An alternative to Thomas The Tank Engine layout

[Flyingscotsmanfan]

I have a copy of the 1st book to hand and can assure you that JK Rolling wrote:-

 

"....he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock."

 

So a Generic GWR 4-6-0 no, but definitely red - and given JK Rowling is not a railway enthusiast a GWR 4-6-0 is probably not that dissimilar to what was going through her mind when she penned those words. You should also recall that the director of the 1st film (also not a railway enthusiast) rejected a West Country pacific as 'too modern looking' - which is how Olton Hall got the job - it fitted the idea of what the loco should look like in the directors mind.

Of course leaving from Kings Cross going to Scotland it should have been something from LNER maybe a C1, A1(0), A3, A4 etc

[TomJ]

I have heard that JK Rowlings inspiration for platform 9 3/4 was actually Euston, where she used to travel into regularly. But that she got then muddled up and put Kings Cross down. Hence why platforms 9 and 10 are located on the suburban side, not the main station.

[Nearholmer]

As a point of extreme train-spotters detail, a platform 9 3/4 at Euston would also be bang between two suburban platforms, the "DC" to Watford usually using 9, and stoppers to Tring or MK using 10.

 

Only on a forum populated by railway enthusiasts could I be thought "only a bit sad" for knowing that!

 

K

[Zomboid]

Of course leaving from Kings Cross going to Scotland it should have been something from LNER maybe a C1, A1(0), A3, A4 etc

Does it say anywhere that Hogwarts is in Scotland?

[Dan Griffin]

I have heard that JK Rowlings inspiration for platform 9 3/4 was actually Euston, where she used to travel into regularly. But that she got then muddled up and put Kings Cross down. Hence why platforms 9 and 10 are located on the suburban side, not the main station.

Not sure on this, i belivedshe used to travel on the ECML and that the characters name Yaxley was named after Yaxley near Peterborough, coincidentaly where Warwick Davis lives who was in Harry Potter.

[Edwardian]

As a point of extreme train-spotters detail, a platform 9 3/4 at Euston would also be bang between two suburban platforms, the "DC" to Watford usually using 9, and stoppers to Tring or MK using 10.

 

Only on a forum populated by railway enthusiasts could I be thought "only a bit sad" for knowing that!

 

K

 

If there had been a platform 9 3/4s at Kings Cross it would probably have taken you to Cambridge.

 

Large institution of learning, law unto itself, full of eccentrics clearly living apart from the real world.  Nothing there at all like Hogwarts.

[Zomboid]

Not sure on this, i belivedshe used to travel on the ECML and that the characters name Yaxley was named after Yaxley near Peterborough, coincidentaly where Warwick Davis lives who was in Harry Potter.

Isn't she from Edinburgh? ECML would be logical if she did get the train to London in that case.

[Clearwater]

As a point of extreme train-spotters detail, a platform 9 3/4 at Euston would also be bang between two suburban platforms, the "DC" to Watford usually using 9, and stoppers to Tring or MK using 10.

 

Only on a forum populated by railway enthusiasts could I be thought "only a bit sad" for knowing that!

 

K

I'd always read she was on a Manchester train so had also assumed she'd gone to Euston but being an Edinburgh resident may have got confused to Kings Cross. Edit: link to interview: http://isabelguillermina.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/interview-by-heather-riccio.html?m=1

 

Let's not castigate her for getting this wrong. after all, confusion over the name of the station in London is the plot of an entire Rev Awdry story. Gordon is upset when it turns out its st Pancras!

 

I'd always thought she had meant Euston as her description of pushing a trolley down towards the platforms into a barrier tallies with how the ticket booths used to be set up as those substantial gates across the ramp down from the concourse to the platforms. What platform did the Glasgow services leave from in the early 90s?

 

David

[Ozexpatriate]

Does it say anywhere that Hogwarts is in Scotland?

Not that I recall. The only clues I recall are that the train leaves London at 11:00am on September 1 and arrives at Hogsmeade after dark.

