Many of you will have seen or at least heard of the Harry Potter books and movie. A British ex-Great Western Railway "Hall" class steam loco was re-painted for use in the film and named "Hogwarts Castle" This morning I was able to photograph the loco passing my house on its way to London to take part in the filming of another movie. I personally prefer the genuine livery of either green or black for this class of loco but I suppose the income derived from using the loco in movies is most welcome for its owner. Best wishes, John.
It reminds me of the old Triang model, they did a spurious GWR 4-6-0 in red as well.... I've been tempted to model it I have to admit
Please don't take offense, but European steam locos have always seemed "odd" looking to me. I think that I have finaly discovered through these fine photographs why: They have very clean lines! Aside from having fenders, there are no steam or sand domes, handrails, piping etc. I know they have to have some of those features .. where do they hide them??
Yeah, we like our steam locomotives clean, not messed up with lots of piping, etc. The locomotive shown above is ex-Great Western Railway, they did not have steam domes, but most other companies did, but we never put sand boxes on top of the boiler, they were tucked between the frames, with the fillers standing just proud of the footplating. Also we did not have the steam operated equipment that American locos did, like steam reverser, feedwater heaters, generators for lights, etc. which means we did not have all the associated piping for them. Any pipes we did have were hidden under the boiler cleading, or under the footplate. Gotta keep thing tidy, you know
Personally, I think she's gorgeous. And if you think those are clean lines, remember the tank engines that Thomas and gang are modeled after. Those engines have there running gear underneath their boilers, between the axles. I would love to be able to ride behind the Hogwart's Express. And, I know my kids would love it too! Thanks for the pics.
PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY! Is that massive amount of steam spewing forth just forward of the firebox from the whistle? [ 03 May 2002, 13:40: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
Alan .. thanks for the info on the layout of the locomotive. I assume this loco has a steam driven air compressor .. perhaps on the right side of the loco out of sight in the photo? Also, can you tell me how water is kept from going down into the throttle body with no steam dome? I suspect the throttle body is horizontal and set high in the boiler, not vertical with the throttle set up inside the steam dome as they are here. I have another question for you ... has nothing to do with railroading: I have a 1971 BSA Victor 500 that I bought when it was new. Can you tell me if there is still a source of parts in G.B. that I can write to? Thanks
It's a bit of a stretch for me to make it to England to see those wonderful steam locomotives in action, but thanks to Bachmann I've got a Hogwarts Express train set on lawaway at the local train pusher. Kyle isn't too keen on trains, but he likes anything Harry Potter, and James is my future engineer. They'll get a kick out of it when I bring the set home. Thank you, J.K. Rowling! And thanks, John, for the great shots! Highball, y'all!
Originally posted by Ironhorseman: I assume this loco has a steam driven air compressor .. perhaps on the right side of the loco out of sight in the photo? Nope. No air compressor, our trains were vacuum braked during steam days. Also, can you tell me how water is kept from going down into the throttle body with no steam dome? I suspect the throttle body is horizontal and set high in the boiler, not vertical with the throttle set up inside the steam dome as they are here. The steam collector on GWR locomotives is set, I believe in the front top of the firebox, horizontally. Most locomotives did have the collector in a steam dome. I have another question for you ... has nothing to do with railroading: I have a 1971 BSA Victor 500 that I bought when it was new. Can you tell me if there is still a source of parts in G.B. that I can write to? I assume you are talking about a motorbike? Sorry, I am really out of touch with these machines. last one I had was about 40+ years ago! I will se if I can find out anything.
