Railway stories and anecdotes have been told across the 200 years we are celebrating this year, but none have achieved the recognition and adoration quite so much as those told about the Island of Sodor . 80 years ago the very first book in The Railway Series was published, written by The Reverend Wilbert Awdry – one of our own Talyllyn Railway volunteers, who created the Skarloey Railway based upon his own experiences here on the TR.
As part of Railway 200 – we at the Talyllyn Railway are celebrating 80 years of this iconic bit of Children’s Railway Literature and of course honouring one of our own volunteers.
The ever-popular Sir Handel, Rusty and Fred return to the Talyllyn, bringing with them other special guests from the Island of Sodor. This three day event, filled with special trains, evening events, exhibitions, photo charters and more, is going to be our last Extravaganza for a while. There’ll be special trains, exhibitions and evening events showcasing delights from the Talyllyn Railway’s Awdry Study and Mattel’s official Thomas Archives.
We hope you’ll join us for this celebration of the life and legacy of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and, of course, his most enduring creations.