Rarely Hogwarts Express

> The Hogwarts Express is a 4-6-0 Hall Class steam locomotive model number GWR 5900. It is quite impressive.
>
> Hogwarts Express conductor

The **Hogwarts Express** was the name of the train that ran between ***London*** King's Cross Station Platform 9¾ and Hogsmeade station. It made this run about six times a year, maybe more, as needed. It also made the run back again to London at the end of term in June.

## Hogwarts Express

The Express dutifully carried students of all years to and from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It travels at the start and end of every term. It is the school's primary method of travel.
The train left Platform 9¾ without fail every 1 September at 11 o'clock in the morning, arriving at Hogsmeade station in the early evening. Some students took the train back to King's Cross Station to go home for the Christmas and Easter holidays, but some did not, as they stayed at Hogwarts.

## History

### Early history

> A daring and controversial solution to the thorny problem was finally suggested by Minister for Magic Ottaline Gambol, who was much intrigued by Muggle inventions and saw the potential in trains.
>
> How the Hogwarts Express came to be, Pottermore

As we know from early historical accounts, and from the evidence of early woodcuts and engravings, Hogwarts students used to arrive at school in any manner that caught their fancy. Some rode broomsticks (a difficult feat when carrying trunks and pets); others commandeered enchanted carts and, later, carriages; some attempted to Apparate (often with disastrous effects, as the castle and grounds had always been protected with Anti-Apparition Charms), others rode a variety of magical creatures.

In ***1827***, ***Ottaline Gambol*** rose to the office of Minister for Magic, and she made a daring and controversial suggestion to solve the ages-old problem of how to transport hundreds of students to and from Hogwarts Castle every school year without attracting the Muggles' attention.

Intrigued by ***Muggle*** technology, the Minister saw the potential of using a Muggle steam locomotive as a secure and comfortable alternative to ***Portkeys*** or to unregulated means of travel. The locomotive for the Hogwarts Express itself was originally built by the Muggle engineers at Crewe, in Cheshire, England, in the early-to-mid 19th century.

In ***1830***, the ***Ministry of Magic*** conducted a ***large-scale operation*** involving one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms, as well as the biggest Concealment Charm ever performed in Britain, in order to acquire the locomotive. The morning after this operation, the residents of Hogsmeade awoke to find the gleaming red Hogwarts Express and a Hogsmeade railway station that had not been there previously, and the Muggle railway employees in ***Crewe*** had the feeling they had misplaced something, which stayed with them for the rest of the year.

There was initial resistance from ***pure-blood*** families against using a Muggle-built device for wizard transportation. These families claimed that the express was "*unsafe, insanitary, and demeaning*". This was their stance until the Ministry decreed that students would arrive to school on the train or not attend at all. There is no information on where exactly Hogwarts students were travelling from during the period after the acquisition of the Hogwarts express and the creation of the Hogsmeade station and before the opening of King's Cross Station and the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in the ***1850s***.

### Recent history

It was on the Hogwarts Express that Harry Potter first made the acquaintance of Ronald Weasley in 1991, and first met many of the other people who played significant roles in his life, including: Hermione Granger, ***Neville Longbottom***, ***Fred Weasley***, ***George Weasley***.
The second confrontation between Harry and Draco Malfoy occurred on the train on the way to Hogwarts when Draco sneered at Ron and offered Harry his friendship. Harry turned down Draco's offer abruptly, marking the beginning of a long-standing enmity and hatred between the two boys. These enmity continued throughout their years at Hogwarts.

