Arlesdale Railway

"Well, I've seen small engines, but... those engines are very small! Very, very small! Very, very- are they real?!" "Real?! Of course we're real! We bring all the ballast to put under your track!" "And wool for making clothes." "And passengers too!"

- Marion, Mike, Bert and Rex, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure

The Arlesdale Railway, also called the "Small Railway", is a 15"-gauge railway running from Arlesburgh along the old route of the Mid Sodor Railway to Arlesdale. The ownership of this railway is shared by the Small Controller and the Owner of the Skarloey Railway.

History
In 1964, Sir Topham Hatt was concerned over the congestion in Tidmouth Harbour and Knapford Harbour. He took interest in Arlesburgh Harbour, a port connected by rail to his system but which had been little used following the closure of the Mid Sodor Railway in 1947, so he decided to develop the line and make it use again.

He noted also that while this line was heavily overgrown, the one of the Mid Sodor Railway was comparatively weed free. The Mid Sodor Railway had used spoil from the lead mines as ballast; material which they could take and use merely for the asking.

Once exhaustive tests had proved that this spoil really was weed-resistant, Sir Topham suggested to management of Culdee Fell and Skarloey Railways that they join the NWR in a consortium to exploit it, and that a railway along the Mid Sodor‘s former trackbed could be laid to take it away.

At this point in the negotiations, Walter Richards, the Manager of the Culdee Fell Railway, proposed that “Bearing in mind the scenic attractions of the valley the basis of the Company be broadened to encourage investment from those engaged in the Tourist Industry”. This proposal, seconded by Sir Handel Brown, was carried unanimously and met with a good response.

The Arlesdale Railway Company was formed as a separate concern to buy up the 10 miles or so of MSR trackbed together with the remaining stations and buildings, and lay a new railway thereon; while the Ballast Company acquired not only the lead mines, but also a granite quarry at Marthwaite which had just come on the market, and finally called itself the Arlesdale Granite and Ballast Company Ltd.

It was decided that the railway must not only be capable of handling loads of ballast, but that it should also be of a character sufficiently out of the ordinary to attract visitors to the valley and thus bring benefit to hotels and guest houses in the area.

Three engines were acquired, Bert, Rex and Mike, together with a number of Open and Semi-open coaches. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway had abandoned their former ballast and road-stone business, but they allowed to search their records for designs of bogie Hopper wagons, along with a Chute gantry for unloading them quickly with the minimum of effort.

The Mid Sodor trackbed had been soundly and solidly constructed, and wherever possible their stations and structures were used. Tracklaying therefore went ahead rapidly under the direction of Mr F. Duncan, the General Manager, who is of course the Small Controller in the books. The line was inspected and passed for Opening by Easter 1967, and Small Railway Engines records incidents which occurred during the first year of operation.

Many improvements have since been made. The "semi-opens" were replaced by closed saloon coaches built at Arlesburgh Works. The "Opens" have been retained and are always popular in fine weather.

Blister I and Blister II were acquired ever since the line was in construction, and are there for shunters at Arlesburgh. The railway also acquired Frank, in 1967, and Sigrid of Arlesdale, in 1969, both take employees to their places of work, as well as other work trains.

The most reliable of steam engines sometimes fail, or as more often happens, extra passengers require the provision of a Relief train when no steam engine is available. The traffic increased so much, that a fourth steam locomotive has already been required. It was designed and built in Arlesburgh Works in 1976. Douglas named him Jock.

The railway’s popularity has brought further problems arising from those mentioned above. Unexpected upsurges in passenger numbers requires ability to provide Relief trains. These “extras” upset normal traffic working but have to be sent through with the minimum of delay to avoid spoiling the passengers’ enjoyment. This was not always possible under the former system of traffic control. Ravenglass have had the same problem, and have countered it by a system of Radio Control in 1977. They suggested to the Arlesdale Railway to adopt their system too, and gave them every assistance. So far, apart from ”teething troubles” the system has worked well. It has the conditional approval of the Railway Inspectorate. The Small Controller has however no doubt of the final outcome. He is looking forward to the day when other railways in the Island are recommended by the Inspector to follow Arlesdale’s lead.

Operations and Route
The Arlesdale Railway, runs from Arlesburgh along the old route of the Mid Sodor Railway to Arlesdale. At Arlesburgh, connections can be made between it and the Arlesburgh branch.

Miniature engines, who run on the 15"-gauge track, live and work on the Arlesburgh Railway, and their line is mainly used to transport waste materials from several of the abandoned mines at Arlesdale for use as ballast, but it also attracts popularity due to the novelty of being pulled by a 1/3 scale engine. The engines also transport wool for making clothes.

From Arlesburgh the line stops at Arlesburgh Bridge Street. After that, the line runs between river and road. After one and a half miles a post will be seen standing on the right hand side of the track, with a disk above that gives a warning that a passing loop is ahead. The line calls at Ffarquhar Road. A few hundred yards east of the station the line swings towards the river, and on the right hand side, as it curves away to the north east there stands an old water mill, the line later reaches Marthwaite. Leaving Marthwaite, the line traverses the belt of woodland for nearly two miles, and it was here that the Fat Clergyman got drenched, the branches are now regularly cut back. Later there's a passing loop just before reaching Arlesdale Green. Leaving the station, the line passes through another short belt of woodland, and alongside an unfenced lane (where Bert got drenched with muddy water by the Thin and Fat Clergyman) which leads to cottages built by the Mid Sodor Railway for employees. There was a junction here in Mid Sodor days. The line turns south to the top station at Arlesdale.

The Arlesdale Railway appeared in Small Railway Engines, Oliver the Western Engine, Duke the Lost Engine, Jock the New Engine and Wilbert the Forest Engine, and was mentioned in Enterprising Engines and Thomas and his Friends. It also appeared in various annuals, Railway Series related books and was mentioned in the My Thomas Story Library book, Duck.

The railway made its first television series appearance in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.

Trivia

 * The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is its real-world counterpart.
 * The Arlesdale Railway is the first Railway Series-exclusive non-standard gauge railway to appear in the television series since the introduction of the Skarloey and Mid Sodor Railways in the fourth season.
 * Rex, Mike, and Bert are the first engines from the Railway Series to appear in the CGI series without having appeared in the model series first.

Gallery
Railway Series