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Description
AU History: 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.

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 as it needed constant dredging and the cost had become prohibitive. Under recommendation from A.W.Dry, the mining company abandoned the harbour in favour of extending the line around the coastline to Tidmouth. The Knapford & Ffarquhar Railway and Wellsworth & Suddery Railway shared running powers to the new Tidmouth station and thus the K&F became the TK&F. Mr. Topham Hatt, a young engineer from Swindon who had lately joined A. W. Dry's staff, was responsible for planning out the route the safest way possible.

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 by cutting a tunnel directly to Tidmouth. This operation was overseen by Topham Hatt, and the first train steamed through in July 1910. Amalgamation with the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway followed that year 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, thanks in large part to the TK&F’s extension. Tidmouth received a Royal Charter to become a Borough in 1918.

There are about four stations here: The first and oldest was built in 1906 by the TK&F as its terminus in ‘Oldtown’, till it were later superseded by the larger one at ‘Newtown’ westward via a balloon loop in 1910-12, before that was much later demoted after the North Western Railway moved their main Motive Power Depot and Administrative Headquarters to here from Vicarstown in 1925. The Central station, known as the "Big Station", has an all-over glass roof spanning three terminal lines (One the ‘Bay Platform’) and three "through roads" leading to Duck's Branch Line. It contains the Fat Controller's main office and Newtown is the station where HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Sodor. The Express departs and returns from here every day.

But Tidmouth had more than just these stations, as far across the estuary, on the northern side of the port at the docklands was the station serving the districts of ‘Thorkell upon Tid’ & ‘Upper Tidmouth’, though this is mainly used for goods due to it being near the shipyards of A.W.Dry & Co. with the steelworks.

Other industries include the Dairy, Britt Plastics, The Sodor Times, S.C. Ruffey Co. and much others…

Tidmouth is divided into about five districts:

Newtown (Having grown around the railway since it arrived in 1906, it was when Tidmouth began going more inland as more communities migrated, looking for work. This was highly served by the local Gasworks for heating due to Tidmouth being so close to the sea. From the start it was served by the original TW&SR terminus of 1912, before the much larger Central Station of the NWR was erected to the heart in 1925, with even railway yards and the Motive Power Depot long since erected getting further surrounded by many settlers.)

Oldtown (So named due to it having been round since Tidmouth had been settled, and where Mooar & Son’s erected their kippering business, right next to the Harbour station. It runs along the southern side of the estuary.)

Westlin Village (Settled on the slopes of the nearby hills back in 1848, it was accessed by the railway via the Tidmouth District Lines going around it to the north, where the local Industrial Estate is located upriver. In time the district grew bigger till it bordered the railway, leading to the council deciding to build much less crowded, more open suburbs around the nearby St. Fagan’s Church (Erected back in Tudor Times) The B. Stone Fitters Yard is nearby, which was the TK&F’s workshops before the grouping.)

Thorkell upon Tid (Built upon the northern side of the river Tid and harbour, many of its population are employed by mainly the Tidmouth Harbour Board, A.W.Dry & Co. and the Steelworks, with most even railway workers and such. In fact, those living on the Northern side like to think of themselves as being on the ‘correct’ side of the river, likely due to the much larger industries serving it.)

Upper Tidmouth (Divided from ‘Thorkell upon Tid’ via the Tosha Avenue, Upper Tidmouth is the Borough’s more northern district and suburbs, mainly served by its small yard built by the TK&F back in 1906 to assist in construction of a Dam upon ‘The Falls of Tid’, via the Greenfield Branchline. Nowadays its served by the Arlesburgh Branch of the NWR, with engines allocated there taking goods to and from Upper Tidmouth Yard. Before this is the overhead brick and Iron Viaduct near the Orba Bridge, ending at a junction down to the northern side of the port via a longer, more conventional viaduct, with mainly terraced housing manoeuvring around its length. Upper Tidmouth is even known for its closely positioned parking spaces as well as having been the most industrialised back in the day, but come the 1980s, plans were already underway to redevelop it into a huge market district.)
Link to District Colour version: sta.sh/01r5t2r44r0r

(Of much we do know about Tidmouth, my version I had been trying to make a very plausible one of for years, notably in Trainz Railroad Simulators, but to no success. This here you see is a firm result of about deep research, Railway Series discussion and resourcefulness, with a long three weeks I spent day and night trying to put this thing together. There's still a lot more to explain about this in later maps, but if you all have any questions about this, go ahead.)

Tidmouth & The Railway Series (C) The Awdry Family.

