Web Animation / Sodor

Sodor is a YouTube fan series of Thomas & Friends made by CyberRusty99.

Life on Sodor seems to be perfect for the engines of Sodor. But sadly, things start to fall apart after Ben tricks his brother into going into a old line and getting severely damaged. From there, more and more accidents occur with all of them growing in scale and severity. It’s up to the engines of Sodor to figure out what’s going on and how to stop it.

Currently, the series is in its second season with the fourth episode being released on September 16th 2023. CyberRusty99 has also released several spin off episodes under the title Sodor Presents which are canon to the main series. Can be viewed here but be warned of marked spoilers.

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Sodor provides examples of:

• Alternate History: No, the real Flying Scotsman did not have a train of runaway trucks crash into him in November 2001, resulting in several months of repairs at the Sodor Steamworks.
• Ambiguously Evil: Paul Maxwell appears to just be a normal man who’s trying to run his company and wants Hiro. Where he fits this trope is him abducting and seemingly trying to scrap Bill though it’s debatable whether or not Maxwell was going to scrap him since he does give the saddle engine a chance to live.
• Anachronic Order: The Sodor II opener was released in 2019, while the Sodor I finale came out a year later.
• Ascended Extra: According to a YouTube comment by CyberRusty99, Chester was originally meant to be a one-off throwaway character who only appeared in "Deceit", but his role is expanded in "A Message for Peter Sam" onwards, where he is revealed to be a former associate of P.T. Boomer.
  • Thomas only has a few brief appearances in the first season, having already been Demoted to Extra after being the main protagonist of the original show. The second season expands his role significantly, making him one of the lead characters of "Last Chance.''
• Batman Gambit: Diesel 10's plan in "The Branch Line Incident" relies on knowing exactly where each engine will be at any given time, and predicting what will happen when their routines are disrupted. He gets it pretty much exactly right, but screws it all up by telling his plan to Diesel, not realising he's had a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Flora attempts this in "The Vicarstown Gambit" with the troublesome trucks by analysing the railway's timetables and predicting the trucks' behaviour. It works for almost every truck... except Scruffey.
• Big Bad: Diesel 10 is this for Sodor I, though the Sodor II opener "Deceit" seems to suggest that P.T Boomer is the real mastermind.
• Big Good: Sir Topham Hatt as always.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Perry seems to be friendly to Chester but he’s also willing to threaten Chester over.. Something. “Last Chance reveals why: He’s trying to keep Chester quiet over the fact that he’s P.T Boomer.
• Bitter Sweet Ending: This is how the first season ends as, while Diesel 10 is stopped, the scars he left on Sodor are implied to be long lasting with the NWR’s future uncertain.
• Break the Cutie: Bill and Ben. The mischievous, childlike little twins endure some major trauma in the first episode, and it's all downhill from there. Bill, being the one that crashed, is especially put through the wringer; the now jaded and bitter engine not only resents his brother, but is also destined for scrap.
  • Flora in "The Vicarstown Gambit". The sweet, shy and timid engine is pushed to her limits when dealing with the Troublesome Trucks. When Scruffey goes so far as to savagely insult her friends, she snaps and smashes him to pieces.
  • Paxton in "Last Chance", to a lesser extent. He finally forms a genuine mutual friendship with Diesel, only for Diesel to completely ignore him as he seemingly leaves Sodor for the last time.
  • Skarloey. After almost being scrapped by Arry and Bert and learning Rusty’s story was false, he goes from a outgoing friendly engine into a much more cynical engine when we see him again in “A Message For Peter Sam.”
• Breather Episode: Most episodes in Sodor I feature some sort of dark, dramatic hook, but sandwiched between them is "James and the Not-So-Famous Visitor", a light-hearted comedy episode. Even the Flying Scotsman's accident is played for laughs, despite being a major plot point in later episodes.
  • When watching the full series in chronological order, the spin-off episode “Which Way Now?” is a completely comedic episode that comes right after “The Vicarstown Gambit” where we witness the loveable Flora snap and destroy Scruffey in a rage, and Bill is sentenced for scrap and right before “A Message For Peter Sam” where Bill is kidnapped in the middle of the night by Paul Maxwell for mysterious reasons.
  • The fourth spin-off episode "Thomas And The Horrid Lorry" is a light hearted affair that chronologically comes right after "How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Modernization" where Arry and Bert struggle with the possibility of being obsolete and right before "Deceit" where Ben has an dream with an mysterious engine and his brother Bill with the implications that Bill is going to be scrapped. It’s also revealed P.T. Boomer is the real mastermind of the series and he and Diesel Ten still plan on causing havoc for Sodor.
