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On the Fourth of December 2007, Sodor Island
Forums will celebrate it's fifth anniversary as the first and longest running Thomas the Tank Engine forum for
nostalgic fans of the Awdry Railway Series and the TV Series, and even after five years, the forum shows no signs of
slowing down or going into decline, thanks to the strong older fanbase and the united force of the forum membership.
Four out of our five years of history, so far, have been detailed in
our Sodor Island History pages, with the fifth installment due closer to the anniversary date. It has been five wonderful
years, full of ups, downs and indifferences which have shaped a community and created something that is appreciated by over
500 members and growing every day of the year.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Granted, thanks to the Hyperboards glitch of 2005, we have
not made it to our fifth anniversary wholly intact, but the determination of the members to stay together and build
an even better forum is a testament to the sense of community spirit that has made SiF such a wonderful place for fans.
The Hyperboards glitch could have spelt the end for the forum as a whole,
but it brought us closer together as we acheived a common goal to rebuild the forum from the ground up and rejuvinate the
proud reputation we had earned for ourselves previously for being one of the best Thomas forums around, and thanks to the effort
of every individual member who contributed, we're proud to say that we did just that.
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| The SiF 5 Year Anniversary Sand Mural - Fairbourne Beach 22/08/07 |
This could arguably be one of the main reasons as to the
growing popularity of the Sodor Island Members Meetings, which take place in both the UK and Australia (Sydney) at
numerous points in the year. Previous UK events have taken place at the East Lancashire Railway (August 2005),
the National Railway Museum in York (August 2006) and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (March 2007), with
new members attending each new meeting.
A milestone meeting in the UK during the summer saw
sixteen SiF Members meet up in North Wales for a week long Railway Adventure holiday beside the Talyllyn Railway,
which inspired the Skarloey Railway books of the Railway Series. This was also the first foray into an International
Meeting, where TheHalford from Australia travelled to the UK to attend the week long event, touring numerous railways
across North Wales over the course of the holiday, as well as having fun times on Fairbourne Beach and on Talyllyn Lake!
Similarly, Ciremi, who was in Sydney for a few months has had
semi-regular days out with the Australian members of the forum.
We have a lot to thank our membership for, whether they're new or been
with the forum for a majority of its five year run. While a number of members on other forums have subsequently
abandonded it after so long, SiF still has members who were there in the beginning and the first year of Forum running,
who have interacted with newer members and contributed to the wealth of writing, media production, artwork and fact-finding
that has arisen over the years from being SiF members.
We are proud to still be around after five years and to
have grown and matured so much over that period to reach the point we are at today, and without the loyalty of the members
who have made Sodor Island what it is, we wouldn't be celebrating this milestone at all.
There is also the need to thank the numerous supporters of Sodor Island
too. Although they may not be members, they do still hold an appreciation of what SiF has done for Thomas and the
fandom over the years, and in a lot of respects, we couldn't do without you.
Here's to the first five years of the Sodor
Island Forums, and may the next five prove to be equally as fruitful!
Thank you to everyone who has made this milestone possible!
"Congratulations on your 5th Anniversary. We wish you all the very best for the future and keep
up the hard work."
-Christopher Awdry.
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