The real steam engine from the films iv travelled behind on railtours. Just before it was withdrawn from traffic as it's 10 year boiler ticket was due to expire, 5972 was used to work two final enthusiasts railtours in June and July 2014. These tours were known as "The Wizards Express" and ran from Manchester Victoria to York traveling via Preston, Carnforth and Hellifield, with the outward route then being via Castleford & the return route via Leeds. 5972 hauled the trains from Carnforth to York and back (7th June's trip was steam worked back as far as Hellifield due to engineering works in Manchester that night).
Fun fact: the Hogwarts express engine is based on a great western railway (GWR) hall class, but the second word in its name "Hogwarts castle" refers to the castle class engines from the same railway, and the whistle comes from a BR standard class 7 4-6-2
The whistle in the film, and the Lionchief set, was recorded from 73082 'Camelot', a BR Standard 5MT 4-6-0. Definitely not a Bulleid pacific whistle, it's got a 3 chime!
@@MasterMoyle the pitch is slightly different- both are three chimes, and indeed BR used the A4 whistles as their basis for their own, but the whistle in the films is off 73082 :)
I know some people have previously been asking why didn't they just use a real castle instead of a hall but the problem is at the time the films were being made there were only 2 members of the class were operational with these being 5029 Nunney Castle and 5051 Earl Bathurst. 4073 Caerphilly Castle was on static display in Swindon (still is as of 2022), 4079 Pendennis Castle was undergoing restoration after returning from Australia, 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe had only just started being restored from Barry Scrapyard condition (it wouldn't be until 2008 that it returned to steam), 5080 Defiant was stored awaiting overhaul (funding for which is presently ongoing), 7027 Thornbury Castle was stored in scrapyard condition & 7029 Clun Castle was stored awaiting overhaul.
Don't know if you know this but the real name of that locomotive is Olton Hall. It was built for the great Western railway and used to be painted green
I think it would be interesting if lionel made more trains based out of the us, I'd love to see a usatc s160. Kind of a middle ground between us and Europe
Thumbs up for reviewing the cheap stuff. Thanks! I've been running my HP O gauge set for 2 years now. Had one hiccup with a wadded up traction tire, but that was my fault and the set came with a spare. The other day, after 2 years of pretty heavy use, the loco quit smoking. But, thanks to another video by Eric, I was able to take the shell off and clean the puffing mechanism. The piston was so gummed up with smoke fluid it wasn't going up and down anymore. Smokes like new again!
So is that video to clean up the smoker easy to find? I'm getting the 0 gauge as a Christmas present and will be using it as soon as I get it, of course to make sure everything works but to also use it before the season is up. Want to make sure know everything there is to know about the train to make sure it's properly taken care of.
Back around 2013 I purchased Lionel's Hogwarts Express, 7-11020, along with the add-on Dementors Coach. It was conventional in operation and came with the 80 watt transformer and an oval of Fastrack. The engine sported the tender mounted air whistle along with traction tires, headlight and smoke unit. However the engine did not like the 036 curve track and often derailed. Going to a larger radius curve solved the problem. Around the time I had purchased the set Lionel announced that they was going to discontinue it. They reversed their decision several weeks later much to the dismay of dealers who had stocked up on the train set. We gifted it to our daughter who is an avid Harry Potter enthusiast and it gets runs every Christmas. Not surprised Lionel re-released the set with the latest technology. Thanks for the detailed reviews Eric.
Just rode the awesome Hogwart's Express at Universal Orlando, so the timing of this review is perfect 😎 I'm pretty sure I saw the LionChief set for sale there. Great review as always!
You've traveled behind a fake 5972 Hogwarts Castle but iv travelled behind the real engine. In 2014 just before Olton Hall was due to be withdrawn from service as it's 10 year boiler certificate was due to expire and the plan was for it to go down to Warner Bros and be part of the studio tour, 5972 was used to work two final enthusiasts railtours in June and July 2014 before it's move to Watford.
@@MasterMoyle I do remember those trips really well and im gutted that I didn't get to go on either of the two planned railtours as by the time I found out about them they had all sold out.