Description
AU History: 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.

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 as it needed constant dredging and the cost had become prohibitive. Under recommendation from A.W.Dry, the mining company abandoned the harbour in favour of extending the line around the coastline to Tidmouth. The Knapford & Ffarquhar Railway and Wellsworth & Suddery Railway shared running powers to the new Tidmouth station and thus the K&F became the TK&F. Mr. Topham Hatt, a young engineer from Swindon who had lately joined A. W. Dry's staff, was responsible for planning out the route the safest way possible.

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 by cutting a tunnel directly to Tidmouth. This operation was overseen by Topham Hatt, and the first train steamed through in July 1910. Amalgamation with the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway followed that year 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, thanks in large part to the TK&F’s extension. Tidmouth received a Royal Charter to become a Borough in 1918.

There are about four stations here: The first and oldest was built in 1906 by the TK&F as its terminus in ‘Oldtown’, till it were later superseded by the larger one at ‘Newtown’ westward via a balloon loop in 1910-12, before that was much later demoted after the North Western Railway moved their main Motive Power Depot and Administrative Headquarters to here from Vicarstown in 1925. The Central station, known as the "Big Station", has an all-over glass roof spanning three terminal lines (One the ‘Bay Platform’) and three "through roads" leading to Duck's Branch Line. It contains the Fat Controller's main office and Newtown is the station where HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Sodor. The Express departs and returns from here every day.

But Tidmouth had more than just these stations, as far across the estuary, on the northern side of the port at the docklands was the station serving the districts of ‘Thorkell upon Tid’ & ‘Upper Tidmouth’, though this is mainly used for goods due to it being near the shipyards of A.W.Dry & Co. with the steelworks.

Other industries include the Dairy, Britt Plastics, The Sodor Times, S.C. Ruffey Co. and much others…

Tidmouth is divided into about five districts:

Newtown (Having grown around the railway since it arrived in 1906, it was when Tidmouth began going more inland as more communities migrated, looking for work. This was highly served by the local Gasworks for heating due to Tidmouth being so close to the sea. From the start it was served by the original TW&SR terminus of 1912, before the much larger Central Station of the NWR was erected to the heart in 1925, with even railway yards and the Motive Power Depot long since erected getting further surrounded by many settlers.)

Oldtown (So named due to it having been round since Tidmouth had been settled, and where Mooar & Son’s erected their kippering business, right next to the Harbour station. It runs along the southern side of the estuary.)

Westlin Village (Settled on the slopes of the nearby hills back in 1848, it was accessed by the railway via the Tidmouth District Lines going around it to the north, where the local Industrial Estate is located upriver. In time the district grew bigger till it bordered the railway, leading to the council deciding to build much less crowded, more open suburbs around the nearby St. Fagan’s Church (Erected back in Tudor Times) The B. Stone Fitters Yard is nearby, which was the TK&F’s workshops before the grouping.)

Thorkell upon Tid (Built upon the northern side of the river Tid and harbour, many of its population are employed by mainly the Tidmouth Harbour Board, A.W.Dry & Co. and the Steelworks, with most even railway workers and such. In fact, those living on the Northern side like to think of themselves as being on the ‘correct’ side of the river, likely due to the much larger industries serving it.)

Upper Tidmouth (Divided from ‘Thorkell upon Tid’ via the Tosha Avenue, Upper Tidmouth is the Borough’s more northern district and suburbs, mainly served by its small yard built by the TK&F back in 1906 to assist in construction of a Dam upon ‘The Falls of Tid’, via the Greenfield Branchline. Nowadays its served by the Arlesburgh Branch of the NWR, with engines allocated there taking goods to and from Upper Tidmouth Yard. Before this is the overhead brick and Iron Viaduct near the Orba Bridge, ending at a junction down to the northern side of the port via a longer, more conventional viaduct, with mainly terraced housing manoeuvring around its length. Upper Tidmouth is even known for its closely positioned parking spaces as well as having been the most industrialised back in the day, but come the 1980s, plans were already underway to redevelop it into a huge market district.)
Link to District Colour version: sta.sh/01r5t2r44r0r

(Of much we do know about Tidmouth, my version I had been trying to make a very plausible one of for years, notably in Trainz Railroad Simulators, but to no success. This here you see is a firm result of about deep research, Railway Series discussion and resourcefulness, with a long three weeks I spent day and night trying to put this thing together. There's still a lot more to explain about this in later maps, but if you all have any questions about this, go ahead.)

Tidmouth & The Railway Series (C) The Awdry Family.