Hogwarts Express

dunnyrail

dunnyrail

DOGS, Garden Railways, Steam Trains, Jive Dancing,
Staff member
GSC Moderator
Country flag
Looks like this is returning under the Hornby label, got my order in as a pre order feom Rails of Sheffield just now. £134.99 gives you a pseudo looking Hall and a couple of underscale coaches. Includes some plastic track as well. I have been looking for one of these to convert to a GW 2-6-0 for some time now. Will get the royal treatment and end up likely as the fake 9351 of the WSR. Not much I can add at the moment as it is all pre release information. It is somewhat cheeper than the 00 version, looks like I will be getting a lot of plastic for my money.

R1268 Remote Controlled G Gauge Harry Potter Hogwarts Express Set (G Scale) by Hornby - Rails of Sheffield

Step through Platform 9 ¾ and take a ride on the Hogwarts Express! Witches, wizards, and Muggles can easily control this battery powered, remote controlled train set. Featuring authentic sound clips of the beloved Harry Potter characters, this 37 piece train set is sure to delight boys and girls...
railsofsheffield.com
 
You will be getting a lot of plastic for your money but if they haven't changed from the Lionel version it will be the wrong gauge. The ad on the Hornby page about a couple of months ago showed it was the Lionel version with exactly the same product number that had been out a while. I did some research after someone mentioned something and was warned that the plastic track has a gauge of about 50mm. I also found that it was very cheap in the US. I was intrigued and actually bought one from the US and it cost me just over £70.00 including shipping and custom charges. Sure enough it was 50mm but still a bit of fun although I have to take it apart as the inane sound effects don't have an off switch.

I did contact Hornby and mentioned that it was being marketed by them as G and a lot of people would be disappointed. They said they would look into it. I doubt that at that price they have completely retooled the model.

Paul
 
I had a Lionel Castle. I didn't check the gauge of the track but the loco and coaches do run on G track. They will go through both Peco and LGB points.

For me that's where the good news ends. The coaches are only fit for the bin and I can't see that anything can be done with them. I think they are the O gauge coaches on bigger bogies. The loco has many serious failings which make it unusable in a garden railway. The radio control for the loco has a range of about 15ft so the only way it will go round the garden is if you walk round with it. It has a light on the front and the sounds include an American bell. I thought I might convert the loco into a GW 2-6-0 but it was a pretty disappointing loco so in the end I just sold the whole set on. The RC may have improved on the Hornby version but somehow I doubt it.

To be fair it is British outline(ish) and it did actually run.


 
ebay mike said:
This was on evilbay recently

www.ebay.co.uk

Lionel G scale Hogwart Express repainted to GWR, battery radio controlled. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lionel G scale Hogwart Express repainted to GWR, battery radio controlled. at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
Click to expand...
Typical I have been looking for one for a while and never seen one at a reasonable price in UK. In reply to others, have heard about the gauge but will see. Loco will get a new RC and a MLS Card, oh Cris it is a Hall Class of Locomotive and that is as the real thing which was named Hogwarts Castle for the film. Yes the coaches are indeed bin worthy or perhaps Ebay worthy as likely will be the curves. Straights will get used for the Shed Storage.
 
Here is a photo of my set.

P1070128.jpg


It looks identical to the set on the Hornby web site as well as the Rails of Sheffield site and has the same number.

P1070129.jpg

This is the inside.

P1070130.jpg

And here is a comparison of the track and some LGB.

P1070132.jpg

It corresponds to the old US gauge 2.

It would be good if Hornby has got them to resize everything but I am dubious.

Paul
 
voodoopenguin said:
Here is a photo of my set.

View attachment 267174


It looks identical to the set on the Hornby web site as well as the Rails of Sheffield site and has the same number.

View attachment 267175

This is the inside.

View attachment 267176

And here is a comparison of the track and some LGB.

View attachment 267177

It corresponds to the old US gauge 2.

It would be good if Hornby has got them to resize everything but I am dubious.

