Sodor China Clay Company (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
The Sodor China Clay Company is a fictional mine located at Brendam created by the Reverend W. Awdry.

The clay pits first appeared in the second series episode The Diseasel, which first aired in 1986. Its last appearance was in the special Big World! Big Adventures!, which was released in 2018.

Gauge 1 set
The China Clay Company's gauge 1 set was originally created for the second series.

Close-up set
A close-up set of the clay pits was built to be used for scenes involving the close-up scale figures.

CGI Set
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. The clay pits were recreated from scratch in CGI by Jam Filled Toronto. The set was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

One of the buildings at the Clay Pits was reused for the factory on the Mainland in the 2017 special Journey Beyond Sodor.