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Skarloey
Profile Skarloey 2
Vital statistics
Title Little Old Engine
Gender "Male"
Status Operational
Location Skarloey Railway

Skarloey is a fictional locomotive from The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry. He is one of the oldest engines on the Island of Sodor. Skarloey lives and works on the Skarloey Railway as Engine No.1.

Railway Series history[]

Skarloey was built by Fletcher Jennings & Company of Whitehaven in 1864, and arrived via steam-ship at Kirk Ronan harbour in May 1865, being transported by rail for the last twenty-odd miles to his base at Crovan's Gate. From the beginning Skarloey relished attention, but as the people of Sodor were not used to engines at the time, he was not above acting out and mistreatment, which influenced him somewhat to appreciate that he needed to work hard to earn his keep.

He also had a habit of "bucking", which was cured when he was returned to his builders for an extra pair of wheels to be added beneath his footplate. At the same time he received a cab, which others admired and made him overly proud. This led to a row with his more iffy future-partner Rheneas, who ended up rescuing him following a run-in with a mudslide, whereupon he learnt the error of his ways and respected what Rheneas could "bring to the table".

In 1897, Skarloey returned to Whitehaven for heavy repairs, and a new boiler was presumably fitted. In the Rev. Awdry's own lecture notes, recently revealed to the public, he cites Skarloey was, around this time, frequently hoisted into a special standard-gauge haulage wagon, powered by gears engaged with his lead wheels, to haul slate-filled wagons for the Crovan's Gate Mining Company. At a certain point the haulage wagon, which could only be operated at a gear-reduced speed, became redundant. This practice was inspired by the factual use of haulage wagons for the narrow-gauge engines that serviced the Guinness Brewery complex in Dublin, Ireland.

In the years that followed, Skarloey appreciated how people played a crucial part in the assurance of his railway's survival, and grew as a dedicated worker. In 1943, he was side-lined when his firebox was declared too worn-out for safe operation, leaving Rheneas with the sole responsibility of running the line until Sir Handel and Peter Sam arrived in 1952.

After stepping in selflessly when no other engines were available, Skarloey was labelled "Old Faithful" and rewarded with long-awaited repairs. Returning to service in 1958, Skarloey is affectionately nicknamed "the Little Old Engine", and mainly pulls visitors nowadays with the others. In 1985, Skarloey returned to service after a heavy overhaul, during which he received a new welded boiler.

Prototype[]

Skarloey is based on the locomotive Talyllyn which works at the Talyllyn Railway in Tywyn, Wales. Like the fictional character, Talyllyn was built in 1864, and has worked on its original railway since 1865.

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