It’s interesting that it wasn’t the school, or the sports ground, or the woods, or the protagonists which made the first Harry Potter cover. It was the train. Although the specialised, expensive end of the collectable train business may be holding its end up, the train set market has been in freefall for several years. Most offspring of the modern Millennial couple do not ask for train sets for Christmas. They don’t have the room, the mindset or the interest in trains. The fact that manufacturers as diverse as Hornby, Lego and Lionel have all licensed Harry Potter trains is indicative of the brand’s pulling power. Hogwarts Express has even managed to become a franchise within a franchise. Imagine the toy train ranges without it; they’d all start to look a bit threadbare. The most you’d be left with is Thomas the Tank Engine. As it happened, Hornby had a suitable loco to convert to Hogwarts Castle; an ex-Airfix Railways ‘Castle’, which had also passed through Dapol’s hands. Unless you’re a GWR obsessive, the Castle Class is close enough in appearance to the Hall. So, the real ‘Hogwarts Castle’ loco in the film is a Hall, the Hornby Hogwarts Castle is a Castle, but the Bachmann Hogwarts Castle is a Hall. (I know it’s complicated, but there are collectors present.) Pretend you’re an old curmudgeon from the last century who has just been accidentally and magically transported into the present. “That’s not very difficult to imagine” I hear you say, followed by “why is everyone walking around with pieces of rectangular glass glued to their hands?”

An honourable mention must go to the O gauge coarse scale set from Lionel which has a real retro feel about it. It includes puffing smoke, interior lighting and soft moulded diaphragms between coaches. They also produce a larger G scale version. Includes 5 minifigures: Harry Potter™, Ron Weasley™, Hermione Granger™, Remus Lupin and the Trolley Witch, plus Dementor™ and Scabbers™ figures.

Create Your Own Trunk

Accessory elements include 3 pieces of luggage, 4 wands, chocolate frog, ice cream, 2 newspapers, King's Cross Station sign, Platform 9¾™ sign and a ‘Wanted' poster. As to the loco, it looks like it was drawn by someone who’d never seen a steam engine, and was having it described to them by a child. Rather appropriately this seminal first book cover is known as the ‘children’s edition’. Although the publishers decided to use more experienced graphic artists for subsequent covers, the original has a naïve charm which provided a template for future designers to work off. Several Hogwarts Express scenes feature the famous concrete Glenfinnan Viaduct on the line between Fort William and Mallaig. That the Jacobite steam service on this line runs full most of the season is partly due to the Potter effect.

Bachmann’s HO Hogwarts Express train set was only available in the US. It was called ‘The Sorcerers Stone’ reflecting the US alternative to the philosopher’s stone. If there’s a reason why the Americans prefer sorcerers to philosophers, I’m not going to speculate.The Hogwarts Express started life as a train for everyman. It needed to be composed of a series of whimsical sights, sounds and smells. Of course it had to be steam, but what type of engine, and what colour would it be? Thomas Taylor made it red. So that was that then.