@@tvclassics6465 I found out about these trips off a former friend of mine as he'd booked a ticket on the first trip which was Sat 7th June 2014 and after finding out about this tour I went straight onto Railway Touring Company's website to see if the tour had sold out. Fortunately there were plenty of spaces left so it was a quick case of find my debit card and pay for a seat on the trip (at the time only June's trip was planned). While it wasn't from London Kings Cross as I boarded the special at Preston and the tour originated from Manchester Victoria & it didn't run to Hogsmeade, it still went to a good destination which on this occasion was York. 5972 Hogwarts Castle (Olton Hall) worked the train from Carnforth to York via Castleford and then on the return journey from York to Hellifield via Leeds. The Manchester to Carnforth & Hellifield to Manchester legs were worked by a diesel locomotive. When the big day came while my friend was seated in the buffet coach in open seating I got seated in the brake coach so I was seated in a compartment, officially I'd got the proper Harry Potter seating on this special. Never before had I seen so many people onboard a railtour who were dressed up in Harry Potter outfits which included as either students from Hogwarts including Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter to members of staff at the school including Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and some were even dressed as Death Eaters. For those who weren't in costume they had all sorts of Harry Potter merchandise including wands, tickets for the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter clothing, etc. Compared to now where railtours run by the Railway Touring Company cost £115 for standard class seating, this trip cost me only £64.
@Tony’s Trains The Lionchief one I have kinda stuggle and sometimes derailed on O36. To solve that I moved my track around. The inner loop of my 3 loop layout was tubular O27 curve, Tublular full oval O36, Atlas O36 Square oval. Once I saw the struggles I took the tubular inner loop out. I moved the Atlas square oval into the middle, turned it into regular shorter oval. I went to Menards, got O42 Tubular track with short straight track, and BAM it ran much better. They made it more scale than normal. Only way you can get away wit O36 track is a very flat surface on the floor. Because my layout is 3 fold up tables.
@@DCSk8er529, it's kind of surprising that the Hogwarts Express is underrated, because all 8 Harry Potter movies have gotten positive reviews from critics & a good score on the tomatometer.
@@joshmontemayor1212 I personally think in details, and low speed, and chuff sequence the Hogwarts express KILLS the Polar Express in the Ready to Run department. I'm not gonna hold anything against the Polar Express, because I have that too. Just that I think the Lionchief Hogwarts Express is better and criminally underrated. Most Lionel Lionchief starter sets don't have the quality the Hogwarts Express has. Before the Polar Express Bachmann was selling out HO Scale Hogwarts expresses. My mom got me one for Christmas when I was a 9 year old boy. She told me it was the last one in the store. True story.
Big hits for Chrostmas! I see Chessie already suffers from Advance Railroader Syndrome, snoozing next to the operating layout. Both are good deals for what they are: bait to get kids playing with model trains. Nice trains and good marketing!
I'm batting around getting the O-Gauge set. But other things (wedding and life in general) is going to forestall my acquisition. Someday, provided they're still making them.
I have an older version of the Lionel Hogwarts Express trainset. I believe that I have set #11020. It is slightly different from the version that you have here. It isn't a Lion Chief set for one thing. It came with an 80watt control unit. The tender also had a more traditional Lionel whistle in it compared to the onboard sound system. There were three coaches in the set with an additional add-on pack of 2 coaches as well as a Dementor's coach to make a total of 6 coaches with different numbers. I enjoy the set a great deal as a Harry Potter fan. Oh, and the set that I have was from before the licensing required all of the boxes for Harry Potter merchandise to look the same so the set box for my set doesn't look like yours, it is a more traditional Lionel set box.
I get so excited listening to Hagrid's voice giving the ticket to Harry 😂 Amazing set up you have thx for sharing. You should pair it with the Deparment 56 Hogsmead station. 😅
I love the high level of detail you get with O-gauge but I don't have the space or money needed to model in O-gauge. I've been looking into starting an N-scale layout built on a 4 by 8 foot sheet of plywood that I would make by cutting the pliwood into 4 parts each being 2 by 4 feet long which will allow the layout to be moved easier.
