Sodor the Modern Years: Rough Start

A new steam engine arrives on the Arlesdale Railway, but her first day doesn't quite go smoothly.
Thomas and Friends copyright Hit Entertainment. No profit is being made from this video.

[@NigelGresley_OG]

1:27 As Douglas stares into the void, realizing his life is meaningless..

[@brushyink101]

That’s hilarious

[@acl250productions2]

KaBoom

[@SPRINGBONNIE_anim]

lmaoooo

[@TheSouthernTerrierA1X0-6-0]

i love how BERTie is Picking up BERT's Passengers :3

[@BriceTAS]

Young Bewes The puns m8.

[@MagicRailRoadReload]

It was an absolute pleasure voicing the Old Mill Engine this episode! Can't wait for his next appearance!

[@MagicRailRoadReload]

Its a pain keeping the secret of who he is :P

[@thechineserussian]

Smudger?

[@MagicRailRoadReload]

Jock Hawk Keep trying

[@WildNorWester]

Other Railway Productions Actually, could we end this guessing game, please? I don't want any leaks or spoilers.

[@MagicRailRoadReload]

***** I wasn't going to confirm or deny anything :P I know not to leak stuff I shouldn't.

[@Trainlover1995]

A female Arlesdale steam locomotive. That's a new one. And I really liked Bertie's appearance and the explanation of what his current situation is. It really helps to establish what's going on on Sodor in 2009.

[@WildNorWester]

I thought it would be original. I do like setting up elements of Sodor in 2009 as well.

[@thedanishnut]

I like Olivia! She is a nice character! I love the art during the credits as well!

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

bigthomasfan624 Thanks. I'll be whipping up more of those for his other characters as they're introduced in future episodes.

[@ChrisTomson]

I never knew a railway like Olivia's (or should I say her basis') railway existed, so it was nice to learn of another railway's operations other than BR or National Rail. The dynamic seems really interesting and I'm intrigued as to how it will grow. Overall, another great episode :)

[@WildNorWester]

The concept of an estate railway was developed by Sir Arthur Heywood (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Arthur_Heywood,_3rd_Baronet). He wrote a book on it, which is available as an EBook from Project Gutenburg. It's quite an interesting read.

[@nachojjful]

@@WildNorWester Why is Mr. Percival the small controller of Aresdale?

[@quarrylocomotiveproduction5439]

@@nachojjful because the small controllers model isn't in trainz

[@nachojjful]

@@WildNorWester Couldn't you just use the non Thomas people in Trainz for Mr. Fergus Duncan?

[@bobwalsh3751]

R.I.P. Sir Walter

[@tanyipan3554]

@stepneythebluebellengine1601 Olivia's former owner

[@DarthWill3]

Here, I was expecting a Halloween episode, but that's alright. I love the new faces on the Arlesdale engines. Aw... Olivia looks so adorable!

[@concept5631]

Poor girl.

[@easternwoyer3876]

Mike has to be the only engine alive that likes goods work and despises passenger duties

[@RattelP-sx8tx]

I watched this as a kid thanks for the memory’s

[@grooviestglobe4907]

Are you sure you're still not a kid

[@afropenguin]

@@grooviestglobe4907 I mean 6 years is a bit of time so their probbly gone from 12 to 18

[@ZackarySchejbalCODBO2RGM2]

Funny thing is, I know a good friend who sort of has a "rough" time. I am like Bertie in the situation of Olivia. I am cheerful and always willing to help others in need. My friend is given Olivia's position, in a sort of way. But no matter how rough it is for my friend, I'm there for them when I can be.

[@TheFattHatt]

Love the Arlesdale mods - very well done on the story as well!

[@tylerkane1238]

I love the continuity as seen in the previous episode, we notice Olivia and Douglas as Tornado and Gordon thunders by, though we pay no attention to either of them "YET" but once this episodes starts playing, its like "where have I seen these two before" and realizing that they were cameo in the previous episode, its like, wow, you put in the effort to really give us an "easter egg" surprise.

[@DavidScholz-bu1ix]

WELCOME TO THE ISLAND OF SODOR'S OWN OFFICIALLY WELL-KNOWN ARLESDALE MINIMUM-GAUGE RAILWAY, OLIVIA!!

[@RWSfan2024]

Olivia’s a great character, I kinda relate to her on being introduced to new things that I don’t know Jack about

[@englishtwister]

I watched this then the slightly altered music at the end but, very much well remembered gave me goosebumps, literally.

