5972 Olton Hall

5972 Olton Hall running as Hogwarts Castle at Carlisle - August 2005.jpg

Built in April 1937 at Swindon Railway Works for the Great Western Railway, it was first allocated to Carmathen where it remained until 1951.

BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.

Date ArrivedDepot
January 1948Carmarthen
January 1951Plmouth Laira
July 1951Ebbw Junction
August 1951Stafford Road
October 1952Oxley
July 1954Truro
September 1955Penzance
November 1958Plymouth Laira
July 1959Severn Tunnel Junction
June 1960Neath
November 1962Fishguard Goodwick
January 1963Old Oak Common
June 1963Cardiff East Dock

After being fitted with a three row superheater at Swindon, it was allocated to Plymouth Laira shed. Its last shed allocation was to Cardiff East Dock, before it was withdrawn in December 1963, and acquired by Woodham Brothers for scrap in May 1964.

5972 left Barry in May 1981 following its sale from Woodham Brothers to Procor (UK) Ltd Ltd in Wakefield. It  was partly restored in Wakefield before moving to Carnforth for completion.

More latterly, 5972 Olton Hall has gained fame as the locomotive used in the Harry Potter film series. Owned by David Smith and painted red following its restoration to working order, the locomotive was selected for use as the engine for the ‘Hogwarts Express’ in 2001 and subsequently used in filming at Leavesden Studios,Kings Cross and also on the West Highland Line between Mallaig and Fort William between 2001 and 2010, painted in the fictitious ‘Hogwarts Railway’ livery and renamed as Hogwarts Castle. It currently carries a 10A (Carnforth) shedplate in recognition of its current home at Carnforth, although it often appears elsewhere in service or on display. 5972’s boiler certificate expired in 2014.

The locomotive is now on static display at The Harry Potter Museum at Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden, near Watford and will remain there in the museum for two years.

Home BaseCurrent StatusOwner
The Harry Potter Museum at Warner Brothers Studios in LeavesdenOn static displayDavid Smith
5972 Olton Hall arriving at Cardiff General with a parcels train – July 1961
5972 Olton Hall in Woodham’s scrapyard at Barry. to the left is 5043 Earl of Mount Edgecumbe and to the right is 5029 Nunney Castle – July 1965
5972 Olton Hall on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway – October 1998
5972 Olton Hall working between Hellifield and Carlisle – December 1999
5972 Olton Hall as Hogwarts Castle at York – August 2002
5972 Olton Hall as Hogwarts Castle at Crewe Works Open Day – September 2005
5972 Olton Hall as Hogwarts Castle in the National Railway Museum at York – September 2010
5972 Olton Hall as Hogwarts Castle in Locomotion at Shildon – June 2011
5972 Olton Hall as Hogwarts Castle inside the Warner Brothers Studio at Leavesden – August 2016

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