

Wellsworth is named after Elsworth, a village in Cambridgeshire where the Rev. W. Awdry was Rector from 1946 to 1953.

Wellsworth station has a LBSCR style to its buildings, which goes back to its roots of the 1875 remodel by the W&S.

Wellsworth is nicknamed "Sodor's Manchester" thanks to its heavy industry.

A Stroudley composite coach body can be seen as a shed outside the station heading towards Crosby.

## Wellsworth Bank ("Gordon's Hill")

**Wellsworth Bank**, formerly known as **"Deighan Bank" (Devil's Bank)** but more commonly called **"Gordon's Hill"**, is a steep 1in39 gradient located between Wellsworth and Maron on the NWR mainline. It gained its famous nickname after NWR No. 4 stalled on the gradient in 1924 with a goods train.

### History

As part of an agreement by the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (W&S) to the Sodor & Mainland Railway Company (S&M) in 1887, a line leading to their connection station of Maron had to be built with a hill renowned by locals as "Deighan Fell" standing their way. Plans for a tunnel were proposed but building the line over the hill became a cheaper solution to their problem. In the end, the gradient was built and train operations began in September of 1888 and became a challenge for locomotives to climb, being a gradient of 1in39 at its steepest. The gradient was soon known as "Deighan Bank" or "Devil's Bank" by W&S crews but the name became rarely used by the time of the W&S and S&M rivalry of 1894 to 1901 and the gradient itself was called "Wellsworth Bank" afterwards.

During the W&S/S&M rivalry, the 1894 Wellsworth Bank collision happened and changed the way all trains are operated on the gradient to prevent similar disasters such as the installation of a special banker's siding at Maron and two locomotives being placed on banking duties. By the 1900s, locomotives became powerful enough to haul trains over Wellsworth Bank but bankers were still placed in order for older locomotives to get over the bank until piloting duties emerged under the NWR in 1916 to reduce stopping times before being stopped altogether in 1919 to reduce running costs. In 1924, Gordon stalled on Wellsworth Bank and was unable to get started again, resulting in No. 2 Edward to bank the Gresley A1 up the bank, making Gordon the first locomotive to be banked up Wellsworth Bank since 1916 and lead to the gradient's famous nickname "Gordon's Hill".

### Accidents and incidents

* 20th December 1894: W&S A1 class "Terrier" 0-6-0T No. 5 was written off after colliding with the rear of an S&M express that started rolling down the gradient after stalling heading to Wellsworth. Two carriages were also destroyed and resulting the deaths of 82 people with 126 injured. Banking was introduced that month and became standard until 1916.
* 1924: NWR (ex-GNR) A1 class 4-6-2 No. 4 stalls on a goods train heading in the Maron direction. Ex-FR K2 4-4-0 No. 2 had to bank the 4-6-2 over Wellsworth Bank and has since been nicknamed "Gordon's Hill" after the incident. Banking operations was reinstated following the incident.

### Basis

Wellsworth Bank is based off the Lickey Incline south of Birmingham in Worcestershire. It is built by Birmingham & Gloucester Railway (B&GR) between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove stations with a fearsome 1in37.7 gradient for 2 miles (3.2km) but is more famous for being operated by the Midland Railway (MR) and London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) until 1948. Banking operations were performed on the graident for all train operations on the gradient and its still being performed on the Lickey Incline today. Famous banking locomotives of the Lickey Incline were the Fowler 3F 0-6-0T (Jinty and Ella Johnson's class) and an unique 0-10-0 nicknamed "Big Bertha".

### Trivia

Wellsworth Bank is built on the same set as Wellsworth station.

In The Railway Series, Wellsworth Bank is never referred by this name but always known as "Gordon's Hill".

The gradient of Wellsworth Bank is slightly shallower than its basis.

The curve at the summit is based on the summit seen in Season 1 of 'Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends' in 1984.

Wellsworth Bank is one of a few gradients modelled in the series.

## Kirk Ronan

### Opened

1865 (first)1903 (second)

1964 (current)

### Platforms

1 (first)3 (second)

4 (current)

### Railway (opened)

Sodor & Mainland Railway

**Kirk Ronan** (Sudric for **Ronan's Church**) is a fishing town on the southern coast of Sodor. It was one of the first places a standard gauge railway was laid and became a major hub during WWII.

