If you grew up on the Railway Series, or you're currently several hundred readings deep into it with a small child, you've probably wondered whether Skarloey, Rheneas, and the rest of the narrow-gauge engines from the Island of Sodor were based on anything real.
They were. Almost all of them.
The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the original books, was a volunteer at the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for decades, joining almost the moment the railway's preservation society was formed in 1951, membership number 79. He didn't just write about a fictional narrow-gauge line, he built one out of a real one he knew intimately, right down to the illustrations, which were worked up from actual photographs of the Talyllyn rather than invented from scratch.
Here's exactly which real locomotive inspired which character.
Skarloey is the Talyllyn
The railway itself, the Skarloey Railway in the books, is a fairly direct portrait of the real Talyllyn line, and the engine Skarloey shares its name with the Talyllyn's own locomotive of the same name, one of the two original steam engines still running on the line today, over 160 years after it was built.
Rheneas is Dolgoch
Rheneas, Skarloey's steady, older companion in the stories, is based on Dolgoch, the Talyllyn's other original locomotive. Like Skarloey, Dolgoch is still in service.
Sir Handel is Sir Haydn
The name only changes slightly here. Sir Handel in the books is based on the real engine Sir Haydn, named after Sir Haydn Jones, the Talyllyn's former owner who kept the railway running until his death in 1950, at which point his widow handed the line over to the volunteers who would go on to save it.
Peter Sam is Edward Thomas
Peter Sam is based on the Talyllyn's real No. 4 locomotive, Edward Thomas, originally built for the Corris Railway before joining the Talyllyn fleet. The real Edward Thomas has even been repainted into Peter Sam's livery for special events on the railway.
Duncan is Douglas
Duncan's rough-riding, rule-bending personality in the books isn't just invented character colour. It's drawn from the real Douglas, a genuine Talyllyn locomotive known for being a "rough rider" thanks to its short wheelbase.
Rusty is Midlander
The Skarloey Railway's diesel, Rusty, is based on Midlander, the Talyllyn's real No. 5, a Ruston & Hornsby diesel built in 1941 and still used for maintenance work on the line today.
Ivo Hugh is based on Tom Rolt
Added later by Awdry's son Christopher, who continued writing the series, Ivo Hugh is modelled on the Talyllyn's Tom Rolt locomotive, named after the man who arrived at the railway in 1943, found it on the verge of closure, and became the driving force behind the preservation effort that saved it.
The one exception: Duke
Not every character in the extended Sodor lore comes from the Talyllyn. Duke, one of Wilbert Awdry's own later additions, was actually based on the Ffestiniog Railway's locomotive Prince, a different Welsh line entirely.
Why it matters
Awdry didn't just borrow a few names. He spent decades actually volunteering on the Talyllyn, plate laying, oiling fishplates, training as a guard, long after the books had already made him famous, and the railway's connection to the stories has never really ended. His son volunteered there too. His grandson still does.
We went deep on the full story, including how Awdry got the Talyllyn into the books at all after his own publishers initially said no, in Issue Cymru, our first special edition dedicated entirely to Wales.
Read the full story in Issue Cymru
Photo Credits: Nathan Spence
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