This March, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will unveil a 20,000ft2 expansion, including the original Hogwarts Express steam engine and a recreation of Platform 9 ¾.
The new, permanent section will offer a glimpse into how some of the
films’ most iconic scenes were created as well as give visitors the
chance to climb aboard the train’s carriage and to pose with a luggage
trolley as it disappears through the platform wall.
Throughout the Harry Potter film series, British steam train no. 5972, ‘Olton Hall’, was used as the Hogwarts Express.
Scenes featuring the working engine – including the very last scene to
be shot, in which a grown-up Harry, Ron and Hermione wave their own
children off as they head to school – were filmed on a soundstage at
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and on a track running the full length of
the Studios’ 100-acre backlot. The 78-year-old engine will return to
the series’ production home this spring and will be displayed on a
realistic set of tracks, with steam billowing as visitors step onto the
platform.
Officially opening on Thursday 19th March, the new,
must-see section has been redesigned and will be built by many of the
crew members who worked on the most successful film series of all time.
Every inch of the platform’s glass roof, yellow brick walls and luggage
racks, designed by Oscar® and BAFTA winning Production
Designer Stuart Craig, will be painstakingly reassembled by a team led
by Construction Manager Paul Hayes and dressed by Set Decorator Rosie
Goodwin. Oscar® and BAFTA winning Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson will rig the locomotive with special effects steam.
Visitors will be able to walk along the train’s adjoining carriage
and sit in the interior carriage set that was used during filming
(complete with ‘windows’ that demonstrate the process used to create
iconic train scenes from the films such as the escape of Harry’s first
Chocolate Frog and the Dementor attack). A selection of prop
luggage will be on show and visitors can find out which character owned
which items by turning an interactive dial (characters include Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood and more). A train-themed souvenir shop will also be open on the platform, stocking a wide range of goodies inspired by the Harry Potter films and, specifically, the Hogwarts Express.
Sarah Roots, Vice President of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, commented: “We can’t wait to open our first expansion, Platform 9 ¾, just before the Studio Tour’s third anniversary in March. The Hogwarts Express
had a starring role in the films so we’re excited that it will be
taking centre stage in the new area. It’s the piece that visitors have
most requested to see and we’re expecting a fantastic response.”
Stuart Craig, Production Designer on all eight Harry Potter films, added: “The Hogwarts Express was the setting for many iconic scenes, from Harry, Hermione and Ron’s first meeting in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
to the moment the trio’s children embark on their first journey to
school 26 years later. The wizarding world doesn’t have a need for
modern technology so we knew a traditional steam engine would make the
perfect school train. Before we began filming in 2000, we scoured the
country and found ‘Olton Hall’ at a preservation centre in Lancashire;
realising pretty quickly that it was exactly what we had been looking
for.”
The new Platform 9 ¾ section, featuring the original Hogwarts Express, will open on Thursday 19th March and entrance will be included in the standard ticket price.
