The Island of Sodor: The New Stories.

The Norramby Branch Line (Barrow-In Furness - Bluff's Cove)

Background

The Norramby Branch has a bit of an interesting history. It was first built for suburban services run by the LMS. This was because of an agreement between Sir Topham and the director of the LMS so the NWR could run trains to Barrow, if the LMS could run suburban trains to Norramby. This agreement stood even after nationalization. The line was closed by BR in late 1967. Sir Charles bought the line almost immediately. A few days later he commissioned an engine to be built in Scotland. The parts were made in Scotland and shipped by rail to Sodor. This engine was named Emily once she was finished in 1968. Emily ran tourist trains and fish trains from Barrow to Norramby for about a year. It became clear that this line needed two engines to run it. Sir Charles tried Rosie on the line first. She proved insufficient for the workload. This became clear when Rosie derailed off of an old ferry pier. After this incident, Arthur was swapped with her and has worked there ever since.

BARROW-IN FURNESS STATION, VICARSTOWN STATION, BALLAHOO TUNNEL

(All previously featured in the Main Line part)

BALLAHOO STATION

Ballahoo is the first station that is officially on the branch line. It is a relatively busy town with a rather large fashion industry. There is also a very old antique store called Ballahoo Bits. A man named Arthur Bailey runs it for most of the year. Everyone usually calls him Old Bailey. During the winter, he works part time as a fogman on some of the branches. Ballahoo station is a through station with an extra platform for main line trains. This is because Ballahoo is a secondary route for the main line. This line is used as an alternative if there is any obstruction on the main line outside of Crovan's Gate. Local trains stop here some days. It also used to be part of the S&MR. This line is not used very often, but it is an important redundancy for the main line.

THE COASTAL LINE

This stretch of line runs directly along the coast to Norramby. This means that the line is susceptible to washouts. This happened once when Henry was delivering the Kipper and was diverted onto the Norramby line. She ended up derailing into a shallow part of the sea. Since the ground wasn't stable enough to use cranes, she had to be put into a barge and towed to Norramby. Shortly after that event, Sir Charles built a small bridge over the washed-out section of line. This event is one of the reasons Henry retired from the Kipper.

NORRAMBY STATION

Norramby is the former terminus for the branch line. It became very popular when the LMS started running suburban services to it. One of Norramby's main revenue streams is tourism. The Norramby beaches are particularly beautiful during the summer. There is a yard here, which is where vans of fish are dropped off and organized. While there are some fishing businesses in Norramby, most of the fish do not come from this town.

BLUFF'S COVE STATION

Bluff's Cove is the new terminus of the Norramby branch. This is where the fishing villages are located. The majority of the fish from the branch comes from here. At first, the line up to it was just for goods. Eventually it became a station when it was clear that Norramby was getting more crowded and needed some relief. There is also a walking trail from the station that leads to an old historic lighthouse.