[@emfarce]

Good work as usual. Always love seeing the little engines/diesels of the Arlesdale railway. Mill engine seems quite interesting as well.

[@Percyfan1998]

Great episode! Olivia's quite an interesting character, can't wait to see how she developes on. I love how there's not too much detail into her past, but enough to understand her background, hope theres more to came. Great little details as well, like mentioning Bertie's new line of work as a charter bus, or just making the small railway look so productive with all the new rolling stock you made for it to add more life to it. Awesome job.

[@ilovetrains323]

Well Done WildnorWester, Olivia seems like a great new character and hope to see her in future episodes, keep up the good work :)

[@ilovetrains323]

Also I hate to be "THE ONE" to ask this, But will the Arlesdale Engines (including Olivia) and new rolling stock be released?

[@thegermanofsodor]

***** hes releasing then right now

[@AndrewHager02]

I'm glad to see how well Olivia did on her first day. I can understand how hard it'd be to get used to all those timetables.

[@narrowgauge9717]

It also seems there are two things we don't know. First the arrangement's that the fat controller is making and now this steam engine in the mill.

[@thegermanofsodor]

great episode again

[@stephenfarthing3819]

Hmm! Brings a whole new meaning of being " booked in!" Does it not? Never judge a book - or a person - by the cover alone!😉

[@SuperJames526]

Well WildNorWester, I'll have to admit that you actually surprised me by changing a few details here and there: The Main Credits border, the reveal of the "Mysterious Cargo" on the flatbed in the previous episode, and giving the Arlesdale Railway an episode in the STMY series. Keep up the AWESOME work, and I can't wait for the next episode to come out.

[@Harrison1010]

Nice to see the series focusing on the engines on the Arlesdale Railway for a change but still looking forward to seeing the rest of the series soon :)

[@narrowgauge9717]

Another great episode. I like the new models of the Arlesdale engines.

[@TheBlueE2]

A very well written story mate, and one that's a bit relatable methinks. Again, your handling of a new character is the right way to introduce one, even to the point where an Awdry would be in competiton :) Must say the building scene caught me off guard much like Olivia, glad I had forgotten most of the script while watching haha :)

[@WilliamOliver11]

Good job, WNW! P.S. Was that Stanley in the old mill?

[@trainfan-ks5hk]

WilliamOliver11 No I won’t spoil to much but the old mill engine will run on the rails again but it’s not Stanley

[@thegoodgamingdragon8523]

i wonder if im the only one who imagines situations where the crews of 2 seperated engines like Olivia and Jake, set up a phone call so the 2 could talk.

[@TobyandMavisforever]

Olivia's really cool. I can't wait to see more of her, and her backstory sounds quite interesting already. And, the engine in the mill really surprised me. How did he get in there? Will he ever come out?

[@Steam98-shortz]

It’s atlas the mine engine

[@DieselofAlrest]

Olivia sounds like a pretty interesting character.

[@GeebMachine]

Once again, another brilliant episode! Can't wait to see what's next. :)

[@josephlee-jones7360]

Rex: You weren't being rude to Olivia, were you?

[@directedbydave9798]

AWESOME NEW MODELS FOR THE ARESDALE ENGINES!i saw them on deviant art,they look pretty cool!Nice episode!

[@Pyrotrainthing]

BlueE2 is a good Bertie actor.

[@Damocles178]

Stunning. Olivia is yet another great addition to the series and I certainly do enjoy the unique approach you took in regards to where she worked before and not quite being used to the more common railway operations.. As I said before it's a great strength in your series to be able to give something that even older viewers can enjoy. BTW other than Olivia (I know you made her); did you make new Mike,Rex and Bert models or are they from SI3D? :)

[@PercyTheSmallEngineStudios]

New

[@averyj5956]

Truly amazing work, WNW

[@LUCADOLLAR]

In loved it! Olivia looked like a pretty interesting harasser form the start. Btw, who was that engine in that building that spoke to her?

[@LUCADOLLAR]

I meant a pretty interesting character from the start!!! auto correct was at it again!

[@joyce9ish]

Nice work on the Arlesdale Miniature Railway Engines, Rolling Stock & Route.

[@TheBlueSunil]

Very nice video!! I really like Olivia!! Can't wait to see more of her!

