Is Culdee's story about Godred true?

The book may suggest it, but how did Skarloey and Rhenes know that it was made up? And what did happen to Godred? 

I think that only the part about him being cannibalised is false.

Culdee's story is true, it's only implied at the end of Bad Look-Out that the story was made-up so that young readers wouldn't be upset.

~John

Eh, I'm not sure kids would be upset at a ******* dying anyway. And surely they know what death is: scrapping was mentioned about a million times!

Well, I still can't help being confused by this. After all, it said that Culdee made the story up, but if you read the ERS or anything else, even "Devil's Back", it seems like it was real. I know it's supposed to be real, but I'm still slightly confused.

It's specifically stated in IOS that the story is true, and Awdry (or more likely the publisher) added the "made up" bit to cheer kids up. What more could be said?

But if they wanted to cheer kids up, they'd have to scrap  all mentions of scrap/train death!

I always thought of the story as true based on the simple fact we see him in the flashback, but not in the present.

Also, it happened on the Snowdon, so it must have happened here.

luctheminecrafter wrote:But if they wanted to cheer kids up, they'd have to scrap  all mentions of scrap/train death!

To be fair, the Railway Series never got that gruesome. Besides Bluebells of England. I mean, this is a sentient being that got taken apart piece by piece, until he's nothing but a frame and a face.

What I believe is that Godred DID fall, but he didn't get "took apart piece by piece" he was just under mass repairs

Except every other canonical source agrees that he was scrapped and his remains were used as spares. It'd be nearly impossible to restore him after he fell from such a tall and large height.

~John

But wouldnt the parts be useless if they'd fallen down a mountain?

Exactly. I highly doubt that he'd be useful for spares after that. All his individual components would be to damaged for him, let alone for spares.

I'd imagine certain things could be repaired.

Again, Godred's story has to have some level of truth to it; otherwise he could have at least made a cameo in the "present-day" stories.

Oddly enough, he did in the magazines, although it was most likely a replica.

Fair point; but I don't think the magazines are officially canon though. (are they?)

Canon in TTTE is a fickle beast. Some say yes, others no.

Guess it is a matter of perspective then; I'll have to keep that in mind

Pretty sure it's not; if so, then events like Fiery Flynn happen twice.

Even Henry's Forest would happen twice.

Anyone notice that Andrew Brenner was "writing" for the series as early as S3?

In the first story of Mountain Engines Culdee literally mentions that there were 5 engines on the first day the railway was open.

Pretty sure it did happen, and Awdry just threw in that line to make it less dramatic for young minds. Obviously he had no idea what he was doing and all the trouble he'd cause for us poor fans...

Here’s what I think: the story is undoubtedly true, and yes, the “made-up” aspect was written in to calm the kiddies, *but* from an in-universe perspective, it still needs to be explained somehow. Well, the way I see it, the in-universe explanation is the same as the out-of-universe one. Culdee just claimed it was fake so Skarloey and Rheneas wouldn’t be unnerved. Of course, freaking out Sir Handel and Duncan is fine tho