• Brick Joke: In "Deceit", Wayne tells Chester that his wife found his secret wheelbarrow, but does not elaborate on its contents. In "A Message for Peter Sam", released a full 4 years after "Deceit", it's revealed that this resulted in Wayne being arrested, due to the wheelbarrow containing "a secret stash of crystal m-".
• Cassandra Truth: In “A Message For Peter Sam,” Peter Sam keeps trying to tell the others about Old Nigel but they don’t believe him. He’s real alright and it’s possible he’s linked with the engine Ben saw while dreaming.
• Darker and Edgier: While not devoid of humor, Sodor tends to make many of the stables that occur in canon more seriously. Bill’s accident and the ever changing landscape of Sodor as shown in "One Trick Too Far" and "How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Modernization" are very good examples of the former and the latter respectively.
  • While no one has actually died so far, death, manslaughter and murder are concepts that are explicitly referenced throughout the show, a major departure from its kid-friendly source material.
• Deconstruction Fic : As mentioned above, Sodor tends to give the stables of the franchise more weight than in canon and shows how they affect the characters overall.
  • One Trick Too Far the very first episode shows just how dangerous Bill and Ben’s tricks can be as Ben’s trick causes Bill to have an massive crash with Bill resenting his brother showing that he won’t forgive his brother for almost killing him.
  • The various crashes and accidents that occur throughout the series eventually cause the NWR’s money to deplete which nearly damns Bill and Diesel to be scrapped..
• Deconstructed Trope: Unlike in canon, Easily Forgiven does not apply here as in both Duck And Diesel and The Vicarstown Gambit, neither Diesel nor Bill in the former and latter respectively are not willing to forgive those who tried to make them crash.
• Demoted to Extra: Most of the Steam Team from Thomas & Friends are relegated to minor roles in Sodor I, with the exception of James, who is the protagonist of "James and the Not-So-Famous-Visitor", and Toby, a major supporting character in three episodes. Emily in particular only has two lines.
  • So far, Sodor II has only given a major role to Thomas, with "Last Chance". The rest have received either bit parts or no screen time at all.
• Despair Event Horizon: Ben has an massive one in "The Vicarstown Gambit" when he gets the news that Bill is to be scrapped due to lack of funds.
• Downer Ending: Sodor II has a few.
  • "The Vicarstown Gambit" ends with the confirmation that Bill's rebuild has halted, and that he is now slated to be scrapped. Flora is also barred from working beyond her branch line after she angrily crushes Scruffey to pieces.
  • “Last Chance” ends with Diesel being framed for crashing Duck, then exiled from the railway that previously saved him from scrap. Diesel 10 and Perry seem convinced that this means he will be scrapped soon, though they seem unaware that he has instead been purchased by Paul Maxwell. Furthermore, Thomas is threatened by Perry to keep quiet or else he will meet a horrible fate at his hands.
• The Dragon: Arry and Bert are this to Diesel 10 in the first season. Splatter and Dodge take over starting in the second season.
• Easily Forgiven: Toby and Paxton are quick to forgive Diesel after he returns. Averted with Duck (until the end of the first season) and Thomas.
• Early Instalment Weirdness: The first two episodes feature an omniscient narrator, much like the show it's based on. Apart from the ending of "Master of the Railway", subsequent episodes don't feature a narrator at all.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In "Revolutionary Engines", while he may not like Salty being friendly to the steam engines, Diesel is clearly taken aback when Arry suggests that Salty should be gotten rid of for it.
  • Discussed in "The Branch Line Incident" by Toby, as regardless of whether or not Diesel has reformed, he’s certain that Diesel has enough morals to help them stop the accidents that are occurring.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: In the ending of “Which Way Now?”, Rusty realizes that due to his impatience, he caused the Duke and Duchess to get themselves lost.
• Face–Heel Turn: The cop from "Deceit" who questions Diesel 10 with the intent of arresting P.T. Boomer, is now being bribed by him to keep quiet as revealed in "Last Chance". It seemingly doesn't faze him in the slightest.
• Faux Affably Evil: Diesel 10’s polite nature is quickly undercut by his tendency to make ominous threats and, as Ben learns, guilt tripping. He is, however, actually friendly with Arry and Bert, who also qualify to a lesser extent, and Diesel pre-Heel–Face Turn.
  • On the surface, Perry seems friendly and cheerful, but he will not hesitate to manipulate, gaslight, and outright threaten anyone he thinks can get him what he wants. Thomas learns this the hard way.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Duck and Diesel don’t have a good start after the latter returns to Sodor after the events of "Revolutionary Engines" with Duck even deciding to attempt to crash Diesel. However after they work together in "The Branch Line Incident" they slowly and surely let their grudge with each other die. By the time of "Last Chance", they’ve become good friends with one another.
