After the recent Wonders of Sodor DLC announcements, I’ve been thinking about what Dovetail could potentially have planned for 2027. Obviously, none of this is confirmed, but the more I look at what is already established in the game, the more I think Edward with his branch line and Duck with the Little Western are two of the most logical candidates for the next major announcements. And there’s one detail in particular that I think deserves more attention: Edward, Duck, and the Little Western have all been name-dropped in the game. That’s a pretty interesting coincidence when you consider that both characters and both branch lines are currently missing. Could those references simply be Easter eggs? Possibly. But Dovetail has already established that these characters and locations exist within the game’s version of Sodor. If the plan is to continue expanding the island, I think it makes a lot of sense to look at those references as potential groundwork for future content. So, let’s look at how and why each of these could work as the next big Wonders of Sodor announcements. Edward and the Brendam Branch Edward’s branch line feels like an extremely natural next step. Not only is Edward one of the most iconic engines still missing from the game, but his branch line could offer a really interesting expansion of the existing gameplay. One thing I particularly like about it is that, much like Thomas’ Branch Line, it could give players multiple options for how far they want to travel. You could have Brendam Docks serve as one of the major destinations where a train can turn around and head back… …or you could potentially continue beyond that toward the China Clay Pits. Brendam Docks itself would also be a fantastic location to have in Wonders of Sodor. It’s one of the most recognizable locations on the Island of Sodor, and it would give us the opportunity to have Cranky the Crane properly represented in the game. Cranky is one of the most iconic characters associated with the brand, so having him actually operating there would add a lot of character to the route, especially when it comes to story scenarios. It would also give Edward a perfect mixture of passenger and freight operations. Edward could handle local passenger services on his branch while also hauling goods and working the docks and China Clay traffic. In addition, other characters who are frequent visitors to the Docks like Thomas, Percy, Henry and really any of the other engines in the game so far could have some great potential for services and stories too. But now it’s time to go west! Duck and the Little Western Branch Line This one is another natural addition to the game. The Little Western would continue through the tunnel that is present behind Tidmouth sheds and allow for some unique coastal scenery that isn’t currently present in Wonders of Sodor. Duck is also a fan favorite amongst both older and younger generations, so there would be no doubt that like Edward, the appeal for Duck is definitely there. The Little Western could also have a similar branching concept to Edward’s line. You could potentially have trains turn around at the Arlesburgh goods yard, near the extension toward Harwick, while players who want a longer run could continue onward and travel all the way toward Harwick. That gives players another choice between a shorter branch-line service and a longer journey. It’s a small thing, but I think those kinds of options are exactly what can make a route feel more substantial and replayable. And once again, there’s already an in-game connection between Duck and the Little Western, which is what initially got me thinking about this possibility. This isn’t me just saying, “Duck would be cool.” There’s an actual foundation for the idea within the game, and when you combine that with how naturally Duck fits the Little Western, it starts to feel like a very plausible direction for future content. There’s another interesting possibility here too. Oliver has also been name-dropped in the game. That could potentially give Dovetail some flexibility with future locomotive releases. If they wanted to follow the same sort of approach they’ve taken this year with additional engine packs, such as pairing the major route releases with extra locomotives, they could introduce Edward and Duck with their respective branch lines first, and then follow that up with something like an Oliver engine pack alongside another engine in a later 2027 release like how we are getting Henry this winter and Toby in early 2027. Oliver would obviously be a particularly appropriate choice because of his connection to Duck and the Little Western, but it would also mean Dovetail wouldn’t necessarily have to put every major character into the initial route releases. In other words, there could be a pretty clear progression. First they could announce the following: Edward + Brendam Branch Duck + Little Western Edward with Brendam would release first, with Duck and the Little Western at a later date. Then later once those expansions are released, Dovetail could announce the following: Oliver add-on and additional scenarios + another engine with additional scenarios That would give Dovetail plenty of room to keep expanding the classic roster without having to cram every character into one release. Ultimately, this is why I think Edward and Duck deserve to be near the top of the speculation/priority list for Wonders of Sodor for 2027. To reiterate: you would have two major classic characters who are beloved across the fandom, including both the older and younger generations allowing for a very wide appeal. You would have two branch lines that are strongly associated with those characters. It would give a major introduction to Brendam Docks and Cranky providing a major recognizable location, the China Clay Pits providing an extended destination. In addition, this would allow another introduction to an already mentioned location, the Little Western, potentially extending toward Harwick. And, most importantly, both routes could give players meaningful choices about how they operate them, just like Thomas’ Branch Line already does. Not to mention, it would fill some pretty significant gaps in the current Wonders of Sodor roster. For me, those are two announcements that would make an enormous amount of sense for 2027 and if any staff from Dovetail is reading this I really hope they can take this into consideration if they haven’t already. Fans will both love and appreciate these additions and the sales would be through the roof. As for other users on the forum, here are some questions I have for you: Would you guys buy DLC for Edward, Duck and their branch lines? What potential do you see in both the Brendam Branch and Little Western for the game? Would you get an Oliver engine pack down the line? Which other engine do you think could be announced with Oliver as another engine add-on? (I had a few ideas but I wanted to let other members of this forum share ideas for additional input). Thank you for your time! Hope this thread takes off!
