Knapford Station (T&F)

**Knapford Station** is the main station on Sodor. It is home to a small town by the name of Knapford on the River Els estuary, south of Tidmouth, of which it is a dormitory. Knapford serves as the junction for the Ffarquhar Branch Line.

## History

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 Harbor Development Scheme. There are now two stations at Knapford - Junction and Harbor. Knapford has been useful as a supplementary harbor, but its exposed position has not enabled it to provide the best answer to Sir Topham Hatt’s problem.

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.

Knapford is known as the "Big Station". It has a large canopy. The station has four tracks total, three being through tracks and one being a terminal track. Knapford has a refreshment kiosk, the Engine Drivers locker room, M.C. BUNN, Sir Topham Hatt's Office and a bookstall. At one point, the bookstall was temporarily replaced by a toy shop.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* "A Present for Percy"
* "Percy, Gordon, and the Ghost"
* "A New Waddling Engine"
* "The New Diesel"
* "Henry's Hectic Train Wreck"
* "Meet the Twins"
* "Gordon and Douglas"

### Season 2

* "Rise of the Diesels - Part 5"
* "Aftermath"
* "The Scottish Bet"
* "Double Diesel Drama"
* "Farewell"

### Season 3

* "The Boxcab and the Streamlined"
* "Zombie Engines"
* "Diesel's Devious Ways"
* "Innocent Until Proven Guilty"
* "Hard Work"
* "The Truth Comes Out"
* "Sodor's Final Stand - Part 1"
* "Sodor's Final Stand - Part 2"
* "Sodor's Final Stand - Part 3"
* "Sodor's Final Stand - Part 4"

## Trivia

* From "A Present for Percy" to "Gordon and Douglas", Knapford Station was the only prominent location to appear in the series.

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