Hogwarts Express

Hogwarts Express

Object information

Manufacturer

• Muggle railway workers at Crewe[1]
• Ministry of Magic workers (magic fitting)[1]

Made

[2]

Pre 1830

Usage

[3]

Transports students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Owners

Hogwarts Express Railway Authorities[4][Source]

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

— Hogwarts Express conductor[src]

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.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

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.[3] 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.[3] 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[src]

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.[1] 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.[1]

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,[1] in the early-to-mid 19th century.

In 1830,[2] 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.[1]

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.[1] 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.[11]

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 and, in later years, Remus Lupin and Luna Lovegood.

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.[3] These enmity continued throughout their years at Hogwarts.

Harry had his first encounter with a Dementor on the Hogwarts Express in 1993; the train had been stopped by the creatures to determine if escaped criminal Sirius Black was on board.[12] In 1996, Harry and others were invited to a compartment occupied by Professor Horace Slughorn;[13] the Express later ferried the students home early after Albus Dumbledore’s funeral.[10]

In 1997 the train was twice stopped en-route to Hogwarts; first by Death Eaters searching for Harry Potter, where they were met with some resistance from its occupants,[14] and the second during the Christmas holidays, when they abducted Luna Lovegood in retaliation for her father’s rebellious printings.[15]

At some point during the 2000s and 2010s, a new student aboarded the train, beginning their journey to Hogwarts.[16]

In 2017, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione took their children to Platform 9¾ where they boarded the train to leave for Hogwarts.[17] In one of the old train’s compartments, Albus Potter met Scorpius Malfoy and, in an ironic reversal of their own fathers, became fast friends. When the two were in their fourth year, and returning to Hogwarts on the train, they managed to jump off it in order to continue with a plan involving a Time-Turner, despite the efforts of the Trolley witch to stop them.[18]

Description

In striking contrast to Britain’s later National Rail system, the Hogwarts Express took the form of a large red, 4-6-0 steam engine, named Hogwarts Castle. Originally steam fitted by the Muggles who built it, the locomotive later ran exclusively on magic.

The passenger carriages held compartments set off a corridor, allowing each compartment to function as a self-contained stage within the larger train. Prefects of the school rode in a separate carriage near the front of the train.[3] The compartments on the train appeared to be lettered; in 1996, the Slug Club met in Compartment C.[13] During the long journey to Hogwarts, students could enjoy treats from a trolley, such as Pumpkin Pasties and Chocolate Frogs; in addition, there was also a Buffet Car.[3]

There were usually no adults aboard the Hogwarts Express except the trolley witch and the driver.[3][12] Occasionally, new teachers (such as Remus Lupin and Horace Slughorn) could be found aboard the train as well.[12][13] According to the trolley witch, the train didn’t take kindly to students who tried to leave when it was moving, possibly implying that it had some form of sentience.[18]

Behind the scenes

Appearances

Hogwarts Express.

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Notes and references