The Island of Sodor: The New Stories.

Brendam Branch Line (Tidmouth - Brendam)

Background

The Brendam branch is one of the more well-known branch lines on the NWR. It used to be the line for the old Wellsworth & Suddery Railway. It also became part of the Tidmouth Wellsworth & Suddery Railway. This is the route that Edward runs today. Out of all of the branch lines Brendam has the most varied goods traffic. There are goods from the harbor, china clay from the clay pits, and cement from the cement works. Most branch lines only serve one business or connect to a railway that serves another industry. Because there is more traffic, Brendam has a higher route availability than most branches on the NWR. This means bigger engines can run on the line, although they usually never do.

TIDMOUTH STATION, KNAPFORD STATION, CROSBY STATION

(See The Main Line part)

CROCK'S SCRAP YARD

Crock's Scrap Yard is an important location on the Brendam branch. It's one of the only small-scale scrap operations still on Sodor. They used to scrap engines, but they lost that business. Engines started to be sent to the Ironworks in 1953. This is where most of the TK&ELR and W&SR engines went after they were withdrawn. This is also where Trevor was found by Edward in 1948. Additionally, Peggy and Janet were found here. They were restored and put into storage by the NWR until Molly started running a service from Ulfstead to Great Waterton. This has led to a general mistrust between the engines and the management of this business.

WELLSWORTH STATION

(See The Main Line part)

SUDDERY STATION

Suddery is the first station officially on the Brendam line. There is not much to say about the station in the present day. It used to be the terminus for the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway. They had a wharf here, but it was closed when the line was extended to Brendam. There is also a junction here for the goods line to the Cement Works. Fergus is usually a constant sight on this line. The line also goes under a shallow section of the city.

BRENDAM STATION

Brendam is the last station and the terminus of the line. It is the southernmost station on Sodor. Unlike most stations, Brendam station is integrated into the city. When it was first built by the W&SR, Brendam's industry was mainly dependent on the railway. This is still the case today. Since Brendam is near the docks, fish is usually brought to the station. This small train is then usually taken up to Wellsworth to be put on the Icebox. There is a turntable at Brendam so the branch line engines can turn around for their return journeys.

BRENDAM HARBOUR

Brendam is home to one of the busiest harbour yards on the Island. Unlike the ports on the west of Sodor, Brendam mainly deals with exports. Salty is the main engine who works here. There is also a very grumpy crane here named Christopher, but everyone calls him Cranky. Despite this he still works hard, and the engines appreciate him for it. The line continues on to a goods line to the China Clay Pits. The twins usually come down with trains of china clay and leave them on a sighting for another engine.