The Sodor Animal Park (also known as the Sodor Wildlife Centre) is a safari park on the Island of Sodor. It is served by a halt on the Brendam Branch Line, named Animal Park.
History
The animal park is situated along the Brendam Branch Line between Lower Suddery and Upper Brendam. The station for the park is small, having only one platform which leads directly to the large entrance gates. The park itself is surrounded by large zebra-patterned walls and contains several enclosures for different types of animals. There is also a large globe near the park's entrance, which was delivered to the site by Emily.[1]
When the animal park was opened, Thomas was tasked with delivering a giraffe here.[2]
An elephant once escaped from the animal park when a tree knocked down the wall of its enclosure. Charlie raised the alarm, and soon the elephant was back where it belonged.[3]
When a new elephant was to come live in the animal park, Nia was tasked with transporting her. However, this elephant was an unfriendly one, who did not like steam engines and refused to board Nia's wagon. Nia worked very hard to get the elephant to cooperate, but what worked in the end was getting a second elephant from the park, which made the other one feel much better. As a reward for her hard work, the Fat Controller gave Nia the job of working at the park regularly, bringing animal feed from the docks, fruit from the farm, straw for the animals' bedding and giving safari rides to the visitors from time to time.[4]
Magazines
Prior to its appearance in the television series, the animal park made appearances much earlier in magazine stories.
In magazines, Percy is shown to frequently visit the animal park and has a good relationship with the park manager. When a pair of giraffes were delivered to the docks, Percy was chosen to deliver them to the park in specialised vans.[5] On another occasion, he helped to track down a lion which had escaped the zoo.[6]
When the park manager made plans to build a railway around the park, he promised that Percy would be the engine to run it. When the workmen began building the line, however, it was discovered that the tracks were narrow gauge, and therefore Percy would not be able to run on them.[7] This led Percy to believe that the park manager had purposefully made the rails too narrow and wanted to get another engine to run the park, though was later proven wrong when the rails were re-laid to standard gauge. When the park railway opened, Percy took the first train around the line, and the Fat Controller allowed Percy to work at the park every weekend.[8]
Though the main line was re-laid as standard gauge, a minimum gauge line was later shown to run around the park, complete with its own engine and coaches.
In later magazine stories, it is revealed that the park also owns a zebra-striped buggy.
Rolling Stock
Locomotives
Magazines only
Locomotives
Coaches and Trucks
Non-Rail Vehicles
Magazines only
Staff
Animals
- Mammals
- Elephants
- Giraffes
- Monkeys
- Hippos
- Camels
- Zebras
- Birds
- Parrots
- Ostriches
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
Specials
Videos
|
Magazine Stories
Books
Really Useful Stories
|
Trivia
- Prior to its introduction in the television series, the Sodor Animal Park made quite a few appearances in books and magazine stories.
Merchandise
Animal Park
- Wooden Railway (discontinued)
- Wood (discontinued)
- Motorized (discontinued)
- Take-n-Play (discontinued)
- Mega Bloks (discontinued)
- Motorized Railway
- Capsule Plarail
Rolling Stock
- Motorized (discontinued)
- Take-n-Play (discontinued)
- Minis
- Capsule Plarail
Station Guide
Sam Wilkinson Map
| Preceding station |  North Western Railway
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Suddery | Brendam Branch Line | Upper Brendam | ||
References
- ↑ T&F S18 #21 "Emily Saves the World"
- ↑ T&F S14 #1 "Thomas' Tall Friend"
- ↑ T&F S17 #10 "Not Now, Charlie!"
- ↑ T&F S24 #7 "Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant"
- ↑ Marvel Comics #47 "Some Most Unusual Passengers"
- ↑ Marvel Comics #51 "The Escape"
- ↑ Marvel Comics #56 "Narrow Gauge"
- ↑ Marvel Comics #56 "A Change of Plans"
| Locomotives | Steam | Edward | Porter | Nia |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | Derek | Salty | Philip | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Trevor | Cranky | Reg | Big Mickey | Carly | |
| People | The Vicar of Wellsworth | The Mayor of Sodor | The Dock Managers | |
| Affiliates | Sodor China Clay Company (Bill and Ben, Timothy, Marion) | Sodor Shipping Company | Sodor Search and Rescue Centre (Belle, Flynn, Rocky, Harold, Butch, Captain) | |
| Stations | Wellsworth | Suddery | Lower Suddery | Sodor Animal Park** | Upper Brendam | Brendam | |