Hogwarts Express at Nuneaton Ashley Wakelin, our ace reporter was there when it called in at Nuneaton Station during filming of the second Harry Potter film.

Hogwarts Express at Nuneaton

Nuneaton Station was crowded with sightseers on the cold bright morning of 17th February as the Hogwarts Express steamed into Platform Five and Three Quarters!

A few minutes earlier the driver of a London bound train had forgotten to stop, leaving dozens of puzzled passengers stranded on the platform. Many of them trooped grumpily into our "Platform 5" restaurant (renamed Platform 5¾ for the day!) for refreshments while they waited for a Scottish express train to make an unscheduled stop.

I served a cup of tea to two well-to-do ladies who seemed particularly annoyed about events. "It's disgraceful!" complained one. I thought I'd try to lighten their mood a little and ventured "Of course you know that they've done this on purpose don't you?". They both stared blankly at me. "It's so that you can see Harry Potter's steam engine that's calling by in a few minutes" I continued.

Hogwarts Express on Platform 5, Nuneaton Station

They both evidently thought I had lost my marbles and carried on with their cuppas in silence. Eventually one of the ladies took a look outside and returned with the news that "There are lots of photographers outside – there's definitely something going on out there!". A few minutes later the loud chuffing of steam passed by on the platform outside, and the restaurant emptied in an instant!

About 60 people blocked Platform 5 to greet the arrival of the Hogwarts Express, including photographers from the local and national newspapers and most of the station staff – even off duty staff came in especially. There were no passengers, just a driver, fireman and inspector who waved to the passing crowd. It is most unusual to see the train in public.

We shut up shop for a few hurried minutes as we joined the throng to catch a glimpse of the bright red steam engine and rake of carriages as it took a watering break on its journey from Carnforth during filming of the second Harry Potter film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". It was headed for Kings Cross where its final day's filming was to take place on Sunday 24th February.

A few minutes later the two ladies returned in a much more cheerful mood. "We thought you were joking!" they grinned, and confessed that they were quite pleased to have seen it. But was it worth missing their train - but of course!

A few days later on 25th February the train called in again at Nuneaton at 3pm on its way back from Kings Cross to Carnforth.

Our photos show the Hogwarts Express adjacent to Platform 5 at Nuneaton Station. What you can't see is that there is a diesel engine at the rear end of the carriages.

Potter Potty

The first film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is now the second most successful film of all time, although it has still only earned about half as much as the number one film "Titanic".

The West Coast Railway Company was approached by the film makers Warner Bros. as Hogwarts School is located in the Scottish Highlands, and as well as being a train operating company owns its own steam locomotives. Their 5972 "Olton Hall" was chosen for the part of the Hogwarts Express. Together with a rake of carriages it was painted bright red and the Hogwarts School crest applied.

Due to time constraints, in the first film the scenes of the Hogwarts Express thundering through the countyside were filmed at the picturesque village of Goathland on the North Yorkshire Railway, a venue also used in the filming of ITV's "Heartbeat" series.

The scenes in Kings Cross station were shot over two weekends between platforms 4 and 5, and not as the book states platform 9. Apparently the barrier between platform 9 and 10 described in the book does not exist because J. K. Rowling had pictured the platform layout at Euston by mistake!

An engineer leans from a carriage window while a crowd further up the platform greets the arrival of the Hogwarts Express

Other venues used in the first film included Alnwick Castle in Northumberland for the exterior shots of Hogwarts Castle where 150 children from the local Lindisfarne Middle School were used as actors. Interior shots of the school were a collage of several places such as the Bodleian Library and Great Hall of Christ Church College at Oxford University, and Gloucester Cathedral.

For the second film the train was filmed in the Scottish Highlands around Glenfinnan with children from Lochaber High School as actors. The same cast from the first film is being used, with the addition of others such as Kenneth Branagh as the insufferably vain Gilderoy Lockhart, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy and Miriam Margolyes as Professor Sprout.

The West Coast Railway Company are currently seeking permission from Warner Bros. to run a themed Harry Potter steam train ride between Fort William and Mallaig. However, Carnforth Station where the train is stored has already had their request to put the Hogwarts Express on show turned down by Warner Bros.

The first film was renamed "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the US. This was because the book title had been changed as it was thought that the word "philosopher" in the title would be a turn-off for American readers! This is a shame because the term "Philosophers Stone" is not an invention of J. K. Rowling, but really was the perfect substance searched for by Alchemists of the Middle Ages which could transmute base metals into gold and also yield the Elixir of Life. This is also how it is described in the book and the film, so it's a bit strange that it's incorrectly called the "Sorcerers Stone" in the US. Here's one page which explains about Alchemists and the REAL Philosophers Stone - there are of course lots more! A wicked parody of this name change can be found at http://ftp.logica.com/~stepneys/sf/books/r/ptitle.htm

The US version of the film had to be dubbed and re-shot to replace any verbal references to the "Philosopher's Stone" with "Sorcerers Stone".

Hogwarts Railways crest painted on the sides of the carriages

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