Tidmouth is a borough situated on the River Tid Estuary on Sodor's west coast. With a population of 35,000 as of 1951, it is the largest town on Sodor. It is home to the headquarters of the North Western Railway and the main line sheds.
History[]
Tidmouth's rise and development is mainly due to the enterprise of the drainage company A.W. Dry and Company. The harbour, which is deep and well sheltered, has been known for centuries as a safe place in which to ride out storms. Until the 1880s, however, access from the land was only possible on foot or by pack-pony. The valley of the Tid, northeast behind the town, is peculiar in that it is narrow and enclosed by precipitous cliffs; and being throughout on a higher level, the river falls sharply before reaching the sea. Even now there are only footpaths along the valley.
Until well on into the 19th Century, it was a rough place, the haunt of smugglers who alternated as fishermen and who had developed their special kippering process, the secret of which is still jealously preserved today.
A.W. Dry and Company faced considerable opposition when wishing to use the harbour as a base for operations in the Knapford area. Boat building, however, was among their various activities and they had produced a new design of fishing boat which fortunately found favour with the Tidmouth men. This together with judicious "sweeteners" eventually opened the door to an amicable arrangement. Supplies and equipment for the drainage project could then be brought in by sea and conveyed along a coastal road built for the purpose round the headland.
By 1905, the Ulfstead Mining Company had become dissatisfied with Knapford as a port and adopted A. W. Dry's suggestion of extending their tramway along this coastal road to Tidmouth and Mr. Topham Hatt, a young engineer from Swindon who had lately joined A. W. Dry's staff, built some light steam locomotives for them.
All went well and trade boomed until an Autumn gale in 1908 destroyed the road and the tramway with it. Trade was disrupted and the numbers of miners were thrown out of work. The situation was desperate. A. W. Dry had a large interest in the mines and had not yet been paid in full for the drainage work done. With the help of a Treasury Loan they put unemployed miners to work under Mr. Topham Hatt's direction, cutting a railway tunnel through the ridge south of Tidmouth and laying a railway directly from Tidmouth to Knapford. The Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway was formed in 1910. Amalgamation with the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway followed in 1912 and brought fresh trade to Tidmouth. But it was only when the double track NWR was completed in 1916, connecting Tidmouth at last with the outside world, that its potential as a harbour was realised and its development could really begin.
The town's growth as a port and industrial centre has been phenomenal and it rapidly became the Island's commercial capital. However, it still retains many marks of its uncouth origins and is not attractive to tourists. Nevertheless, those ramblers who are bold and dedicated enough to scramble up the steep path beside the Falls of Tid will be rewarded in the valley beyond, which is a place of awesome splendour. Mention of the Falls is a further reminder of Messrs A. W. Dry's enterprise. In 1906, by harnessing the Falls of Tid, Tidmouth became the first town in Sodor to be lit by electricity. Tidmouth received a Royal Charter to become a Borough in 1918.
The North Western Railway moved their main Motive Power Depot and Administrative Headquarters to here from Vicarstown in 1925. The station, known as the "Big Station", has an all-over glass roof spanning four terminal lines and a "through road" leading to Duck's Branch Line. It contains the Fat Controller's main office and is the station where HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Sodor. The Express departs and returns from here every day.
Landmarks[]
- Tidmouth Station - the main railway station for the town of Tidmouth and headquarters of the North Western Railway, located just south of the River Tid.
- Tidmouth Sheds - a twelve berth roundhouse south of Tidmouth Station, which is the main motive power depot for the Main Line.
- Tidmouth Yards - a large shunting yard near Tidmouth Station.
- Bolt and Knutt Engineering Co. - a business adjacent to Tidmouth Yards and the Light Engineering Co.
- Light Engineering Co. - a business with a large building adjacent to Tidmouth Yards and the Bolt and Knutt Engineering Co.
- Tidmouth Harbour - Sodor's main port, situated along the coast of Tidmouth.
- E.T.L. Marriott - a ship chandler with a warehouse in Tidmouth Harbour, adjacent to Jolliffe's.
- G. Jolliffe Ltd. - a business with a warehouse in Tidmouth Harbour, adjacent to Marriot's.
- Tidmouth North Tunnel - a tunnel north of Tidmouth on the Little Western.
- Tidmouth South Tunnel - a tunnel south of Tidmouth on the Main Line.
- Tidmouth Power Station - a hydroelectric power station harnessing the power of the Tid Falls; only mentioned in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways.
Shunters[]
Former[]
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- During Clive Spong's time as illustrator, the station was usually incorrectly depicted as having six terminal roads and two glass canopies, with the "through" road outside the station's glass roof.
- The name is likely derived from Sidmouth, a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England.
- The town's motto is "Industry and Progress". Tidmouth's Coat of Arms features a smith's hammer and tongs, a lymphad, three herrings and a wheel. These cover all of Tidmouth's titles to importance: shipping, transport, fishing and engineering. The coat of arms was suggested by George Awdry.[1]
- Tidmouth Drive in Columbus, Ohio, United States, is named after the fictional town. It is adjacent to several other streets also named after towns on Sodor.
Station Guide[]
| Preceding station |  North Western Railway
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knapford | The Main Line | Terminus | ||
| Terminus | The Little Western | Haultraugh | ||
| Preceding station | Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway | Knapford | ||
References[]
- ↑ RWS "The Thomas the Tank Engine Man" p. 180
| Locomotives | Steam | Henry | Gordon | James | Donald and Douglas |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | Bear | The Works Diesel | Pip and Emma | |
| Former | Edward | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches | Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches | Red Express Coaches |
| Former | The Spiteful Brake Van | |
| Trains | Passenger | The Wild Nor' Wester | The Sudrian | The Limited | The Barrow-Tidmouth Semi-Fast | The Main Line Push-Pull |
| Goods | The Flying Kipper | The Morning Milk | The Midnight Goods | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Tidmouth | Knapford | Crosby | Wellsworth | Maron | Cronk | Killdane | Kellsthorpe Road | Crovan's Gate | Vicarstown | Barrow-in-Furness |
| Sheds | Tidmouth Sheds | Vicarstown Sheds | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | Tidmouth Tunnel | Knapford Harbour Bridges | Crosby Tunnel | The Viaduct | Balladrine Bridge | Ballahoo Bridge | Henry's Tunnel | Vicarstown Bridge |
| Locomotives | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Alice and Mirabel | Isabel and Dulcie |
| Goods | Toad | Fred Pelham | |
| Former | S.C. Ruffey | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | |
| Stations | Tidmouth | Haultraugh | Arlesburgh West | |