North Western Railway

"Please tell everyone that whatever happens elsewhere, Steam will still be at work here. We shall be glad to welcome all who want to see, and travel behind, real engines."

- The Fat Controller, Enterprising Engines "A long time ago, on the Island of Sodor, there was a little railway known as the North Western."

- Narrator, The Adventure Begins



The North Western Railway (abbreviated as NWR) is The Fat Controller's Railway and was first created in 1914 after a government-funded joining of the Island of Sodor's standard gauge (4'8½") railways. The railways involved were the Sodor &amp; Mainland, the Tidmouth, Knapford &amp; Elsbridge Light and the Wellsworth &amp; Suddery Railways. In 1948, it became the "North-Western Region of British Railways, but this term was never used as the railway kept its operating independence. With Privatisation in the early 1990s, it officially became the North Western Railway.

The railway's works are at Crovan's Gate. The NWR's headquarters were at first in Vicarstown, but were relocated, along with the main engines sheds, to Tidmouth in 1925.

The railway's motto is "Nil unquam simile", which, translated from Latin, means "There's nothing quite like it!"

Routes

 * The Main Line
 * Norramby Branch Line
 * Kirk Ronan Branch Line
 * Peel Godred Branch Line
 * Edward's Branch Line
 * Thomas' Branch Line
 * The Little Western

In the television series, the railway also has the following lines:
 * Quarry Branch Line
 * Ulfstead Branch Line
 * Toby's Branch Line
 * The Loop Line
 * Stepney's Branch Line
 * Misty Valley Branch Line
 * Killdane Branch Line
 * Harwick Branch Line

The Fat Controller's Railway
The standard gauge railway on Sodor in the television series is affectionately known as The Fat Controller's Railway. It is greatly expanded with many more engines. The railway's largest station (and presumed headquarters) is located at Knapford. Its railway works are the Sodor Steamworks, located at Crovan's Gate and the Vicarstown Dieselworks. Some merchandising and promotional material has referred to it as Sodor Railways. The Adventure Begins marks the first time the name North Western Railway is stated in the TV series.