Paul
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul, I think that they run on G due to oversized wheels and odd back to back. Perhaps you could measure those standards please?
a98087 said:
This link might be helpful, as it shows how some regauge led theirs to run on 45mm track


edit wrong video, but it shows it can be regauged
Dan
Click to expand...
I do remember someone did a revised gauge job on one. Will investigate all options when it appears. Though from Paul’s pic above looks like all the Track will be outed. Will be time to get into EBAY again.
 
Not for outside use?

From the packaging:

Forbidden! Forest forbidden! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

From the sound of the one running (second video) it must be oil-fired? - Sounds like it is running on Bee-Pee!
:giggle::giggle::giggle:

So as you get a British-ish outline loco.. Possibly worth it?? - I wonder it if would convert to O gauge, and be nearer scale? :wondering:
 
PhilP said:
Not for outside use?

From the packaging:

Forbidden! Forest forbidden! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

From the sound of the one running (second video) it must be oil-fired? - Sounds like it is running on Bee-Pee!
:giggle::giggle::giggle:

So as you get a British-ish outline loco.. Possibly worth it?? - I wonder it if would convert to O gauge, and be nearer scale? :wondering:
Click to expand...
From what I have seen I think it is pretty well Gauge 1 or around 1:32 or thereabouts.
 
dunnyrail said:
From what I have seen I think it is pretty well Gauge 1 or around 1:32 or thereabouts.
Click to expand...

Have I got my "Lionel's" in a twist? :eek::tmi:

I thought the Lionel stuff was 32mm? - Or is this a totally different beast, all-together?
 
PhilP said:
Have I got my "Lionel's" in a twist? :eek::tmi:

I thought the Lionel stuff was 32mm? - Or is this a totally different beast, all-together?
Click to expand...
Yes I think so, have a look at one of the earlier pics with the slightly over 45mm track.
 
dunnyrail said:
Thanks Paul, I think that they run on G due to oversized wheels and odd back to back. Perhaps you could measure those standards please?
Click to expand...

Back to back is 45mm which means no way it runs on LGB without surgery. I haven't taken it apart yet to see how easy that would be.

This photo shows the underside of the loco.

P1070134.jpg

This photo shows it with a piece of LGB track. The right side wheel is sitting on the rail and the rail is up against the flange. You can see that the left side wheel is riding on top of the rail and more to the outside. It needs the axles to be shortened by about 5mm for the wheels to sit nicely on the track.


P1070135.jpg

Paul
 
The diameter of a driving wheel measured across rail surface to rail surface is about 54mm, maybe someone can do the maths to say what the scale of the loco might be.

Paul
 
I think i was getting confused with the US 'animated' heritage?? stuff.. - The models Dan (Madman) has a cellar-full of..
PhilP.
 
I'm sure I saw a regauging job on one of these where the internal boss on the wheels was removed and the wheels slid inwards to get to 45mm.
 
voodoopenguin said:
Back to back is 45mm which means no way it runs on LGB without surgery. I haven't taken it apart yet to see how easy that would be.

This photo shows the underside of the loco.

View attachment 267208

This photo shows it with a piece of LGB track. The right side wheel is sitting on the rail and the rail is up against the flange. You can see that the left side wheel is riding on top of the rail and more to the outside. It needs the axles to be shortened by about 5mm for the wheels to sit nicely on the track.


View attachment 267209

Paul
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul, looking at things it may be possible to push in to 45 gauge, we shall see when it arrives. Certainly not 0, one has to wonder what was on the designers mind. Perhaps just a toy so scale and gauge do not matter. But well there are many toy trains out there built this way. Clearly no knowledge of what could be and what would expand the retail opportunities. Chief execs on 6 figure salary mentality again.
 
To add to the fun it seems that Lionel used to make a G scale version but the set number and set box was different to the 50mm gauge. The set number was 7-11080 and the box looks like this.

Screen Shot 2020-05-29 at 29-05-20Friday ._.png

Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom