| This article is about 'the mountain engine'. You may be looking for 'Godred MacHarold, Godred Crovan or King Godred'. |
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Godred, named after Godred MacHarold, a famed king of Sodor, was a pompous mountain engine who worked on the Culdee Fell Railway.
Bio
Godred was built at the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1900. He was arrogant from the start, and believed that if he should have any trouble then his automatic brakes would save him. Just over a month after the railway's official opening on June the 4th (Whit Monday), he came off the rails at Devil's Back and fell down the ravine. He was found the next day, but was beyond repair and scrapped.
Paradoxically, when Culdee tells his story to Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel and Duncan, he reveals this event was made up. However, in both "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" and "Sodor: Reading Between the Lines", it is revealed he did indeed fall off the mountain. The four remaining engines (Ernest, Wilfred, Culdee and Shane Dooiney) carried on in service without him through careful maintenance and being sent back in rotation to Winterthur for overhaul until the arrival of three more powerful engines (Patrick, Alaric and Eric) in 1962. His remains were cannibalised to help keep the other original four going throughout this period.
Persona
Godred was careless, reckless, arrogant, and self-centred - Culdee believes this may have been because of the nature of his naming. Godred put too much faith in his automatic brakes, despite all the warnings, and paid the price.
Basis
Godred was based on L.A.D.A.S., an engine that worked on the Snowdon Mountain Railway and also suffered a similar fate.
L.A.D.A.S' accident was caused by subsidence of the track, leading to the pinion wheel disengaging - this was amended by fitting guard-bars to the rack-rail. Since the Culdee Fell Railway opened four years later, it seems likely that guard-bars would have been required by the Board of Trade from the outset, implying a different chain of events causing the derailment, somehow disengaging both the pinion wheels and the gripper fitted to the engine which connects with the guard-bars to prevent such an event.
The most likely explanation is that the Reverend W. Awdry wanted his fictional railway to mirror its real-life counterpart as closely as possible, but as this would involve the "death" of a character, he chose to end it as he did in order to avoid upsetting his readers.
Livery
Godred was painted purple with orange lining. The number "1" was painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow and he had red nameplates, with his name in gold, on the sides of his tanks. In the magazines, Godred was painted red with yellow lining.
Appearances
The Railway Series
Companion volumes
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Quotes
- "We have no money to mend you," said our manager, "so you'll go to the back of the shed!" As time went on, poor Godred got smaller and smaller, until nothing was left.
- "What, What, What happened?" asked Duncan anxiously.
- "It's not nice to talk about," said Culdee.
- "But what happened?! Why isn't it nice?"
- "Our drivers used Godred's parts to mend us," answered Culdee mournfully.
- Culdee and Duncan discussing Godred's fate, "Bad Look-Out"
Merchandise
- ERTL (discontinued)
- Trading Cards (discontinued)
Gallery
Merchandise Gallery
| Locomotives | Godred | Ernest | Wilfred | Culdee | Shane Dooiney | Patrick | Alaric | Eric |
|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Coaches | Catherine | The Truck |
| People | Lord Peter Barrane | Lord Harry Barrane | Walter Richards |
| Locations | Kirk Machan (Engine Sheds) | Shiloh | Poll-ny-Chrink | Skarloey Road (Viaduct) | Devil's Back | Culdee Fell Summit |