The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge railway in North Wales of the United Kingdom. The railway opened in 1865 and became the first preserved railway in the world in 1951. The Railway is also the basis of the Skarloey Railway on the fictional island of Sodor in Thomas & Friends. Some of Reverend Wilbert Awdry's (creator of Thomas & Friends) original 00 gauge models and layouts are kept in the Narrow Gauge Museum which is situated at the wharf on the Talyllyn Railway.
Locomotives[]
The Talyllyn Railway owns eleven locomotives, six steam and five diesel. Talyllyn, Dolgoch and Douglas have made appearances in the Railway Series, though the rest of the engines have made no appearances. This section only documents the locomotives with Skarloey Railway counterparts.
| No. | Name | RWS counterpart | Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talyllyn | Skarloey | Originally built as an 0-4-0ST with no cab. The locomotive is named after the railway itself. | 
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| 2 | Dolgoch | Rheneas | Originally built without a cab. The locomotive is named after the intermediate station and local waterfalls. | 
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| 3 | Sir Haydn | Sir Handel | Ex-Corris Railway locomotive bought in 1951. The locomotive is named after Sir Haydn Jones, owner of the railway prior to preservation. | 
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| 4 | Edward Thomas | Peter Sam | Ex-Corris Railway locomotive bought in 1951. The locomotive is named after the former manager of the railway. It was fitted with a Giesl ejector between 1958 and 1969. | 
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| 5 | Midlander | Rusty | Ruston & Hornsby diesel locomotive purchased in 1957 from Jee's quarries at Hartshill. It was named after the Midlands area group of the preservation society that donated the locomotive. | 
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| 6 | Douglas | Duncan | Former RAF Calshot locomotive donated to the Talyllyn Railway in 1953 and regauged from 2ft to 2'3". It is named after Douglas Abelson, who donated the locomotive. | 
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| 7 | Tom Rolt | Ivo Hugh | Built from a Bord na Móna (Irish Peat Board) Andrew Barclay locomotive. It is named after L.C.T. Rolt, one of the founders of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. | 
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| 9 | Alf | Fred | Ex-National Coal Board diesel locomotive from Huncoat colliery in Lancashire. It was named after Alf Robens, chairman of the National Coal Board. | 
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| - | Toby | Mark V | Small trolley used by engineers for transportation to worksites. Built from a second hand Austin 7 engine and gearbox, mounted on a custom-made chassis. It is named after Toby the Tram Engine. | 
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Awdry Extravaganza[]
The Awdry Extravaganza is an event hosted by the Talyllyn Railway and supported by Mattel. The event celebrates the legacy of Wilbert Awdry and The Railway Series, and their connections to the Talyllyn Railway.
During these events, an exhibition is usually held in the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn Wharf, displaying artefacts from the Awdry Study, original artwork from The Railway Series and behind-the-scenes material from Thomas & Friends provided by Mattel. The exhibition is also home to Ffarquhar Branch, which is operated by volunteers to its original timetable.
For the Extravaganza, the locomotives of the Talyllyn Railway are dressed as their Skarloey Railway counterparts from The Railway Series. A number of special trains are also scheduled throughout the weekend alongside a lecture, which often includes notes from the Awdry Study being read aloud to the public for the first time since the Reverend's passing.
Trivia[]
- Many of the sound effects used in the first series of Thomas & Friends were recorded specially on the Talyllyn Railway.
- In 1997, Britt Allcroft attempted to sue the Talyllyn Railway for dressing up their engines as their Thomas counterparts, despite the fact Awdry approved of this. This lawsuit attempt failed.
- During the production of Blue Mountain Mystery, the animation crew of Nitrogen Studios went to the Talyllyn Railway to measure the engines for the CGI models of their Skarloey Railway counterparts to match them. However, Douglas was being overhauled during that time, hence why Duncan did not appear in the film. He did not return until the eighteenth series, two years later, but Arc Productions did not take measurements of Douglas when they modeled Duncan. As such, he is not as accurate to his real-life counterpart as the other engines.