Started in 1945 and concluded in 2011, ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

'' is a series of 42 British books written by

Wilbert Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several other ...

and his son

Christopher Awdry Christopher Vere Awdry (born 2 July 1940) is an English author. He is best known for his contributions to ''The Railway Series'' of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father, Wilbert Awdry (1911–1997). He also prod ...

. This is a list of all characters who appeared in the book series. Unless otherwise said on this page, the technical notes come from actual notes laid out by Awdry when he was developing the characters and setting for his stories; these notes are cited in his publication ''The Island of Sodor: Its People, History, and Railways''.

North Western Railway

The North Western Railway (NWR) is the main standard gauge rail network on the

Island of Sodor The Island of Sodor is a fictional island that is the primary setting for ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and its television adaptation ''Thomas & Friends''. It lies in the Irish Sea between Cumbria and the Isle of Man. Inspirat ...

. The railway's motto is "Nil Unquam Simile", which is Latin for "There's nothing quite like it". From nationalisation on 1 January 1948, until it was privatised, the railway was the North Western Region of

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

(BR). From 1925 onwards, it has been managed by three Fat Controllers.

Steam engines

Diesel engines

Rolling stock

Skarloey Railway

The Skarloey Railway (SR) is a gauge railway, which runs from the North Western Railway's Crovan's Gate station to Skarloey station. Beyond Skarloey, the line continues to a former slate quarry, later used as

ammunition dump {{Commons cat Logistics Logistics logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (ec ...

s. The railway is owned by Sir Handel Brown, who serves as its chairman, and is run by Mr. Roger Sam, the son of the previous controller, Mr. Peter Sam.

Steam engines

Diesel engines

Rolling stock

Culdee Fell Railway

The Culdee Fell Railway (CFR) is Sodor's only

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

. It climbs to the top of Sodor's highest mountain, which shares the railway's name. It is based on the

Snowdon Mountain Railway The Snowdon Mountain Railway (SMR; ) is a narrow gauge rack-and-pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. A return journ ...

in North Wales, was opened in 1900 and for many years was operated under the direction of Mr. Walter Richards, the General Manager. The railway was only featured in ''Mountain Engines''. The engines on the line are all s.

Steam engines

Rolling stock

Arlesdale Railway

The Arlesdale Railway is Sodor's only

miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by Diesel engine, ...

. It is based on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in Cumbria. The railway is run by Fergus Duncan (The Small Controller). Its five engines appear in the books. The diesel engines are mentioned in the companion books: ''Sigrid of Arlesdale'', ''Blister I'' and ''Blister II''.

Steam engines

Diesel engines

Privately owned/other Sudrian railways

British Railways/Visitors

Various engines from British Railways (BR; also known as "the Other Railway"), and some from preserved/private railways and

museums A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

have visited the North Western Railway, both on regular trains to-and-from the mainland, for special events, or under a lease agreement.

The 'Other Railway' Engines

Non-rail vehicles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of The Railway Series characters The Railway Series characters Literary characters introduced in 1945

Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...