GWR 4900 Class No. 5972 Olton Hall

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GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall is a 4-6-0 Hall Class steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway at Swindon Works in 1937.
==History==
Olton Hall was completed in April 1937 and initially based at Neath, South Wales, subsequently being re-allocated to many parts of the former Great Western system, notably Cornwall and the West Midlands. Lastly, the locomotive was allocated to the Cardiff East Dock shed, before being withdrawn from service in December 1963. Olton Hall was sold to Woodham Brothers Ltd. (Scrapyard) in Barry Island, South Wales.
It was bought privately for preservation in 1981 and initial restoration was carried out at Procor Limited's works at Horbury Junction, Wakefield. Moved to the former Steamtown Railway Museum and now base for main line operator, West Coast Railways, at Carnforth, Lancashire, Olton Hall returned to steam in 1998, since when it has operated throughout the British Rail network, hauling charter trains as well as filming work for the "Harry Potter" films, for which it is best known. It has also been displayed at the National Railway Museum in York, when not in operational service.
As of 2023, the steam locomotive is on static display at the Harry Potter Experience within the Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, near Watford and will remain there for at least another 2 years.http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/news-updates/HogwartsExpress
==Specifications==
Olton Hall weighs 75 tons, and its 2 cylinders are fed by a superheater. Its driving wheels are 72 inches in diameter, and its carrying wheels are 36 inches in diameter. The boiler has a maximum of 225 pounds per square inch, and the locomotive makes 27,275 pounds of tractive effort.
The tender weighs 46 long tons and takes 4000 imperial gallons of water.
==Trivia==
*Olton Hall is painted red, which was not a standard colour for the G.W.R. The traditional colour for G.W.R. was Middle Chrome Green.
*No. 5972 is sometimes used for work other than its "Hogwarts" duties. In May 2009 it was moved temporarily to the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway, and in July 2009 it was based at Tyseley Locomotive Works for use on some of the regular Shakespeare Express trains run by Vintage Trains during the summer.
*Olton Hall was renamed to 'Hogwarts Castle' for the films. This name would suggest the locomotive is a much larger and more powerful Castle Class, not a Hall Class which, of course, it is. This also led to Hornby making their model a Castle Class. There are many jokes floating around about the renaming such as, 'The Hall that wishes to be a Castle. It has confused many less well-informed enthusiasts.
*Three full-size replicas of the locomotive as No. 5972 Hogwarts Castle are at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Universal Orlando Resort). Two as part of the Hogwarts Express train ride and the other is a static exhibit in the Hogsmeade area.
*When it was featured in "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix", and "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince", it didn't wear the red 'Hogwarts Express' headboard.
*On Sunday March 11, 2007, vandals targeted the coaches, causing £75,000 worth of damage at West Coast Railway Company's depot in Carnforth.
*The Two Replicas in Universal studios Orlando, Part of the Hogwarts express ride, are actually Funicular Rope pulled trains. Their wheels are fake.
*When it was featured in the Harry Potter franchise the sound of the whistle it used came from BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia.
*SR West Country Class No. 34027 Taw Valley was actually suggested to be used as the locomotive in the first "Harry Potter" film of the series but was rejected by the film's director Chris Columbus, believing that it looked too modern so Olton Hall was chosen instead.
*The engine is in the game "TrainStation 2".
==Gallery==
*Gallery
==See also==
*Wikipedia
*The Harry Potter films.
==References==
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Great Western Railway locomotives
Category:Six-coupled locomotives
Category:4-6-0 steam locomotives
Category:4-6-0 locomotives
Category:Locomotives featured in media
Category:Red Livery Engines
Category:GWR 4900 "Hall" Class
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:British steam locomotives
Category:Swindon Works locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:British locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Locomotives saved from the Woodham Brothers scrapyard
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Built in 1937
Category:British Rail locomotives