[@NWR1914]

Finally, I couldn't wait!!!!:)

[@harrisonpenner6614]

Very well done indeed, I like the story 10/10.

[@jameswilliams9685]

I like Olivia's whistle :)

[@JamesJAKAZeldaboy14]

***** In your series, will the culdee railway engines ever make an apperence?

[@BenScrimgeour]

Another great episode Wildnorwester. Keep up the good work

[@aussie_mantis3507]

5:44 Mike realises how stupid Olivia is in the field of commercial railway stuff. I honestly found myself laughing by that point. keep it up, +WildNorWester!

[@ThomasKinninmonth]

TheBlueE2 returns, well people will be seeing a lot more of him because he will be voice acting in my series. and is that Stanley at 11:25.

[@TheSharkKing45]

after all Olivia has went through... she definitely needs comforting affection.

[@dragonzilla6482]

Of all the Arlsdale Railway engines Olivia meet first aside from Frank, it had to be the grumpy one.

[@steamdreamproductions503]

You should have made a Halloween special. It would have rocked as much as this episode did! 10 out of 10!

[@WildNorWester]

Mate, we don't have Halloween down here in Australia :-). Also, I don't do specials for different holidays. I have the holidays occur within the timeline of the series, rather than that of real life. Having said that, the Christmas episode for this season will, coincidentally, be uploaded on Janurary 3 2015.

[@NickolasMontagnino]

Today is my Birthday. Love your series.

[@WildNorWester]

Happy birthday! Small world - mine's on Sunday.

[@NickolasMontagnino]

***** Then happy birthday to you too.

[@WildNorWester]

Thanks :-).

[@NickolasMontagnino]

***** By the way, do you remember when I asked about one of the characters of Sodor the Modern Years you know Iris their was a reason why I asked if Iris was going to be one of Oliver's sisters.

[@MysteryMan17]

***** (puts on English accent) Happy early birthday, mate!

[@pepperthekobold]

An absolutely fantastic episode. Seamless editing and excellent voice work from 'Bertie' in particular, in my opinion. The route also looks splendid. Is it one of your own?

[@WildNorWester]

There were actually four routes used for this episode. The Peel Godred Branch and the area where Olivia rescues Frank are my own. The latter was actually resurrected from the STEY season 2 episode 'Whispers'. The other two routes were the TVS and RWS (Beta) Arlesdale Railway, done by RichardSudrian. The TVS version is available at sudrianrailways.jimdo.com/, the RWS version is still in Beta.

[@pepperthekobold]

Ah, I see. You'd never tell they were different routes had I not asked. Again, seamless editing.

[@paulam6179]

Where did you get these models of the Arlesdale Railway Engines?

[@WildNorWester]

I made them myself.

[@mercury7590]

Nice job. They look great.

[@YorkStudiosII]

Awesome!

[@PercyandDuckfan94]

Excellent episode, and the Arlesdale engine episodes are always great to see! BTW, is that engine in the museum Stanley from the Mid Sodor Railway?

[@hawkfan2300]

Stanley was scrapped, so probably not.

[@WildNorWester]

It's not Stanley, but we will be seeing more of him.

[@joshfindlay7219]

***** well l have a good idaer of who it could be.but l'm not going to say who because it would be a soppler in the futue.

[@nossta5242]

Who else saw donald/douglas bringing her in last episode lol

[@SamTheMann-eg1dy]

The nameplate on Olivia actually says Gina

[@WildNorWester]

It doesn't. I made the model myself, and it says Olivia. It may be a bit difficult to read in distance shots.

[@SamTheMann-eg1dy]

I see

[@intercity-mq6qv]

+WildNorWester coad jake by eney chans enter the next series to possibly join oliver on the arlsdel rallway if possible

[@LadyTehpikachu]

Enlist for the skeleton war! Local lame amateur voice actor nerd, Lady Tehpikachu has.

[@directedbydave9798]

WOOOHH HAPPY 100 VIDEO!

[@OHNEY]

frank sounds like ten cents

[@BiscuitCatProductions]

Ah! So this is who that little green engine was!

[@michaelharless6026]

realy SHE WAS MENTIONED ALMOST ALL VIDEO

[@davidguthary8147]

Michael Harless He was probably saying that in reference to a cameo appearance she made in a previous episode.

[@BiscuitCatProductions]

Thank you, David.