[Nearholmer]

I kinda wish I'd never involved myself in this JKR discussion, but .......

 

My son is part-way through a four-foot high pile of HP books right now, and is booked to visit the imprisoned Hall class loco soon, so I will ask him whether the books are explicit as to the location of Hogwarts.

 

And, in answer to Clearwater's question about which platform trains to Scotland left from at Euston in the early-90s: any ones except 8, 9, 10 and 11 (they are the suburban platforms with 9 and 10 being too short for full-length intercity trains), but not usually 17 or 18, which at that date were probably still used by van trains for a part of the time.

 

If push comes to shove, we could always write to JKR and ask her, I suppose.

 

K

 

PS: worth remembering that some services from Euston used to divide (Carstairs??) to serve both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

[MarkSG]

Does it say anywhere that Hogwarts is in Scotland?

 

Not in the books, but JKR has said in interview that that's where she envisaged it, and she describes it as being there in an article on the Pottermore website:

 

https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-hogwarts-express

 

(Although, just to be unhelpful, the illustration at the bottom of that page appears to show an 0-6-0 hauling 6-wheel carriages!)

[Black Sheep]

I think there's a balance to be had, I have an N gauge Thomas because I wanted one and it gets run on the exhibition layout I help with where he's run as a regular train, stopping at the station and dissapearing (often an LMS garrat heads a 50 wagon train in the opposite direction)

 

Although on one occasion, due to another operator pinching my yard shunting loco I was shunting the fiddle yard correctly but using Thomas

 

Most visitors found it amusing and accepted serious operation using Thomas, kids loved it as they could see Thomas working, two people huffed and stormed off.

It does annoy me when my fellow operators scrabble for Thomas as soon as any children are near, they equally want to see a fast express train race through (building a streamlined duchess for that

 

The club does have 'Hogwarts Castle' with an Anglia attached to the buffer beam by a bit of wire so it's chasing the car for it's 00 modern image layout, but the entire layout has lots of gimics to keep people entertained and seems to be valued for it (it's won best in show a number of times) but the layout is always run seriously.

[Nearholmer]

Well, the item flagged by Mark SG seems to nail it: a scarlet train running via Crewe, must the LMS from Euston.......

 

But, although no date is given, the implication is that we are very early in the evolution of railways, so pre-LMS.

 

Who ran red engines via Crewe then? The LNWR in its pre-black phase, perhaps, although I get mixed-up about whether red meant a southern or northern division engine.

 

Or, did the Midland run to Crewe before the S&C was built, and if it did, were its trains running from St Pancras, or still from Kings Cross?

 

And, what were the liveries of the other companies in,may, the 1850s?

 

Tune in again, same time tomorrow, for the next exciting episode of fruitless speculation!

 

K

[Suzie]

The little ones do like seeing trains going in and out of tunnels so Underground Ernie works really well for that. DCC enabled tail chasing is pretty realistic too. Lots of opportunity to hide trains in hidden sidings too for extra fun. Being 7mm narrow gauge makes for larger figures in the dioramas.

 

It is a shame that the Underground Ernie TV series is virtually unknown nowadays. Still, some people have heard of the underground so can relate to Underground Ernie as something related to reality a lot more than funny old things with coal and chimneys.

[MarkSG]

There is, of course, no reason why the new owner of the locomotive purloined  (or, should I say, requisitioned?) from Crewe should have retained the paintwork applied by its former owner.

[John B]

I'm surprised that the "real" Olton Hall / Hogwarts Castle is actually used at the HP UK exhibit. For all the other HP theme parks, Universal Studios have built a replica...

[brightspark]

Wow, lots of interesting ideas.

 

I am going to throw in a couple of things that I have seen.

 

Roger Sawyer teaching kids to solder, the push buttons at Minatuar wonderland. Also my group were demonstrating scenery at ExpoEM a couple of years or so ago and had a couple of children helping us to build up hills with cardboard.