Why is the cat so funny!? Haha I love it. Looks like you have a lot of fun. Thanks for reviewing this. Somehow I got a cheaper set that has no remote so it's nice to know you can get one with a remote for the same price. Remote is more fun for sure!
if i remember correctly, prior to ready to play, sets were g gauge. i had the polar express and the pennsylvania flyer, and i remember that the flyer ran on my grandfather’s g scale track and even pulled some of the cars(with a little bit of pushing the g scale couplings into the plastic g gauge couplings)
- With the smaller windows to the rear (the guards/baggage compartment) and, as others have noted, we brits DON'T have bells on our trains - any of them. Good value though!
I have the old set that came with the CW transformer. Harry Potter is what got me back into the hobby and I must say I haven't seen any of the movies. Lol
I’m torn between whether or not I should buy the O gauge or not but if I do, I’m getting it at my local hobby store during the christmas season IF they have one. The sets are almost always the same every time I go there.
Chessie is adorable lol keep reviewing Lionel sets that are good for the price. I've been very interested in finding more steam locomotives with sound and maybe a fan driven smoke unit for a decent price? Thanks for all the great videos. Wish you did more videos on your own layout. Hope to chat one day! From Northwest Indiana
I have the old conventional version of this set, it was actually my first Lionel train set. I wish I had the modern lioncheif version though mostly because it has upgraded sounds.
I had so much fun with my dads old O guage set and an oval of track as a kid until I took the plywood the track was on to a friends house as a teenager to use as a wargaming tabletop and it got left there and the track went missing. I later went to a flea market and paid $5 for a boat load of old Lionel/Marx etc etc track and switches etc etc to give to my dad in replacement of the track of his I lost. He didn't remember I had done this and bought a big lot of "for parts" trains and rolling stock that had some track with it
British steam locos don’t have bells and have single tone high pitched whistles. The models look quite good but the carriages are a bit short for what are basically early 50s British Rail Mark 1s. They’re missing windows. There should be four large ones on each half, not three. But that would make them a fair bit longer and probably can’t get around the tight curves with the set track.
Wow what a surprise Eric. And guess what Eric I got both of them as well. I got the ready to run train set at my mom’s house. And I got the ready to play set at Mary’s house.And I’m going to review the ready to run train set on my layout at my mom’s house on my layout.
Absolutely brilliant train 🚂 great review Lionel are pushing the technology into the next level now. Thanks for sharing your quality content have a fantastic Christmas and a happy new year 🥳
Speaking of York I actually travelled to York behind the real engine 5972 Olton Hall on it's two final railtours in June and July 2014 before the expiry of it's boiler and mainline certificates.
Eric, Thanks for the reviews. RTR sets put me in the Holiday season train mood. The Bluetooth control on the o-gauge is cool. Dementors car - nice add on. Will it make the sounds when the car is in motion? Thanks again.
Thanks for the review!! Just bought the cheaper version, but was hoping there is a way to turn down the volume? It can be a bit much having the “chugga-chugga” going the entire time lol
fun fact about the Hogwarts express, the name of the locomotive is Hogwarts castle, which, *should* make it a perfect fit as a Castle class locomotive, but apparently the director thought the Castle class were too ugly. And decided on a Hall class locomotive.
I'd love to see you expand you layouit to include S gauge, for forced perspective. I model O, 027 and S gauge and love Marx 027 and American Flyer trains.
When you purchase a Lionel O gauge set with a power pack and remote, like the Hogwarts Express that you feature here, can the set also be run with a conventional transformer like the CW-80? Cheers.
Standard lionchief sets/locomotives cannot be controlled by an cw80 BUT it can power them but they still need their remotes or app to control them. Lionchief plus and plus 2.0 can be controlled with a cw80 by switching their setting from "remote" to "transformer" I hope this helps!
The O Guage Hogwarts locomotive is actually scale, though apparently Lionel copied an existing British Hall Class model so it is 1/43 Scale instead of 1/48. The cars aren't scale, though.
