Hogwarts Express Engine

• Type: Transportation Component (Steam Engine)
• Owners: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• Maker: Unnamed Muggle engineers in Crewe, Cheshire (Pottermore)

The Hogwarts Express engine is a large, scarlet steam locomotive. It is described as gleaming and produces great clouds of steam and smoke that billow over the platform at King's Cross Station. It pulls a long train of carriages, also painted scarlet, that transport students to and from Hogwarts. While the novels do not specify a name or number for the engine, the film adaptations feature a nameplate that reads Hogwarts Castle and the number 5972 (film). The engine has a traditional design with a large smokebox, a chimney, steam domes, and a cab for the driver.

Though of Muggle construction, the engine and its associated train have been magically modified. It runs purely on magic rather than coal (Pottermore). Its primary purpose is to power the Hogwarts Express on its biannual journey between Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in London and Hogsmeade Station in Scotland. The engine is operated by a wizard driver, who remains in the cab during the journey. In Harry Potter's third year, Professor Lupin went to the engine cab to speak with the driver after the train was stopped by Dementors. The engine ensures the secret and safe passage of hundreds of students, a significant logistical feat that had previously been a major problem for the Ministry of Magic (Pottermore).

According to information from Pottermore, before the introduction of the Hogwarts Express, students traveled to Hogwarts using unregulated methods such as broomsticks, Apparition, or enchanted carriages, which led to numerous security breaches and Muggle sightings. Minister for Magic Ottaline Gambol, who was intrigued by Muggle inventions, proposed a train as a secure and comfortable solution. The engine and its carriages were built by Muggles in Crewe, England. The Ministry of Magic acquired them through a large-scale covert operation which involved one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms and the largest Concealment Charm ever performed in Britain. After its acquisition, the entire train was magically modified for use by the wizarding community. It has served as the primary mode of transport for Hogwarts students ever since (Pottermore).

The scarlet steam engine is one of the first and most enduring symbols of Harry Potter's entry into the magical world. Its appearance on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters is the final confirmation for Harry that he is truly leaving his old life behind. The engine's regular departures and arrivals mark the beginning and end of each school year, framing Harry's adventures at Hogwarts. Key events involving the engine include:

• In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron Weasley miss the train and are forced to follow the scarlet engine in Arthur Weasley's flying Ford Anglia.
• In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the engine's sudden stop in the countryside heralds the arrival of a Dementor, leading to Harry's first direct encounter with one of these creatures and the introduction of Remus Lupin.
• In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the sight of the “familiar scarlet steam engine” brings the story full circle, as a new generation of wizards, including Harry's own children, boards the train for Hogwarts.

• The locomotive used for the Hogwarts Express in the film series is the Great Western Railway 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, built in 1937. This is the source of the “5972” number and the “Hogwarts Castle” nameplate seen in the movies, as Olton Hall is a “Hall” class locomotive, not a “Castle” class (film).
• The concept of the engine being a Muggle invention acquired and repurposed by wizards was introduced by J.K. Rowling on the Pottermore website (now Wizarding World).
• Another notable engine in the series is the internal combustion engine of Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia. He magically modified this Muggle car component, allowing the car to fly and become invisible.