Arlesburgh West



Arlesburgh West, also known as Arlesburgh Junction, is the top station of the Little Western, the terminal of the Arlesdale Railway, and the former harbour station of the Mid Sodor Railway.

History and Workings
The station was first opened to serve the nearby harbour in 1880. The North Western Railway extended the line to Arlesburgh in 1916, but after the Mid Sodor Railway was closed in 1947, both the station of Arlesburgh West and the branch line closed too. In 1967, the station was reopened, and since then, the ballast from the mines on the Arlesdale Railway has been brought down to the station for the standard gauge railway.

The station yard has an engine sheds for the Little Western engines, a turntable for Donald and Douglas, and a ballast chute, where the ballast from the small engines' trucks was poured into the standard gauge trucks below. The Arlesdale Railway also has their own sheds, turntable and yard at the station.

Appearances
Arlesburgh West first appeared in the Railway Series in the book, Small Railway Engines. Since then, it made numerous appearances in future Railway Series books until the final one, Thomas and his Friends. The station building's design contributed to the design of Callan station in the fourth season of the television series.

In the television series, Arlesburgh West first appeared in full CGI in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, and was renamed to Arlesburgh Junction. The junction had some slight changes to the original location in the Railway Series, as the standard gauge engine shed, turntable and station were not included. Both the Little Western and Arlesdale lines run through a forest just outside the junction.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway (signal gantry; Pirate Cove Discovery set-exclusive)