I used to have a G scale Hogwart Express when I was little. This was the mid to late 2000's. That was my first rc train set. It was pretty fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long. One day the dog we had at the time decided to pee right on the tender which is where they stored the batteries on that set. It shorted out the electronics and ruined the set.
Nice video, but dear oh dear oh dear! Had a quick look through the comments and nobody seems to have pointed out that British engines do not have bells!!
My ready to play Hogwarts train won’t connect to the controller, any tips? Train keeps beeping and controller light is blinking and it has new batteries.
I have heard the Dementor car sounds tend to match or even overpower the locomotive sounds. Do you agree or am I just hearing from over critical folks?
Eric I hate to bother you you know Sid from Sid's trains do you know if he's there I'm trying to get in touch with that young man I can't seem to email him for some reason I reached out to JD stucks and he has no reply for me yet obviously no rush in the event you run into that young man could you have a reach out to me via this email I have an old school Lionel train I'd like to give him I think he deserves it he likes to play with that type of stuff he's an engineer to be and it's at least I can do for you guys we're all in this together all for one and one for trains I greatly appreciate it if you could pass the word along unfortunately I cannot come there I am nursing a hernia and crying because I want to be there having said that thank you I don't mean to bother you don't go out of your way by all means and thank you for everything you do I just watched your Hogwarts very cool and I will forever watch once again thank you for your time effort and if you could help me help Sid that would be awesome
I'm currently watching your Big boy 4014 with the complete beautiful passenger set words cannot say what that train looks like if you have the passion for the trains then you could understand but that is just Dynamite you know what your layout is dynamite as well that bridge second to none have a nice day
I'm sorry for watching that big boy is like listening to an orchestra the articulating front end through the s curves is absolutely stunning I want to say it's almost better than a woman not quite we're getting close to the older I get enjoy your work
My Hogwarts express doesn’t let me stream my voice on the app I have tried to uninstall the app and install it but nothing if you have any recommendations for me please feel free to reach out to me
Eric, was it my imagination or were the vocals of Hagrid and Harry sounding better from the cheap battery train? On the expensive utility powered unit they sounded too high-pitched and I didn't recognize the voices as Robbie Coltrane and Daniel Radcliffe. It was almost as if the track were playing too fast, or maybe the playback system was tinny. Your thoughts? And loved the video. I agree, the only use for the battery powered set is for around the tree, or maybe as a gift to a young child you aren't willing to let plug a cord into an outlet yet.
i got the Ready-To-Play Hogwarts Express train from the California Sacramento State Train Museum for my birthday! Me and and mom are still trying to figure out how to power it 😅
Hi Eric, I’ve watched many of your videos and I have a question. I recently decided to purchase a Diesel engine several Christmas cars for around the tree this year. New grandson! All are Lionel! Why would Lionel produce rolling stock that doesn’t match the size or scale of the engine? I guess I can live with it but it really doesn’t look right.
These are Amazing, I liked listening to Hagrid's voice while talking to Harry, let's raise our wands,/✨, R.I.P. Robbie Coltrane 🙏🏽
The real steam engine from the films iv travelled behind on railtours. Just before it was withdrawn from traffic as it's 10 year boiler ticket was due to expire, 5972 was used to work two final enthusiasts railtours in June and July 2014. These tours were known as "The Wizards Express" and ran from Manchester Victoria to York traveling via Preston, Carnforth and Hellifield, with the outward route then being via Castleford & the return route via Leeds. 5972 hauled the trains from Carnforth to York and back (7th June's trip was steam worked back as far as Hellifield due to engineering works in Manchester that night).
Fun fact: the Hogwarts express engine is based on a great western railway (GWR) hall class, but the second word in its name "Hogwarts castle" refers to the castle class engines from the same railway, and the whistle comes from a BR standard class 7 4-6-2
The greatest locomotives ever built, the bulleid Pacifics
The whistle in the film, and the Lionchief set, was recorded from 73082 'Camelot', a BR Standard 5MT 4-6-0. Definitely not a Bulleid pacific whistle, it's got a 3 chime!
@@StaxRail the whistle sounds more like it's off an A4 pacific.
