h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The "live action" scenes in the bizarre American movie were filmed in the Isle Of Man, which was also the source of the name Sodor.

Some of it was filmed on the Isle of Man and some in Canada I think... Awdrey actually produced a map of the Island of Sodor, which stretched from the Cumbrian Coast to the Isle of Man... As Awdrey was an ordained Anglican priest I think the name originates from the "Bishop of Sodor and Man" - Sodor being an area of southwest scotland, but yes, there are a lot of connections between the Island and Awdrey's work.

Very interesting!

One thing I find very interesting about the maps of Sodor is that it shows locations of all the prominant points in the stories. There are places every child who has read the Railway Series, or at least seen the TV series, will know, like Henry's Tunnel, Gordon's Hill, The China Clay Quarry which Bill and Ben work at, and several other places.

It surprised me when I saw how much larger Sodor is than the Isle of Man when comparing it on the map. Sodor is Twice as Large.

Wilbur Awdry was always fooling around with having the Engines interact with the rest of the world. Such stories include "Gordon Goes Foreign," where Gordon, Duck, and another nameless engine were in an argument over the name of the main station in London in one story. Gordon said the name was Kings Cross, Duck said Paddington, and the nameless engine said Euston. The argument was never settled, and when Gordon finally managed to arrive in London himself, he was very surprised. He later remarked to the Fat Controller, "London's all wrong. They've changed it. It isn't Kings Cross anymore. It's St Pancras." Other events include going on show, meeting the Queen, and Flashbacks to the days when they were young.

My three mates actually worked on this film.
One of them was the locations manager,
The other two guarded the sets at night/day.
They said that they hadnt a clue what was happeneing the whole time it was being made!

Lord Smooth