These are definetely part of the characters that would make the most sense to come along with a map extension. I just hope they come as multi-packs like Duck and Oliver would come together with the little western branch, Edward coming with bill and ben. Otherwise these expansions would kinda feel deserted with only a single engine serving them until the next DLC drops. Speaking of DLC. Say the map expansions come with a single engine. What if for instance Salty is added later? You would need the "Edward / Brendam docks" DLC to see the character at least in timetable mode, scenarios too. Maybe the map extensions will come for free with the DLC release and you'll need to buy the characters to serve these places?
Of course I would buy Edward and Duck DLC. Especially since these two are one of the old classic characters. I really enjoyed the season 1 and 2 characters in the TV show.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I think Salty would be a great bonus engine pack. I like the idea of Edward and Duck coming first with their branch lines and then Oliver and salty could be added later to give both branch lines a little more love. It would give great story potential too.
Now that they've announced Toby, I am all for Duck or Edward. Especially duck, it would be great to to be able to run his branch line along the sea.
And what about Donald and Douglas, Boco, Daisy, Mavis, Derek, Diesel 40, Arri and Bert... We could have a real nice diesel collection.... The Flying Scotsman, Spencer... There are so many to choose from
Flying Scotsman could be as simple as a reskin of Gordon with a new face (since they're both A3 Pacific locomotives). Alternatively, just using the TSW model, simplify the controls & adding the face. Although, unsure if either would require liscening from NMR?
I am actually surprised that so far after the post I made for character suggestions, you are the first person to bring up Donald and Douglas. They both feel like such an easy choice, given that they both have provided services on both Edward and Duck’s branch line. Having 1-12 and Diesel would be a pretty solid lineup honestly.
They are an easy choice! They have to make 1 engine, than copy it, make some adjustments and tada... 2 engines. The same with Bill and Ben, Arri and Bert... and they already have an engine like A & B. But as I mentioned before give us the Dirty Dozen and Diesel and we already have quite a lot. So you're absolutly right. And the lines, what about the branchlines? I assume that making the main 2 branchlines is quite a work. The suggested scenery of both of them will be a lot to make. Another harbour with docks and cranes (Cranky), stations and yards, the seaside scenery, other cities, etc... But I guess they will focus now on the new engines, their storylines and bugs... What I'd like to know is what the creative mindset is, what is the influence of Mattel and other people involved with Thomas the tank engine? Who is playing this game? Real simulator players or Thomas fans or both? I assume both and maybe some influencers
I forgot to mention the idea to go along with the series and try to put every character in from series to series. Try to built up the game like they built up the modelseries. It's a special world they have created through the years, from the the book to the modelseries and CGI. But we started to love them and never let go of them...
agree with most of this, not bothered about cranky being in the game Oliver and Toad should come bundled with Duck and the Little Western DLC, I would happily pay for that Edward and the Brendam branch, maybe include Bill and Ben (they’re just a different skin on the same engine) needs to be next after Toby