• From Bad to Worse: Everything about Bill’s life gets worse as the series goes on. First, he’s involved in a massive crash that was caused by his own brother. Then thanks to the events of be first season, his repairs are cancelled due to lack of funds, sentencing him to scrap and then he’s taken in the middle of the night by Paul Maxwell, his fate uncertain.
• George Lucas Altered Version: Both "One Trick Too Far" and "Master of the Railway" have received updated versions released long after the original episodes. They both have relatively minor alterations; "One Trick Too Far" features new audio and adds a post-credits scene, while "Master of the Railway" features additional voice actors and replaces Paul Maxwell's original Character Building figure with his new Lego minifig via some reshot footage.
• Heel–Face Turn: After the events of "Revolutionary Engines", Diesel undergoes one while he’s sent away. After returning in "Duck and Diesel", he’s determined to be really useful to the railway by apologizing to all the engines he’s hurt.
  • Both "A Message For Peter Sam" and "Last Chance" reveal that Chester used to be a criminal who helped Perry in the past. Now all Chester wants to do is live his life away from his past.
• Hero Antagonist: Thomas is this to Diesel in "Last Chance". Thomas believes Diesel is responsible for orchestrating the Branch Line Incident, and hatches a plan to send him packing. He genuinely thinks he's doing the right thing, but realises too late that the man who convinced him to do it is the real mastermind.
• Hypocritical Humor: In “Last Chance,” Duck tells Diesel how awful it is that Thomas won’t forgive Diesel before Diesel tells Duck he did the exact same thing.
• Jerkass: Orville the plane thinks that he’s the greatest aircraft ever and also believes that every other vehicle is below him.
  • Scruffy is a nasty truck who insults Flora every chance he gets and even states that all her of her friends will be scrapped. Unfortunately for him, that last one pisses Flora off enough to ram into him.
• Jerk Ass To One: Inverted in that the Duke of Boxford is rude to everyone except Rusty.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gordon, much like his counterpart from the source material. He is rude, arrogant, and dismissive, but "The Three Railway Engines Come Home" shows that he really does care about his fellow engines and considers them his friends, and is willing to own up to his mistakes.
• Kick the Dog: Scruffy not only insults Flora numerous times, he also talks about how all her friends will be scrapped. Naturally that last one has Flora ram into him in anger.
• Leave the Camera Running: "A Message for Peter Sam" ends with a static shot of a bridge that lasts for about two minutes, broken up only by brief close-ups of the engine going across it. The credits roll over the rest of the shot, long after the engine has passed by.
• Loved by All: After the events of season one, Diesel becomes this to everybody except for Thomas.
• Mood Whiplash: Done very deliberately in "One Trick Too Far", the series opener. The first half of the episode plays out like a regular Thomas & Friends episode, with a very light-hearted and comedic tone, but takes a very sudden dramatic and solemn turn once Ben causes his brother to crash. From hereon out, the series as a whole would, for the most part, adopt a darker and more mature tone.
• Named by the Adaptation: P.T. Boomer's given names are never stated in the original script for Thomas and the Magic Railroad, but Sodor II reveals his first name is Perry. He also claims that his middle name is Thomas, which would explain the "T", but this may have been a tactic in his manipulation of Thomas in "Last Chance".
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ben causing his brother’s crash not only gives a certain warship more incentive to try to get the steam engines scrapped, it also leads to the NWR running out of money and even causing Bill to get abducted by Paul Maxwell.
• No Indoor Voice: The Deputy Director of the FBI always talks loudly to Paul Maxwell’s chagrin.
• Non-Human Non-Binary: Rusty reveals in "A Message for Peter Sam" that engines don't have genders, and that "to an engine, 'he' and 'she' are the same thing".
• Oh, Crap!: Ben has a massive in “One Trick Too Far” when he causes his brother Bill to have a severe crash.
  • Thomas has a massive one in “Last Chance” when Perry reveals he intends to have Duck in a massive accident and pin the blame on Diesel.
• Period Piece: While the time period is never stated in the first season, a VHS recording in Sodor II's "A Message for Peter Sam" explicitly sets the episode in February 2002, by extension revealing the first season to be set in 2001.
• Pyrrhic Victory: A humorous example as the ending of "James and the Not-So-Famous Visitor" has Billy successfully get the expresss to its destination. Unfortunately due to his small size, he’s late.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: both Sir Topham Hatt and Edward give Ben one after the saddle tank causes his brother's accident:
  Sir Topham Hatt: I don’t what to say Ben. You’re lucky Bill’s crew jumped clear in time. I’m ashamed of you.
  Edward: You’re an idiot Ben. Sending Bill down an old line that hasn’t been used for years? Three men could’ve died and we don’t even know if Ben’s going to survive. He was your own brother.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Done twice. Despite his attempts to make amends, Duck doesn’t believe that Diesel has truly changed in “Duck and Diesel”. Meanwhile the preview for “Last Chance” seems to show that Thomas has also adapted this attitude to Diesel as well.
