Dear Friends,

Since 1945, the stories of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends have captivated the world over. Sadly, though, they are grossly misunderstood, due to HiT Entertainment and later Mattel muddling, skewing, and overall ignoring the facts in favor of merchandising profits.

Many fans, including Wildnorwester, Thomas1Edward2Henry3, Hufflepuff Batboy, Victor Tanzig, and Litchfield the A2 have attempted to piece together the island's history. All five are right... to a point. The fact of the matter is that their interpretations are all correct, but from a certain point of view. For example, Wildnorwester is correct that the Norramby branch was closed under the Beeching Axe and reopened in 1996, but what he didn't mention is that the Kirkronan branch was also a victim, though it did reopen in 1981, like Hufflepuff Batboy stated. Another WNW point is that Evan and Edwin run on the Norramby branch. They actually run a service known as the Airport Shuttle between the Sodor Airport and Knapford.

In addition, their interpretations of the early history of Sodor are all correct, and all connect with each other seamlessly. Engines like Colin, Adam, Lily, and Wallace did exist, but there were more in the heyday of the NWR. For example, Emily was S&M #4, using the number of a Neilson box tank named Sampson who exploded at Vicarstown (there were three other Box Tanks, in addition to Clive, Neil, and Matthew).

Finally, Victor Tanzig's "non-faceless vehicle" concept is true. All of it. We shall be discussing this concept of his in Chapter 3.

What Victor got wrong, however, is the idea that Sodor was split between the LNER and LMS. This never happened, though the LMS made a go at acquiring the North Western Railway in 1925.

In this series, we aim to bring to light the true history of Sodor, its people, and railways. This will include highly researched bibliographies as well as a dozen or so tales about the island that either had their facts skewered by Awdry or the TV Series producers or remain untold by either one.

We hope you enjoy these factually correct retellings of the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine & his friends.

-The Authors