@@MasterMoyle the pitch is slightly different- both are three chimes, and indeed BR used the A4 whistles as their basis for their own, but the whistle in the films is off 73082 :)
I know some people have previously been asking why didn't they just use a real castle instead of a hall but the problem is at the time the films were being made there were only 2 members of the class were operational with these being 5029 Nunney Castle and 5051 Earl Bathurst.
4073 Caerphilly Castle was on static display in Swindon (still is as of 2022), 4079 Pendennis Castle was undergoing restoration after returning from Australia, 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe had only just started being restored from Barry Scrapyard condition (it wouldn't be until 2008 that it returned to steam), 5080 Defiant was stored awaiting overhaul (funding for which is presently ongoing), 7027 Thornbury Castle was stored in scrapyard condition & 7029 Clun Castle was stored awaiting overhaul.
Don't know if you know this but the real name of that locomotive is Olton Hall. It was built for the great Western railway and used to be painted green
I know
I think it would be interesting if lionel made more trains based out of the us, I'd love to see a usatc s160. Kind of a middle ground between us and Europe
I wouldn't bet on it- here in the UK we're still waiting for a OO gauge one!
They make a train set that’s basically the hogwarts express but in a normal uk scheme in o scale/gauge
@@Manwholikestrains yea, the Albert hall set,I believe it released around 2017
@@davidstrainsandlego that’s right I forgot the name but yes unfortunately I believe that’s the only other non American set
SAAAAME. I'm about to make myself a lego layout just so I can actually have different stuff I don't want exclusively American
Thumbs up for reviewing the cheap stuff. Thanks!
I've been running my HP O gauge set for 2 years now. Had one hiccup with a wadded up traction tire, but that was my fault and the set came with a spare. The other day, after 2 years of pretty heavy use, the loco quit smoking. But, thanks to another video by Eric, I was able to take the shell off and clean the puffing mechanism. The piston was so gummed up with smoke fluid it wasn't going up and down anymore. Smokes like new again!
Awesome!
So is that video to clean up the smoker easy to find?
I'm getting the 0 gauge as a Christmas present and will be using it as soon as I get it, of course to make sure everything works but to also use it before the season is up. Want to make sure know everything there is to know about the train to make sure it's properly taken care of.
That 70 buck set isn't really bad at all! Thanks for the review!
Back around 2013 I purchased Lionel's Hogwarts Express, 7-11020, along with the add-on Dementors Coach. It was conventional in operation and came with the 80 watt transformer and an oval of Fastrack. The engine sported the tender mounted air whistle along with traction tires, headlight and smoke unit. However the engine did not like the 036 curve track and often derailed. Going to a larger radius curve solved the problem. Around the time I had purchased the set Lionel announced that they was going to discontinue it. They reversed their decision several weeks later much to the dismay of dealers who had stocked up on the train set. We gifted it to our daughter who is an avid Harry Potter enthusiast and it gets runs every Christmas. Not surprised Lionel re-released the set with the latest technology. Thanks for the detailed reviews Eric.
That second set looks like it would be great for kids and other curious beginners
That RtP set is suprisingly sophisticated with synced chuff and steam hiss when stopping. Not sticking to established gauges limits its use, though.
Awesome Hogwarts Express from Lionel I would buy for sure the O scale version in my opinion even though I do Ho scale
Just rode the awesome Hogwart's Express at Universal Orlando, so the timing of this review is perfect 😎 I'm pretty sure I saw the LionChief set for sale there. Great review as always!
You've traveled behind a fake 5972 Hogwarts Castle but iv travelled behind the real engine. In 2014 just before Olton Hall was due to be withdrawn from service as it's 10 year boiler certificate was due to expire and the plan was for it to go down to Warner Bros and be part of the studio tour, 5972 was used to work two final enthusiasts railtours in June and July 2014 before it's move to Watford.
@@MasterMoyle I do remember those trips really well and im gutted that I didn't get to go on either of the two planned railtours as by the time I found out about them they had all sold out.