[@heathwhitley4935]

17:41-17:44 Rex: "HOLY COW!!!!" Ha ha ha ha haa! That sounds funny because Rex surprise because a cows speak like George Carlin moo again! LOL!!!! 😂

[@heathwhitley4935]

Heath Whitley Okay I know that.

[@heathwhitley4935]

Heath Whitley Yep.

[@heathwhitley4935]

Heath Whitley Well, Will Save The sand.

[@memazov6601]

Hey isn't it this shown in the last Episode

[@josephlee-jones7360]

Well not deliberately but I was a bit annoyed. I mean she didn't know what signals were or about timetable running.

[@eliotreader8220]

it good to hear that burty the bus nows the asasdale railway steam engines

[@trainlover658]

Looking back on this episode now when "old Mill" was introduced, was he MEANT to be Atlas this whole time? Or was it something you decided as the episodes went on?

[@WildNorWester]

He was meant to be Atlas all along. That's why both roles had the same voice actor.

[@thomaseadbhardmcqueen7511]

Nice episode. Will we ever see the engine in the building?

[@sodortrainz757]

Wildnorwester, which electric engine passed when olivia told mike she was used to not being wanted?

[@dragonzilla6482]

I saw Olivia in the previous episode Doncaster Drawn and I was wondering who that was.

[@bskorupk]

Is it just me? or does the gristmill engine sound like he was voiced by DDJProductions2011?

[@thegermanofsodor]

it does sound like DDJProductions2011 but it isnt him

[@bskorupk]

Thomas fan forever Sorry, I knew I should have read the credits first...

[@castlesandjazzers1534]

Olivia's whistle sounds suspiciously similar to Coast Guard's from TUGS. Doesn't it? :-D

[@WildNorWester]

It's actually a recording of the whistle from her prototype, 'Lydia' of the Perrygrove Railway.

[@castlesandjazzers1534]

I see. :-)

[@MrJoeyWheeler]

What is Olivia's basis? She looks oddly familiar. Also, the engine inside the mill talking...somehow I imagine a megaphone sticking out the window so he'd be talking like TUGS :P

[@WildNorWester]

Olivia's basis is 'Lydia' of the Perrygrove Railway.

[@ShadowGamer011]

Olivia is about four years old at this point

[@cjbalke8691]

Olivia seems to be a good engine, if a bit naive, and ill fit in well once she's learned a bit more about life on a real railway. What a sad story for such a young engine, though..... and will you be revealing more about that old engine in the mill at any point?

[@WildNorWester]

+CJ Balke Possibly... Olivia's story also has another chapter, in the episode 'Cold Reception'.

[@shunt0141]

For a question for my archive of all Sudrian Locomotives, who was the builder of Olivia?

[@WildNorWester]

The Fat Controller Here's an article on her prototype's design and construction: www.steam-loco-design.co.uk/lydia.html. Sir Walter Albworth ordered an identical steam engine from the same manufacturers.

[@shunt0141]

Thanks a bunch, I am collating an *extensive* list of such details, and since I am including many of your original characters I was looking for it. I heard in on your wikia that it was built in UK, but I thought is from Alan Keef.

[@Sys-Edit0r-1995]

are you getting TANE? I wonder what this series would look like with that

[@JojoCat2008]

Andrew Duncan? You mean that's Fergus Duncan's Father or Someone?

[@Simh86]

I understand that you had to establish a new 'Small Controller' (at least based on RBTL he'd be retired now) but according to that same book he never married, so do you have an explanation for this Andrew Duncan's relationship to him?

[@WildNorWester]

The original Small Controller was his uncle.

[@rockyfanatic6846]

How were you able to get Olivia onto the flatcar plus I tried installing tornado and Alice and I couldn’t run them

[@DocterGeko]

Ok so at Ffarquar road station the layout goes from left to right, platform, track platform, track. how to the passengers gt to the middle platform, are they allowed to just step over the line or are there designated crossing places like crossings and footbridges at the stations (also if i said this before then sorry, i couldn't find another comment by me unless i missed it)

[@WildNorWester]

If you look between the two platforms at Ffarquhar Road, there's a wooden walkway with the tracks embedded in it. Presumably the passengers can use this to cross when there's no train coming.

[@DocterGeko]

ah ok

[@OlanKenny]

Am I right in thinking Olivia is based on Katie at La'al Ratty?

[@WildNorWester]

She's based on 'Lydia' from the Perrygrove Railway.

