The Island of Sodor: The New Stories.

Ffarquhar Branch Line (Knapford - Ulfstead)

Background

The Ffarquhar branch is arguably the most well-known branch of the NWR. This is no doubt thanks to the popularity of Thomas. When the line was first constructed it ran from the old Knapford Harbour to Elsbridge. Later the line was extended to Tidmouth along the headlands. This extension was washed away, so another extension was built through a tunnel south of the city. After this extension, the Elsbridge & Knapford Railway became the Tidmouth, Elsbridge & Knapford Light Railway. It was ran by a fleet of coffee pot engines. They ran this line until the line was extended to Ffarquhar in 1925. This was also the year Thomas started running the line. The last two coffee pots were converted to tram engines and sent to the Anopha Quarry. They worked on the tramway until Toby came to the line in 1951. Then they were all sent to the Ironworks and scrapped, apart from Glynn. The line now runs from the old harbour, now named Percy's Harbour, up to Ulfstead since 1958. The main goods traffic of the branch is stone from the quarry.

PERCY'S HARBOUR

The harbour at Knapford has a very interesting history. It dates back to the days of the TE&KLR. It used to be one of the main harbours on the NWR in its early days. When the bigger harbour at Tidmouth was constructed, the one at Knapford was closed. It stayed closed until Sir Charles decided to open it to alleviate some of the traffic from Tidmouth. He put Percy at the head of this project. This was a big deal for Percy because it showed that Sir Charles trusted him to help with something very important. Since he started working at the harbour, Percy requested to be fitted with a bell on his running board. Apparently he had heard that it was supposed to bring good luck. No one had the heart to tell him otherwise, so they went through with it. It also has the dual purpose of being used when Percy is going along the tramway. Some notable events that have happened are the time when Percy slithered into the sea off of a collapsed pier, the time Percy's trucks ran away and damaged Bulstrode, and the time when Percy bravely stopped a runaway train that went all the way down the branch. If you couldn't tell, whenever there's an incident at this harbour, Percy is usually the culprit. This became so frequent that the workmen started calling it "Percy's Harbour". The name stuck, and it's been called that ever since.

KNAPFORD STATION

(See The Main Line part)

DRYAW STATION

There are actually two Dryaw stations. The first one was the original station. A new line was built over the harbour line to reach the new Knapford station. Instead of tearing down the old station, it was made into a goods station. There is an airfield near the new station, where Harold usually lives. The new station is also a station on the main line loop.

TORYRECK STATION

Toryreck is a somewhat quiet town on Thomas' line. There used to be a dairy here that got deliveries from the farms up at Ffarquhar. There also used to be a lead mine, but it closed. Uranium was eventually found here by the MOD, so they quickly found a way to exploit this. They mined the uranium and transported it to the base on the SKR. This was a steady contract until the base was closed. There is still some uranium in the mines, but instead of going to the base, it goes elsewhere on the mainland. Toryreck is also one stations on the main line loop.

ELSBRIDGE STATION

Elsbridge is the middle station on the line. Unlike in the show, and like the books, Elsbridge is not a junction station for the main line. I am personally not sure why they did this, so I kept it how it was in the books. A loop line to the main line from Elsbridge was proposed, but it was decided that it would be too expensive. The loop from Toryreck was proposed and built instead. The dairy at Toryreck was moved outside of Elsbridge. There are sightings here to receive deliveries.

THE KYNDLEY COTTAGE

Mr. Bernard and Mrs. Virginia Kyndley are good friends of the railway. They built their cottage close to the line when it was being extended in 1924. Mrs. Kyndley has had a history of being sickly. She was sick in the winter of 1953. Sir Topham I actually paid for her to go to the seaside to get better. She was sick again in 1964, when her daughter, Helena, was getting married. Since she was going to get the good luck package, this was a big deal. Luckily, Percy happened to pass by with a goods train. He and his driver took care of the good luck package. Some of the things Percy and his crew found were interesting. Helena Kyndley's good luck package consisted of Peggy, one of two old clerestory coaches, a new set of buffers, a truck named Greg borrowed from the harbour and Thomas, who was dragged into the whole thing. Sir Charles presided over the wedding. Everyone enjoyed themselves at the reception. Percy even got a kiss from the bride, much to his delight.

HACKENBECK TUNNEL

The Hackenbeck Tunnel was finished in 1925 to extend the line up to Ffarquhar. It has become an iconic location on Thomas's branch line. Interestingly in the TVS, the tunnel changes appearance every time it is shown on screen. No one is completely sure why. The tunnel has a habit of being clogged. One time it was blocked by a landslide, the other time it was a snowfall.

HACKENBECK STATION

Hackenbeck is a rather uninteresting station compared to the other stations. It was the only station on the line to succumb to the Beeching Axe. Now it's a request stop only and not many people use it. Thomas and Daisy don't usually stop here, and Percy only collects mail from here. The only engine that stops here often is Toby. This is because Toby usually takes the quarrymen to work in the morning. A lot of them live in the town, so the train is the fastest way to get to the quarry. Terrence's field is nearby, and conversations with him are always interesting. He is always well versed in the gossip on that little stretch of line. Sometimes he'll go to other parts of the island to do other things, but he always comes back to his little plot of land.

FFARQUHAR STATION

Ffarquhar is one of the most famous locations on the Island. This is mainly due to the popularity of the books and show. Ffarquhar became the terminus of the line when it was extended in 1925. It was mainly extended to reach the Anopha Quarry. Shortly after the extension, Thomas was transferred to the line to run passenger services and take stone from the quarry. Most of the farmers send their goods by rail. Two good examples are Jonathan and Penny McColl. They usually send their milk into town on Thomas' first train. Sometimes, though very rare, Daisy will take the milk with her instead.

THE ULFSTEAD-FFARQUHAR EXTENSION

The extension from Ffarquhar to Ulfstead has been a line that has been proposed since 1925. The city of Ulfstead was dependent on the Ffarquhar branch, despite being disconnected. A rail line was finally built in 1958. Since the extension, more business has come to the line. It was built to also connect to Sir Robert's estate railway. Unlike the route from Peel Godred, there's no electric connection on this stretch.

ULFSTEAD STATION

(See Peel Godred Branch Line part)