@@tvclassics6465 I found out about these trips off a former friend of mine as he'd booked a ticket on the first trip which was Sat 7th June 2014 and after finding out about this tour I went straight onto Railway Touring Company's website to see if the tour had sold out. Fortunately there were plenty of spaces left so it was a quick case of find my debit card and pay for a seat on the trip (at the time only June's trip was planned).
While it wasn't from London Kings Cross as I boarded the special at Preston and the tour originated from Manchester Victoria & it didn't run to Hogsmeade, it still went to a good destination which on this occasion was York. 5972 Hogwarts Castle (Olton Hall) worked the train from Carnforth to York via Castleford and then on the return journey from York to Hellifield via Leeds. The Manchester to Carnforth & Hellifield to Manchester legs were worked by a diesel locomotive.
When the big day came while my friend was seated in the buffet coach in open seating I got seated in the brake coach so I was seated in a compartment, officially I'd got the proper Harry Potter seating on this special. Never before had I seen so many people onboard a railtour who were dressed up in Harry Potter outfits which included as either students from Hogwarts including Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter to members of staff at the school including Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and some were even dressed as Death Eaters. For those who weren't in costume they had all sorts of Harry Potter merchandise including wands, tickets for the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter clothing, etc.
Compared to now where railtours run by the Railway Touring Company cost £115 for standard class seating, this trip cost me only £64.
GREAT VIDEO ERIC! You really are the master. So comprehensive and easy to understand!
Most underrated train set ever. Disclaimer, use O42 curves tracks to save you derailments.
@Tony’s Trains The Lionchief one I have kinda stuggle and sometimes derailed on O36. To solve that I moved my track around. The inner loop of my 3 loop layout was tubular O27 curve, Tublular full oval O36, Atlas O36 Square oval. Once I saw the struggles I took the tubular inner loop out. I moved the Atlas square oval into the middle, turned it into regular shorter oval. I went to Menards, got O42 Tubular track with short straight track, and BAM it ran much better. They made it more scale than normal. Only way you can get away wit O36 track is a very flat surface on the floor. Because my layout is 3 fold up tables.
I guess that the Hogwarts Express isn't as popular as The Polar Express.
@@joshmontemayor1212 It's the most underrated train I ever owned
@@DCSk8er529, it's kind of surprising that the Hogwarts Express is underrated, because all 8 Harry Potter movies have gotten positive reviews from critics & a good score on the tomatometer.
@@joshmontemayor1212 I personally think in details, and low speed, and chuff sequence the Hogwarts express KILLS the Polar Express in the Ready to Run department. I'm not gonna hold anything against the Polar Express, because I have that too. Just that I think the Lionchief Hogwarts Express is better and criminally underrated. Most Lionel Lionchief starter sets don't have the quality the Hogwarts Express has. Before the Polar Express Bachmann was selling out HO Scale Hogwarts expresses. My mom got me one for Christmas when I was a 9 year old boy. She told me it was the last one in the store. True story.
Big hits for Chrostmas!
I see Chessie already suffers from Advance Railroader Syndrome, snoozing next to the operating layout.
Both are good deals for what they are: bait to get kids playing with model trains. Nice trains and good marketing!
Great sets Eric!
I'm batting around getting the O-Gauge set. But other things (wedding and life in general) is going to forestall my acquisition.
Someday, provided they're still making them.
The o gauge one I call ol reliable
I have an older version of the Lionel Hogwarts Express trainset. I believe that I have set #11020. It is slightly different from the version that you have here. It isn't a Lion Chief set for one thing. It came with an 80watt control unit. The tender also had a more traditional Lionel whistle in it compared to the onboard sound system. There were three coaches in the set with an additional add-on pack of 2 coaches as well as a Dementor's coach to make a total of 6 coaches with different numbers.
I enjoy the set a great deal as a Harry Potter fan.
Oh, and the set that I have was from before the licensing required all of the boxes for Harry Potter merchandise to look the same so the set box for my set doesn't look like yours, it is a more traditional Lionel set box.
I get so excited listening to Hagrid's voice giving the ticket to Harry 😂 Amazing set up you have thx for sharing. You should pair it with the Deparment 56 Hogsmead station. 😅
I own an OO gauge Hornby Hogwarts express 5972 from the Train show on January 21, 2023.
