Tidmouth Sheds are the main engine sheds of the North Western Railway located at Tidmouth. As of the eighth series, the sheds are home to the Steam Team.
History
Tidmouth Sheds are located north of Tidmouth Station, behind the River Tid and in front of a bridge. The sheds are presented as a German-style roundhouse with six (later seven) berths and a turntable outside at the front. To the east of the sheds are the engine works; to its west are the goods station and the line along the coast to Arlesburgh (Toby's Branch Line on the 1991 map, the Little Western on the 2014 map).
During the events of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the left side of the sheds was being repaired due to upgrades to the railway, however, Diesel 10 destroyed the side while the engines were asleep. The sheds were later demolished and rebuilt in Calling All Engines! with a new architectural style and an extra berth for Emily. Diesel, 'Arry and Bert were put in charge of building them, but Thomas - attempting to pay them back for their bad behaviour earlier on - sabotaged the three, unaware that they were delivering building supplies for the sheds. This caused delays to the construction and the engines were forced to sleep elsewhere until it was repaired. When the job was completed, Emily then became part of the team at Tidmouth Sheds.
Once, the turntable froze due to the icy weather and Gordon got trapped in the sheds until it could be fixed.[1] Later on, the Steam Team went on strike by objecting to leave the sheds until the Fat Controller was allowed to stay on Sodor, however this ended up being a misunderstanding as Sir Topham was never leaving in the first place.[2]
Sometime later, James crashed into the back of the shed wall after having trouble with his brakes.[3] While the sheds were being repaired, Thomas was sent to Knapford Sheds, while Edward went to Wellsworth Sheds. A week later, the shed was repaired and everybody moved back in, but Edward chose to permanently move to Wellsworth Sheds with Philip, as it was closer to his branch line.[4]
After Thomas returned from his trip around the world, Nia took Edward's spot in the sheds, much to Gordon's chagrin. Sometime later, Henry left to stay at Vicarstown Sheds with Rosie.[5] His spot was not long after taken by Rebecca once she arrived on Sodor.[6]
Residents
Between the first and seventh series, Tidmouth Sheds had no permanent roster. Since the establishment of the Steam Team, the sheds have been used almost exclusively by them, with occasional guests such as visitors and new arrivals to the Island.
Series 8 - Series 21
Series 22 - Series 24
Appearances
Trivia
- Though the engines seem to use the berths at random, in some series/specials, the engines are mostly seen in the sheds in a particular order, with these orders (right to left) being:
- In some episode in the ninth series: Edward, James, Henry, Gordon, Thomas, Percy and Emily. In the episodes Thomas and the Golden Eagle, Thomas' Day Off and Thomas' Milkshake Muddle, Thomas and Percy are swapped around but all other characters remain the same.
- In several episodes of the seventeenth series: the three big engines (Henry, Gordon and James) at the right side of the shed in a random order, Thomas and Percy in the middle and Emily and Edward at the left side of the shed.
- In Tale of the Brave, Spencer's VIP, Helping Hiro and Philip to the Rescue: Edward, Henry, Emily, Gordon, James, Thomas and Percy (though Henry and Edward switched places in the latter episode).
- From the twentieth to twenty-first series (excluding Three Steam Engines Gruff and Cranky at the End of the Line): Henry, Gordon, Edward, James, Thomas, Percy and Emily.
- Starting in Big World! Big Adventures (the twenty-second series) after Henry and Edward moved out, the order was still the same as in the twentieth series, except Rebecca is in Henry's place and Nia is in Edward's, so the order is now: Rebecca, Gordon, Nia, James, Thomas, Percy and Emily. In the episode Thomas' Animal Ark, James and Nia are swapped around but all other characters remain the same.
- Tidmouth Sheds' original appearance is loosely based on the HO Scale roundhouse produced by Vollmer.
- Tidmouth Sheds is one of only two locations to appear in every series of Thomas & Friends, the other being Gordon's Hill.
- The three-berth garage from TUGS can be seen on the set from the third to the fifth series.
- As of the sixth series episode Thomas, Percy and the Squeak mouse named Allicia lives in the corner of Tidmouth Sheds. It is unknown whether or not Allicia stayed through the renovation of Tidmouth Sheds in Calling All Engines! and whether or not she remains there.
- Despite the sheds having a turntable in the television series, many tie-in books (particularly those illustrated by Richard Courtney) depict them as a row of sheds.
- In the My Thomas Story Library series, they are occasionally illustrated more closely to their original appearance in The Railway Series prior to becoming a roundhouse.
Merchandise
- ERTL (discontinued)
- Wooden Railway (regular and deluxe; discontinued)
- Wood (cancelled 2018, re-release 2019, discontinued)
- Wooden Railway (2022)
- Take Along (two versions, both discontinued)
- Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
- TrackMaster (discontinued)
- Bachmann (shed add-on also available)
- Take-n-Play (two versions; discontinued)
- Adventures (discontinued)
- Capsule Plarail
- Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
- Departing Now (discontinued)
- Thomas Town (discontinued)
- Mega Bloks (three versions)
- New Block
- Nakayoshi
- Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
- Discover Junction
- Trading Cards
- Tomica
- Motorized Railway
- Collectible Railway (discontinued)
- Super Station
References
- ↑ T&F S17 #20 "The Frozen Turntable"
- ↑ T&F S19 #25 "Goodbye Fat Controller"
- ↑ T&F S21 #12 "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor"
- ↑ T&F S21 #13 "A Shed for Edward"
- ↑ T&F S22 #2 "Forever and Ever"
- ↑ T&F S22 #3 "Confusion Without Delay"
| Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Henry | Gordon | James | Donald and Douglas | Emily | Murdoch | Molly | Nia | Rebecca |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | |
| Former | Edward | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Emily's Coaches | Green Express Coaches | Red Express Coaches |
| Former | The Spiteful Brake Van | Slip Coaches | |
| Trains | Passenger | The Express | The Local | The Great Waterton Special |
| Goods | The Flying Kipper | The Midnight Goods | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Tidmouth | Lower Tidmouth** | Knapford | Crosby | Wellsworth | Maron | Cronk** | Killdane** | Balladrine** | Kellaby** | Whispering Woods Halt** | Kellsthorpe Road** | Crovan's Gate | Great Waterton** | Vicarstown | Barrow-in-Furness** |
| Sheds | Tidmouth Sheds | Tidmouth Yard Sheds | Knapford Sheds | Crovan's Gate Sheds* | Vicarstown Sheds | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | Tidmouth Tunnel (South) | Henry's Tunnel | Crosby Tunnel** | Crosby Bridge* | The Viaduct | Sodor Suspension Bridge** | Maron Bridge* | Standard Gauge and Narrow Gauge Viaduct | Vicarstown Bridge** |
| Locomotives | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Old Slow Coach | Slip Coaches |
| Goods | Toad | S.C. Ruffey | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | Skiff | |
| People | Captain Joe | The Museum Manager | |
| Stations | Tidmouth | Tidmouth Hault | Tidmouth Town Hall** | Haultraugh** | Bluff's Cove** | Arlesburgh West** | |
| Locomotives | Toby |
|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Henrietta |
| Affiliates | Ffarquhar Branch Line | Ffarquhar Quarry Company |
| Stations | Tidmouth* | Bluff's Cove** | Tidmouth Bay** | Bertram's Old Mine** | Lower Arlesburgh | Arlesburgh* | Upper Arlesburgh* | Marthwaite* | Arlesdale End | Ulfstead** |