The Mid Sodor Heritage Railway was another excuse
within the Extended Railway Series to create something completely brand new which had never been tried in the original Railway
Series.
Three generations of the Awdry family have been active supporters of the Heritage Railway movement,
and what better way to reflect this than having a volunteer-led organisation setting up the first Heritage Railway on the
Island of Sodor?
The stories we are able to tell here are unique also, given that the railway is rebuilding the
route over a number of years, and the terminus is always subject to change. These
are always exciting and trying times for volunteer-led Heritage Railways, which create great stories for the history of the
railway, as past examples such as the Ffestiniog Railway, Corris Railway and the new Welsh Highland Railway have both shown,
given the trials and tribulations associated with rebuilding and acquiring new stock and motive power.
It has also given us a reason to bring back a forgotten ERS character from our first incarnation,
who was forgotten in the midst of the storytelling and free-flow of content that followed.
Evan the Private Engine was brought back to serve as a new member of the
Mid Sodor Heritage Railway alongside new character, Buzz the Diesel. As well as this, the redeployment of a character from the Skarloey Railway, Edwin Richard – and a completely new-build tank engine based on a long-lost member of the 2ft 3in gauge,
Rognvald.
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