I love the high level of detail you get with O-gauge but I don't have the space or money needed to model in O-gauge. I've been looking into starting an N-scale layout built on a 4 by 8 foot sheet of plywood that I would make by cutting the pliwood into 4 parts each being 2 by 4 feet long which will allow the layout to be moved easier.
two very nice starter set
Why is the cat so funny!? Haha I love it. Looks like you have a lot of fun. Thanks for reviewing this. Somehow I got a cheaper set that has no remote so it's nice to know you can get one with a remote for the same price. Remote is more fun for sure!
if i remember correctly, prior to ready to play, sets were g gauge. i had the polar express and the pennsylvania flyer, and i remember that the flyer ran on my grandfather’s g scale track and even pulled some of the cars(with a little bit of pushing the g scale couplings into the plastic g gauge couplings)
Sweet man very cool I’m watching Harry Potter movie right now and the guy who played higrid has passed away awesome video
I kno, rest in peace Robbie Coltrane! 🙏
Fun fact: the brake coach, the one with fewer windows, goes at the back of a a British Consist!
Thanks, didn’t know that
Looks similar to a US dining car/combination or luggage car, which are usually on the front in the US.
- With the smaller windows to the rear (the guards/baggage compartment) and, as others have noted, we brits DON'T have bells on our trains - any of them. Good value though!
Wow thanks cookie?
@@tonyiliffe8907 King George V Dominion of Canada were two examples of UK locomotives fitted with bells
Thank you for this video. I now have reference on buying a cheap train set for my boy this Christmas.
Glad I could help!
I have the old set that came with the CW transformer. Harry Potter is what got me back into the hobby and I must say I haven't seen any of the movies. Lol
I've seen the 1st 3 movies & they're pretty darn good.
I’m torn between whether or not I should buy the O gauge or not but if I do, I’m getting it at my local hobby store during the christmas season IF they have one. The sets are almost always the same every time I go there.
The same as?
What I’m trying to say is, they hardly get anything new in stock.
This was my request for a long time I've been waiting for this video to review this train set
Chessie is adorable lol keep reviewing Lionel sets that are good for the price. I've been very interested in finding more steam locomotives with sound and maybe a fan driven smoke unit for a decent price? Thanks for all the great videos. Wish you did more videos on your own layout. Hope to chat one day! From Northwest Indiana
You have to get both dementor cars they are cool!
I have the old conventional version of this set, it was actually my first Lionel train set. I wish I had the modern lioncheif version though mostly because it has upgraded sounds.
i miss when getting a lionel train set included the big power transformer. they justfelt more satisfying to use than the remotes
I wish that Lionel would still make sets with conventional AC and a CW-80 transformer as well as the Lionchief remote sets too !
Thank you Mr Eric
I actually own the ready to play Hogwarts Express! But I don’t have the O gauge one sadly.
Another Great review Eric as only you can!
I appreciate that!
Thanks for the great review!
I did not know how Lionel did it now I can put it on my MTH table I want that set now
Looking at both of these for my daughters second Christmas. 16 months. 🤔
I think both sets have their unique qualities for what you're getting thanks for reviewing them both and sharing it with us 👍👍
My pleasure!
I had so much fun with my dads old O guage set and an oval of track as a kid until I took the plywood the track was on to a friends house as a teenager to use as a wargaming tabletop and it got left there and the track went missing. I later went to a flea market and paid $5 for a boat load of old Lionel/Marx etc etc track and switches etc etc to give to my dad in replacement of the track of his I lost.
He didn't remember I had done this and bought a big lot of "for parts" trains and rolling stock that had some track with it
Not my style of train but it’s cool none the less. Good set for older kids to get into the hobby
Looks good
British steam locos don’t have bells and have single tone high pitched whistles. The models look quite good but the carriages are a bit short for what are basically early 50s British Rail Mark 1s. They’re missing windows. There should be four large ones on each half, not three. But that would make them a fair bit longer and probably can’t get around the tight curves with the set track.
Yeah, it's not perfect. But they tried.
