Knapford Harbour (RWS)

Knapford Harbour is a small port located in Knapford. It is served by the Harbour Line of Thomas' Branch Line.

History
Knapford Harbour began as a wharf around 1885, connected to another wharf at Elsbridge by the lightly built, horse worked Knapford and Elsbridge Railway. It initially served as a base for A.W. Dry's drainage operations in the area, but eventually proved a disappointment. It needed constant dredging and by 1905 the cost had become prohibitive. They abandoned it and extended the line along A. W. Dry's road to Tidmouth to use the port there. From then until 1956, the harbour remained little used.

By the mid-1950s, there was severe congestion at Tidmouth, so Sir Charles Topham Hatt II launched his Knapford Harbour Improvement Scheme, using plans created by his father, to redevelop the harbour and relieve the congestion at Tidmouth. Percy was transferred from Tidmouth to assist in its construction and ultimately stayed on the branch line. All the while, Trevor was loaned from the Vicar of Wellsworth. The work caused a considerable realignment of the entire branch line and was finished in 1957.

Knapford has been useful as a supplementary harbour, but its exposed position did not enable it to provide the best answer to Sir Topham Hatt’s problem. That was why in 1966 he went north to see what could be done at the seaside town of Arlesburgh.

The southern quay is accessible from the goods branch stemming off from Thomas' Branch Line at Dryaw. According to the Thomas' Branch Line Surprise Packet Map, the northern quay has a spur from The Main Line, going over a bridge in front of the main line one and into the northern quay; however, the two quays are connected by a small bridge crossing the river which is not present on the book illustrations, but it is present on Sodor maps. There is a small railway station located by the docks, separate from the main line station.

Appearances
Railway Series= {{Scroll box|

The Railway Series

 * Percy the Small Engine - Duck Takes Charge, Percy and Harold and Percy's Promise
 * The Eight Famous Engines - Percy Takes the Plunge
 * Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine - Train Stops Play
 * Tramway Engines - Ghost Train and Woolly Bear
 * More About Thomas the Tank Engine - Drip Tank
 * Toby, Trucks and Trouble - Toby's Seaside Holiday and Bulstrode
 * Thomas Comes Home - Snow Problem and Toby's Megatrain
 * Wilbert the Forest Engine - Foaming at the Funnel

Companion Volumes
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 * 1986 - Percy the Small Engine Takes the Plunge
 * 1987 - Thomas and the Evil Diesel