The Island of Sodor: The New Stories.

Industrial Lines

Background

The NWR may be the main railway company on Sodor for taking trains to and from the mainland, but there are other, smaller companies that have their own engines, rolling stock and track. All of these lines are industrial and only carry goods traffic, with the occasional special. Sometimes these engines will help out on the NWR. Since they aren't owned by Sir Stephen, they don't get as much recognition as the others.

ANOPHA FAMILY QUARRY

The Anopha Quarry is a site that is owned by the Ffarquhar Quarry Company. It was opened in the early 1900s. The old TE&KLR rails were extended to Ffarquhar to reach it in 1925. Since the line ran along the road, a tram engine was ideal for running the line, so the coffee pot engines were fitted with tram skirts and sent up to the quarry. Thomas would only come up to the quarry if the loads were too much for them. Eventually they were replaced when Toby came to the line. Then in the 1960s, they bought their own engine, a little diesel named Mavis. She was bought to shunt trains and eventually bring them down to Ffarquhar. Ten years later, the quarry began to expand. After the work became a little too much for Toby and Mavis, Flora was brought on in 1977. The trio worked the line for almost 20 years until the FQC bought another engine, a weary Austerity tank named Alina. She had just been restored the previous year and was sold to them for a cheap price. She was a little bit bigger than Toby, Flora and Mavis, so she was able to take heavier trains.

SODOR CHINA CLAY QUARRY

There is a china clay quarry on the Brendam peninsula. It first opened in 1948. The same year, Bill and Ben arrived to work the line. They worked this line mostly without incident, though they did play the occasional trick on the workmen. Then after a few lawsuits, and some embezzlement, the works infrastructure started to become dated. This became an issue when the quarry underwent an expansion. Because of the lack of funding, the new section was destroyed by a rockslide. It remained destroyed until 2009, when enough money was made to finish the construction. A lot of work had to be put in to clear the debris, relay the rails and repair or replace the equipment, but they got it done rather quickly.

KILLABAN CEMENT WORKS

The Brendam branch has two private industrial lines on it. The oldest one is the Killaban Cement Works. It predates the NWR by quite a few years. The KCW was opened in 1885 and was run by a horse drawn plateway. Then the company replaced the plateway with railway tracks. After that engines were leased to work there until 1926. The company didn't own their own engine until they bought Fergus from Mr. Aveling Porter himself. Even when he was first built, Fergus was a perfectionist. He made sure everything ran smoothly no matter what. This annoyed some of the workers, but they couldn't deny that his methods were effective. Since he was so good at his job, Fergus still works on the line today. Sometimes he'll shunt around Wellsworth when everyone else is busy and business is slow at the cement works.

KIRK RONAN BRANCH LINE

The C.G. Slate Co. is one of the lesser-known companies on the island. It bought Neil from the S&MR, and then the entire stretch of line from Kellsthorpe Road to Kirk Ronan and the mines to the south when the S&MR closed. Since they bought the entire line, they could only afford to run one engine, until 1964. Eventually when the slate business evaporated, they became the Kirk Ronan Preservation Society. Neil would take brakevan specials and tourist trains down the line. By the time 1964 rolled around, Neil needed a rest, so Sally took over most of the tourist trains. The tourists used to be carried in converted wagons and brakevans leased from the NWR. Now they have a small rake of proper coaches. Since the line runs by the sea, and a few ruined castles, tourist season is pretty lucrative.