### History

Kirk Ronan was first settled in 1723 as a small fishing settlement but it larger grew into a fishing port. In 1865, Kirk Ronan was reached by the Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M) and a small single platform building was constructed, which was more of a halt instead of a pure railway station, with an added siding. A port, which hosted large ships until 1901, was built by the S&M to improve goods traffic to and from Sodor and helped the town prosper. In 1903, under the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (W&S), Kirk Ronan station was rebuilt with traffic to the port reduced in order to increase traffic to Brendam.

During WWII, Kirk Ronan was used training facility and had a halt built near the new naval base "HMS Kirk Ronan" which closed after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. In 1964, the NWR rebuilt Kirk Ronan to improve passenger traffic on the line in order to prevent the station, port and the line from being closed under British Railways, which was a part of the 'Reshaping of British Railways' plan.

### Accidents and incidents

* Unrecorded: A W&S (ex-S&M) Webb Coal Tank 0-6-2T derailed the station. Five people were injuried with no casualties.
* March 1913: W&S 633 class 0-6-0T No. 6 was damaged following a collision with a runaway fish train. No injuries or deaths were recorded and the engine was repaired.
* July 1998: Ex-LNER Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 1076, on loan from the Moorland Steam Railway, crashed through to Railway St following brake failure at Rolf's Castle with a empty train of fish vans. The locomotive wasn't badly damaged was sent to Crovan's Gate Works for repairs.

### Trivia

Kirk Ronan is one of a few stations in the series to be rebuilt three times.

## Maithwathe

### Purpose

Provide Maithwathe with transportation

**Maithwathe** is a village located between Eldsbrige and Hackenbeck, located on the Ffarquhar branchline. It was once very religious but things changed when the NWR Ffarquhar extension was opened.

### History

Maithewathe's origins are mostly unknown but is known as a very Christian village and became known for disobeying rules set my the monarchy of Sodor at Peel Godred.

### Basis

Maithwaite's station is based on Angerton station in Northumbrian, North England. It was opened by the North British Railway (NBR) in 1862 and is located on the Wansbeck branchline after branching off from the East Coast Mainline (ECML). It was closed in 1952 but the station building and platform still exist.

### Trivia

Maithwaite is the first station in the series not created by the Rev. W. Awdry.

Maithwaite is normally confused with Marthwaite, a station once part of the Mid Sodor Railway (MSR) from 1880 to 1947 and now operated by the Arlesdale Railway since 1967.

Maithwaite is known to be a very religious town before the era of railways.

## Anopha Quarry

**Anopha Quarry**, sometimes known as **"Centre Island Quarry"** or **"Ffarquhar Quarry"**, a stone quarry located north of Ffarrquhar and on the end of the Knapford-Ffarquhar branchline. It is run by the **Ffarquhar Quarry Co.**

### History

Anopha Quarry was opened in 1924 following the opening of the Elsbridge-Ffarquhar extension and the discovery of construction stone north of the line's terminus. As a result, a line was built from Ffarquhar station to the quarry and ex-TK&E locomotives No. 20 and 21 were sent to shunt the quarry. During the Great Depression, digging at the quarry was slow and when WWII broke out, the line to quarry was closed "until further notice", which reopened two years after the war in Europe ended.

By the 1960s, quarry production was at its highest since before the Great Depression with a record 124tons of shipment per day being reached in 1963 and saw the arrival of a Drewry & Company 204hp diesel shunter, Mavis, built and arriving in 1962. By the mid-late 1990s, the quarry was nearing financial trouble as despite the shipments of stone for structural repairs, the quarry was loosing money with the leasing of No. 20 and 21 from the NWR and operating their locomotive Mavis.

### Basis

Anopha Quarry is based on no particular stone quarry.

### Trivia

The stone that is dug at Anopha Quarry is known as "Ffarquhar stone", which is used for decoration and structural engineering across Sodor. This stone was used in the construction of Maithwaite station building, Els Viaduct and the rebuilt Crovan's Gate station.

* Ffarquhar stone was also used to repair the Dent River Viaduct in 1998.

This is the quarry where Reo, Rao and Mavis work.