## Behind the scenes

* The Hogwarts Express is hauled in the *Harry Potter* films by steam locomotive no. 5972 "Olton Hall", repainted and fitted with nameplates that read *Hogwarts Castle*.
	+ The Bloomsbury adult editions of *Harry-Potter and-the Sorcerer's S Stone* (film) portray the Hogwarts Express as The Cavalier, specifically using a reproduction of O. Winston Link's photograph *Norfolk & Western Train No. 16, The Cavalier, leaves Williamson, West Virginia, on a rainy day, December 1958*.
* Because the engine is portrayed by a GWR Hall class locomotive, its original paintwork was Brunswick green, not crimson red. The unusual paint job on the engine has sparked much controversy amongst railway enthusiasts.
* To promote J. K. Rowling's fourth Harry Potter book, a West Country Class Southern Railway locomotive, named Taw Valley, was painted crimson red and was given the Hogwarts Express nameplate. Yet it was rejected by Chris Columbus, the film director, because it looked too modern for the film's taste. Hence Olton Hall was chosen as the star, for its stately appearance.
* Interestingly, the Hogwarts Express conductor at once claimed that the train was a GWR 5900 and was built in 1936, when the real locomotive was a GWR 4900 (indeed, the 5900 class does not exist) and was built in April of 1937. It is possible, however, that these details were intentionally changed to differentiate *Hogwarts Castle* from the real engine that portrays it. Information from Pottermore points to it being (rather erroneously) acquired by the Ministry about a century earlier, in the term of Minister ***Ottaline Gambol*** (in office ***1827***–***1835***). However, this is problematic as the locomotive design seen in the films was not developed until the 1930s.
	+ However, since several real-life locomotives such as LNER 4472 *Flying Scotsman* were named after famous express services, it is possible that the locomotive received a similar treatment, and that perhaps the train itself had been hauled by other engines prior to its construction.
	+ Another discrepancy is that J. K. Rowling made an error in the year the Hogwarts Express was acquired, as Crewe Works did not open until 1840.
	+ Erroneously, many believe the name 'Hogwarts Express' applies to the locomotive. The engine is really named *Hogwarts Castle* in the films - *Hogwarts Express* applies only to the express service itself, and not the locomotive.
* During principal photography of ***Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban***, filming was shut down for several days after the train used as the Hogwarts Express was vandalised, costing £3000; the vandals had spray-painted graffiti onto the train. The train was damaged again in March 2007, after filming of ***Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*** was completed. A month was required to repair the locomotive, because of the £50,000 worth of damage, as 337 of its toughened windows were smashed with hammers.
* In 2003 the engine that portrayed the Hogwarts Express; Olton Hall was responsible for causing two fires. The first incident saw sparks from the engine set part of a heathland ablaze, while the second saw some railway sleepers catch fire on the York to Scarborough route. The latter event was due to a faulty cinder box.
* The school train is traditionally reserved only for students. Only four adults were ever seen travelling on the train: the Honeydukes Express lady, the conductor, ***Remus Lupin*** and ***Horace Slughorn***.
* In the first five films, the Hogwarts Express is shown to have *four* coaches. However, it is shown to have *five coaches*. The fifth coach differs greatly from the rest, because it has no compartments. The fifth coach may have been added due to the fact that it has a luggage rack which the other four lacked, the luggage rack was needed so Harry could eavesdrop on a conversation involving Draco Malfoy. It's also possible that its addition might reflect a higher-than-usual enrollment at Hogwarts. However as there are approximately six hundred students at Hogwarts each year each set up shown in the films, the initial amount of coaches seems inadequate for the requirements.
	+ That being said, there are no official records as to whether the service is operated on just one day at the start and end of term, or for several days on a timetable, or whether or not the coaches are charmed to be bigger on the inside than the outside ***similar to tents***.
	+ Another possibility is that the train has the ability to make clones of coaches, due to its possible sentience, as mentioned in its description.
* Being an official vehicle of Hogwarts school, It is considered an extension of the school and thus falls under at least some of its rules and allowances. Underage students are allowed to use magic on the train, as mentioned in *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, and *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*.
* There have been several models and train sets of the Hogwarts Express released, including HO/OO scale models by Bachmann and Hornby, O scale by Lionel, and a new G scale model.
* The only stations the Hogwarts Express is noted as stopping at are King's Cross and Hogsmeade. Pottermore states that all students have to board the train per Ministry decree. This also includes students from Scotland, Wales and more remote parts of England and Ireland.
	+ It is possible the line itself has other stops before reaching either end of the line, likely for goods or short passenger runs during the term. However, the train only runs from King's Cross (the station most of the students seem to use) to Hogsmeade.
	+ The fact that on average there are around one thousand students at Hogwarts each year also poses complications for the Hogwarts Express being the only method for students to reach Hogwarts. However given the existence of various ways of increasing space within carriages and the fact within the books neither the overall number of carriages the Express pulls nor the length of Platform 9¾ are stated leaves the possibility open.
	+ Throughout the films, the Hogwarts Express has had its iconic whistle but in the third film, a different whistle is used. The reason for this change is unknown.
* In the films and books, it is suggested the staff of the train, in particular the witch with the food trolley, are able to pass through to see the driver of the train. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be possible, as there is no path through the tender to the cab of the engine. However, the LNER A3/A4s featured a "corridor tender" that allowed for on the fly crew changes. This was done to allow non stop passenger service from King's Cross to Scotland. Crews would change over by way of a special corridor built through the tender that connected with the rest of the train. This directly contradicts the films, as the tender used is a standard GWR tender, thus rendering safe passage between the locomotive and coaches impossible. However, it is also likely that the staff are able to use a standard teleportation or levitation spell for this purpose.
	+ There could also be some sort of magical "radio" or a enchanted "mirror" of a sort, where the train crew and passengers can speak through it (or see through) to the driver.
* The locomotive used for the Express, Olton Hall, raised eyebrows in the British train spotting and heritage rail communities, since for the films it bears the name "Hogwarts Castle." Many people thus refer to it as "the Hall that thinks it's a Castle", referring to a separate, larger class of engine built by the Great Western Railway.
* The whistle that the locomotive used in the movies was recorded from BR Standard Class 7 70000 "Britannia.
* In real life, it is unlikely that a school such as Hogwarts would keep the engine and rolling stock for use only at certain parts of the year, as such a large locomotive would be uneconomical to keep for such minimal use. It is possible, therefore, that either both the locomotive and the coaches were on loan to other railway companies, or that the locomotive was used on some freight duties for the school throughout the duration of the terms.

## Appearances

**The 5D-Shared-Combined Crossovers for An The-Good/Evil-Hybrid Wiki** has 2 images related to ***Rarely Hogwarts Express***.
* *Harry-Potter and-the Sorcerer's S Stone* (film) (First Entire Appearance)
* *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (film)
* *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1*
* *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2*

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Hogwarts Express" at *Wizarding World (website)* (transcription available here)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *Harry-Potter and-the Sorcerer's S Stone* (film), Chapter 6
3. ↑ *Harry Potter Film Wizardry*
4. ↑ , Chapter B, page 17
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (film), Chapter 18
6. ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "King's Cross Station" at *Wizarding World (website)*
7. ↑ ***J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography 1997-2013***
8. ↑ "The Hogwarts Express" on Youtube