 

Also no mention yet of Sammy the Shunter.

 

ps I remember the good reverend at Wembley too.

 

Andy

[jcm@gwr]

I think the clue is in the name/location,

Harry Potter UK theme park!

It is where the books are based,

it's where the 'real' loco is,

so, logically, everywhere else should have the replica!

[Nearholmer]

So, all the stuff at the UK "theme park" real, then?

 

The flying Ford Anglia; the small quiditch balls with wings; the flying broomsticks; giant savage dogs; everything?

 

Wow!!!

 

SWMBO was scheduled to go there with son, one of his pals, and pal's mum, but now I know its all real, I'm going to wangle it round so that I get to take them!

 

K

[jcm@gwr]

That's strange, who said 'everything' was real?

[Black Sheep]

Well, the item flagged by Mark SG seems to nail it: a scarlet train running via Crewe, must the LMS from Euston.......

 

But, although no date is given, the implication is that we are very early in the evolution of railways, so pre-LMS.

 

Who ran red engines via Crewe then? The LNWR in its pre-black phase, perhaps, although I get mixed-up about whether red meant a southern or northern division engine.

 

Or, did the Midland run to Crewe before the S&C was built, and if it did, were its trains running from St Pancras, or still from Kings Cross?

 

And, what were the liveries of the other companies in,may, the 1850s?

 

Tune in again, same time tomorrow, for the next exciting episode of fruitless speculation!

 

K

 

I seem to recall hearing something about she meant to write it as Euston as it was so in her mind but wrote Kings Cross. 

 

Perhaps there are other locos that run between other stations and Hogwarts, perhaps Edinburgh to Hogwarts is served by Duchess of Hogwarts? 

 

So, all the stuff at the UK "theme park" real, then?

 

The flying Ford Anglia; the small quiditch balls with wings; the flying broomsticks; giant savage dogs; everything?

 

Wow!!!

 

SWMBO was scheduled to go there with son, one of his pals, and pal's mum, but now I know its all real, I'm going to wangle it round so that I get to take them!

 

K

 

The anglia used in filming belonged to a private owner, Classic Ford magazine did a feature on it - they bought a couple in very poor condition to strip out and do the flying scene and damage. 

[RJS1977]

More than a couple - I read they destroyed 16 Anglias doing the Whomping Willow scene :-(

[peach james]

RJS

 

Before long, I will be accused of being a Playmobil "mole", but there is a very good indeed train set available for under £100, as below. Good for indoors, and outdoors on the patio/lawn, sound, lights, loads of playability, and exceedingly robust. The radio control is the same as that used by "serious" garden railway bods, and has a better-designed handset.

 

00 is pretty small and fiddly for <5 years old.

 

Kevin

 

Just to add- I don't have any of either our (Faller Hit/Play train) or my niece's (the current plastic railed playmo trains) here, because that would be yet another completely unique system- taking me to T-N-OO-Brio-Tomy-Lego (4.5v and 9V track) -Playmo-3.5", yep, 8 different gauges.  (never mind scales...).  So Niece has a large quantity, which was set up by uncle about 2 weeks ago .  (2 stations, there should be a 3rd somewhere...), passenger train, freight train, diesel shunter, lots of options for stuffed animal transportation .  The playmobile railway is quite nice to put together, in some ways, because of their choice >15 years ago to go to battery, a bit more forgiving than 9V lego is.  

 

James

[Flyingscotsmanfan]

Does it say anywhere that Hogwarts is in Scotland?

Taken from Wikipedia: In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland.[10][11] (The film Prisoner of Azkaban says that Dufftown is near.)

[Reorte]

There is, of course, no reason why the new owner of the locomotive purloined  (or, should I say, requisitioned?) from Crewe should have retained the paintwork applied by its former owner.

Repainting in another livery seems controversial enough here, the last thing you want is such arguments amongst people who can start flinging magic at each other.