[@oliverthehero5964]

who was the engine in the old mill? cause it can't have been smuger?

[@mikeshearer1250]

Oliverthe Hero smudger is a tv series character, not a railway series character

[@garnethello6283]

WNW, what type of locomotive (if you've thought of one) is Jake? I can imagine he's a steam engine, but beyond that i don't know

[@WildNorWester]

He's 1/3 scale replica of a LMS 'Black Five'.

[@taffytamuttonfudge5765]

***** i must ask though. Where did you get the model of Ten Cents when you started using him?

[@Channel-ij5px]

Did you make that frank model or is it from somewhere else

[@WildNorWester]

I made it.

[@Channel-ij5px]

Ah I guess you changed it with your newer one. Cos I was wondering why this version of frank seems different

[@WildNorWester]

Wait a sec, sorry, this isn't my Frank. I was thinking of Fred on the Skarloey Railway. I always get those two confused for some reason.

[@Channel-ij5px]

WildNorWester oh ok, it’s alright we all make mistakes. So where was this frank from. Was it SI3D?

[@Vomahanew]

Is Olivia meant to supplement Sigrid? I only ask because I noticed you didn't mention her at all in this episode.

[@WildNorWester]

I've got different plans for Sigrid. Unfortunately, I came up with them too late to start laying breadcrumbs in season 1 of the series.

[@steamerfan2212]

How did he get Olivia on the flatbed

[@furryjw]

There's a building that talks? What? Can someone explain that to me?

[@WildNorWester]

It's explained in the episode - that's the steam engine inside the building that's talking.

[@furryjw]

Yeah, I just saw that one. Your series is REALLY good at keeping continuity.

[@dylansmith1364]

Is that Smudger I hear?

[@austinflamingo2021]

is it possible that the stationary steam engine is Atlas?

[@FlattenedFunnel]

SPOILER ALERT

[@gallriothe1189]

FlattenedFunnel Not really much of a spoiler if everyone knows about it know :P

[@Talesofsodorproductions]

Not the best episode but it still good

[@directedbydave9798]

Were is Si3d's frank?is it still be moved to there new site?

[@NWR1914]

The Frank model featured in this video is not from SI3D but it was on Crovan Gate Work's. It is not available but the non-baked version was made by SI3D and is on the SI3D 2009 website

[@neilsomers9046]

Who Was That Steam Engine In The Shed That Spoke To Olivia? Wait A Minute... Something Just Occured To Me... (Penny In The Air) The ArlseDale ailway Follows The Old Mid-Sodor Railway,And The Steam Engine That Spoke Said He Was Turned Into A Generator To Run The Mill Machinery... *Penny Drops* Oh My God... But No,I Won't Reveal My Revelation. It May Be Spoilers To A Future Episode.

[@WildNorWester]

It's not Stanley or Smudger. In fact, there's nothing to say he's not the original engine who was built into the mill in the 1890s.

[@neilsomers9046]

***** Ok,Thanks For Telling Me.But If It's Not Stanley Or Smudger,Then Who Is He/her?

[@rayhagele]

One problem, You-Know-Who broke down which made the mines flood. This was enough to close the Mid Sodor Railway. Though in the TV series or the regular books cover this it was mention in a special book that explained the origin of Sodor.

[@WildNorWester]

Neil Somers He's the engine inside the Old Mill.

[@neilsomers9046]

vey funny.I'll Just Wait And See Who His Identity Is From Future Episodes.

[@Junior_Productions]

Anyone here in 2021

[@27brey]

Where did you get the Small Controller model?

[@scifiguy9000]

Who was that engine in the mill?

[@ThomasKinninmonth]

who made the route

[@loganthewolfbear2671]

Where is Sigrid of Arlesdale?

[@hampshirenutjob6746]

The steam engine in the mill seems like an interesting character, will we be seeing more of him?

[@WildNorWester]

Yes.

[@michaelharless6026]

can the mill engine be in the next episode pwease (puppy dog eyes)

[@MagicRailRoadReload]

You'll find out more about him in the future!

[@WildNorWester]

Indeed. This is one of those long arcs that spans multiple seasons.

[@b12fan]

Whos The Engine inside The Building?

[@WildNorWester]

That's revealed in the episode 'Storm Damage'.

[@quarrylocomotiveproduction5439]

Wildnorwester who is Jake ?

[@tivednagol9127]

That standard gauge track at 1:55; may I ask its name?