• Rejected Apology: Diesel tries to apologize to Duck for his previous misdeeds but Duck just snaps at him to leave.
• Sadistic Choice: Sir Topham Hatt is forced to make one at the end of "Last Chance" as Duck’s crash has put more strain on the NWR’s financials and since he’s already repaired the Flying Scotsman, Topham is forced to potentially send Diesel for scrap or delay Duck’s repairs. He does choose to send Diesel off to a buyer but it’s likely Diesel won’t be coming back to Sodor.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: In "A Message for Peter Sam", we spend a full two minutes following the FBI agent, who was sent to Sodor two episodes ago, slowly realise that he's ended up in Australia instead.
• Shout-Out: There are a number of major pop culture references throughout the series.
  • The opening text of "The Branch Line Incident", which falsely states that the accidents and railway procedures have been depicted "as realistic as possible", is a shout-out to Fargo's intentionally false "true story" disclaimer, complimented by a music cue from the score of the television show.
  • The first season finale is named after the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and much like that film, ends with a montage set to a rendition of "We'll Meet Again".
  • The "Are you the farmer?" exchange in "Which Way Now?" references a similar scene from Withnail and I.
  • The video game that Paul Maxwell plays in "Deceit" is Spider-Man 2 – Enter: Electro. He's even playing it on Kid Mode.
  • The Deputy Director of the FBI, introduced in "Deceit", is based on Gordon Cole from Twin Peaks.
    • The scene in "A Message for Peter Sam" where the FBI Special Agent arrives in Australia is a parody of Agent Dale Cooper's introductory monologue from the Twin Peaks pilot episode.
  • At the beginning of "A Message for Peter Sam", Samson claims to have watched a slow-paced TV show about a group of Italian singers from New Jersey who "haven't sung anything yet". The show? "The Baritones... or something like that."
  • "The Three Railway Engines Come Home" has a scene where Sir Topham Hatt is asked if he'd lost his hat; there is a sudden dramatic crash zoom into his face, the screen goes red, and a clip of a goat eating his hat plays to the tune of Quincy Jones' Ironside theme. This is almost exactly what happens whenever the Bride sees one of her enemies in the Kill Bill films.
  • The lorry's crash scene in "Thomas and the Horrid Lorry" features onomatopoeia flash cards and music cues from the 1966 Batman series.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: With how grounded in reality Sodor is, this tends to happen.
  • "Deceit" notes that due to his claw, Diesel Ten can’t even leave his shed since a contraption like that would be illegal in the real world.
  • "The Vicarstown Gambit" has three examples two of which are noted by Bill.
    • First there’s the revelation that due to all of the crashes and chaos that occurred in the first season, the NWR has run out of money and is struggling to find time to repair Ben.
    • Then as Bill notes, he can’t just forgive his brother for the accident he caused despite still loving him.
    • Then after bashing into Scruffy, Flora is barred from working anywhere beyond her own branch line since Flora’s actions have caused the NWR’s money issues to become even worse since now Scruffy needs to be repaired again.
• This Is Gonna Suck: The Flying Scotsman’s driver has this reaction when his engine plans to take Billy’s trucks and leave Billy with the express. He’s quickly proven right when Scotsman crashes due to acts of sabotage by Arry.
• Tranquil Fury: Edward doesn’t shout at Ben for the accident he caused but his tone makes it clear he’s pissed at the yellow engine.
• Villain Has a Point: While the manner in how he delivers it is a low blow to Ben, "The Vicarstown Gambit" proves that Diesel Ten was right in that Bill would not forgive Ben for causing his accident.
• Villain Protagonist: Arry and Bert are the main characters of "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Modernisation".
  • “Revolutionary Engines” has Diesel as the main character. As it is a prequel to the first season, he's still a conniving bully at this point.
• The Voice: The Deputy Director of the FBI communicates with Maxwell via phone. Very loudly.
  • The associate of Paul Maxwell who speaks to Bill and Diesel in the Box is only heard through a loudspeaker.
• We Used to Be Friends: Diesel and Diesel 10 used to be good friends due to their shared views on steam engines. However, after Diesel stops his plans in “The Branch Line Incident,” Diesel 10 now wants him dead if “Last Chance” is any indication.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Diesel finally starts making friends with the other engines but at the end of “Last Chance“, he’s exiled from Sodor thanks to Perry and a unwilling Thomas.
  • The ending of the first season hints that Ben would be able to see his brother again. Then "The Vicarstown Gambit" reveals that Bill’s rebuild has been canceled and he’s slated to become scrap.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Chester has a massive one in “A Message For Peter Sam” when he’s fired from his current job.