- "The 1920s. Bigg City Port was the biggest harbour in the world. It was a time of change and great opportunity. Nobody knew it better than the hard working tugs, whose strength and big hearts made them popular with everybody from tramp steamers to ocean liners."
- — Captain Star/The Narrator on Bigg City Port, Sunshine
Bigg City Port is the home of 2 tug fleets which the series centres on: the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks. It is also where most of the episodes take place.
About
Bigg City is the name of the port itself. In TUGS' fictional universe, Bigg City Port is "the Biggest Harbour in the World" in the "Roaring 1920s", the era in which the series is set. According to a magazine, Bigg City Port was created to resemble a combination of San Francisco and New York.
Bigg City Port's main import and export of goods comes from the ocean liners in the series, which use the port as a dock.
The area includes various facilities necessary to the port itself (such as fuel depots, repair yards and the Municipal Dump), and a number of factories and warehouses are also located there. Trampers, car floats, fishing boats and barges of all kinds frequently pass through. The port also contains several old and abandoned areas, sometimes used by criminals as a hideout. A number of locations just outside the harbour briefly appear in the series, including Up River and Dem Der Rocks.
Bigg City Port's location is never actually mentioned, but it appears to be located on the American East Coast with factors including:
- The Star Tugs are based on Tug Fleets working in San Francisco during the 1920s.
- The Z-Stacks are based on the Moran Fleet in New York City during the 1920s.
- Grampus is based on the Plunger submarine class which was used by the US Navy.
- The Dock Railway seems to be based on the New York Dock Railway.
- Little Owl (also known as The Goods Engine) is based on a New York Dock Railway locomotive.
- Puffa's design has many features which American steam locomotives had.
- 4th of July (American Independence Day) is celebrated (during the episode, Regatta, Jack the Grappler was seen with an Uncle Sam-styled top hat, and Sally was seen flying an American flag).
- The Star Tugs have funnels painted in a way resembling the US flag.
- Several American-styled buildings. (Some of which were reused in Thomas and Friends)
- The sun rising from the ocean and setting over land.
Businesses
| Title | Genre |
|---|---|
| Ballantine's | Gasoline etc. |
| Lucky's | Scrap Yard Dry Dock Ship Building |
| Municipal Garbage Corporation | Garbage |
| Pacific Marine | Services |
| Mitton Industries | Nitrates and Others |
| Craker Coal Co. | Coal |
| San Juan Bananas | Bananas |
| Melon Produce Company | Melons |
| O'Donnell | Potatoes |
| Wibley's Welding | Part of Lucky's Yard |
| Ken Tucky | Chicken/Foods |
| Rock Island Line | Ferries or Railways |
| Pacifies Prawns | Fisheries |
| Moche Amola | Coffee Merchants |
| Roullier Vulcanised Rubber Co. | Rubber Industries |
| Rollier Refineries | |
| Cardona Industrial Aggregates | (C.I.A.) |
| Railway Agency | Services |
| Western Pacific | Freight |
| North West Pacific Lines | Shipping |
| Terries Trucker | Trucking |
| Grand Gold Co. | Gold Merchants |
| Pacific Insurance | Fracturing |
| Mitton Mining | Mining and Excavation |
| Cuba Mail Co. | |
| Fultan Ferry Co. | Ferries |
| Swiftsure Express Co. | Shipping Goods |
| Fletcher Marine | Services |
| Big "B" Barges Co. | Suppliers of Barges |
| Root Beer Co. | |
| Burns Drug Co. | Pharmaceuticals |
| Manney's Sheet Brass & Tube/Wire | Hardware |
| Vanhause | Clothes |
| Dewey Marine | Services |
| Ed Low Marine Exchange | Ticket/Travel etc. |
| Benson's Cap Cine Porous Plasters | Medication |
| Seabury & Johnson | Druggists |
| Swifts Specific | TBC |
| David Flynne | Shingle |
| Eric (Ghost Story) | Railways |
| Cori | Rock Co. |
| Ferris Fur Co. | Furriers |
| Green Grocers | Groceries |
| Conway | Dry Goods |
| Harms and Co. | |
| Cochran & Ramsey | Flowers |
| Tilman's | TBC |
| Davey's Dry Docks | TBC |
| Wilkinson Wood Co. | Lumber |
| D. Coger | Ship Joinery |
| T. Hanes | Lumber |
| Wily Christine | Oyster Dealers |
| Atlantic Charter Co. | Shipping |
| EJ LAPco TN | |
| LT | |
| Seveny Cents Warehouses |
Trivia
- A basic map of part of the port was created for the TUGS Board Game.
- Most locations are located on the main port set, only a few are on their own set such as the Municipal Garbage Corp, Steel Company and Big Boulder Rock Co.
- However some locations that were on the port set were remade such as the Canal, Naval Dock, and Fire Dept.
- In Salty's Lighthouse, the port is renamed Snugboat Harbor.
- After TUGS' production ended, some of the buildings from Bigg City was sold to Britt Allcroft and used in the Thomas & Friends television series as set dressing.
Merchandise
- Port Set (discontinued)
Gallery
Locations
Miscellaneous
Behind The Scenes
.jpg "Misc. small shed (29).jpg (651 KB)")
.jpg "Misc. small shed (30).jpg (626 KB)")
.jpg "Misc. small shed (31).jpg (698 KB)")
See Also
Other minor locations in the port.