Part of me is kind of tempted to take one of those sets but strip out the mechanism and put postwar motors and mechanisms into it
Wow what a surprise Eric. And guess what Eric I got both of them as well. I got the ready to run train set at my mom’s house. And I got the ready to play set at Mary’s house.And I’m going to review the ready to run train set on my layout at my mom’s house on my layout.
Nice!
I have the Lionel Hogwarts express
Beats me why anybody in this day and age would still want a 3 rail model train.
Absolutely brilliant train 🚂 great review Lionel are pushing the technology into the next level now. Thanks for sharing your quality content have a fantastic Christmas and a happy new year 🥳
What a fun video! Good job Eric.
Sweet!
I'm watching this on my way to York ,Pa for the train show and Eric will you be there
October 20.22
Yes
Speaking of York I actually travelled to York behind the real engine 5972 Olton Hall on it's two final railtours in June and July 2014 before the expiry of it's boiler and mainline certificates.
I want one maybe I will get one after I watch your video
🚂😎👍👍👍👍👍
🚂😎❤️👍
You’re correct, Eric. It’s O gauge or no gauge.
Rip Hagrid. Your memory still lives on.
Eric,
Thanks for the reviews. RTR sets put me in the Holiday season train mood.
The Bluetooth control on the o-gauge is cool. Dementors car - nice add on. Will it make the sounds when the car is in motion?
Thanks again.
The sounds of the Dementor car are on a timer. As long as the sound switch is on, it will play the lights/sounds sequence every 90 seconds or so.
Eric that was an excellent 👏 video
Thanks for the review!! Just bought the cheaper version, but was hoping there is a way to turn down the volume? It can be a bit much having the “chugga-chugga” going the entire time lol
fun fact about the Hogwarts express, the name of the locomotive is Hogwarts castle, which, *should* make it a perfect fit as a Castle class locomotive, but apparently the director thought the Castle class were too ugly. And decided on a Hall class locomotive.
33:30 what da cat doin?
Outstanding video and review! Love your cat!👍🎅👍
Ready to Play Gauge is pretty close to Lionel's old Standard Gauge. Not sure if it's an exact match. Standard Gauge is 2 1/8".
I got the cheap one for my mom this Christmas 🎉
Will you make a video about the new Lionel big boy?
Perhaps, we’ll see
Thanks lot for all your work setting up to show us the set - with the o gauge was put beside the G gauge show difference in size ? Excellent review
No problem
19:34 am I the only one who thinks that the bell sounds like the bell off of Norfolk and western 611?
I'd love to see you expand you layouit to include S gauge, for forced perspective. I model O, 027 and S gauge and love Marx 027 and American Flyer trains.
I'd love that too, but it probably won't happen...at least not with this layout.
The large scale set will run on the Old standard gauge track. Don't know if you are aware of that.
Never tried that, but that's interesting
@@Ericstrains Was great to see you at York.
Lionel made an add on 2-pack with 2 more coaches that can be bought separately.
When you purchase a Lionel O gauge set with a power pack and remote, like the Hogwarts Express that you feature here, can the set also be run with a conventional transformer like the CW-80? Cheers.
I don't think these can be run without the remote or a smartphone.
Standard lionchief sets/locomotives cannot be controlled by an cw80 BUT it can power them but they still need their remotes or app to control them.
Lionchief plus and plus 2.0 can be controlled with a cw80 by switching their setting from "remote" to "transformer"
I hope this helps!
R.I.P Robbie Coltrane also known as Hagrid.
The O Guage Hogwarts locomotive is actually scale, though apparently Lionel copied an existing British Hall Class model so it is 1/43 Scale instead of 1/48. The cars aren't scale, though.
I used to have a G scale Hogwart Express when I was little. This was the mid to late 2000's. That was my first rc train set. It was pretty fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long. One day the dog we had at the time decided to pee right on the tender which is where they stored the batteries on that set. It shorted out the electronics and ruined the set.
Nice video, but dear oh dear oh dear! Had a quick look through the comments and nobody seems to have pointed out that British engines do not have bells!!
It's a conceit for American buyers.
I always thought the Hogwarts express would make a good starting point for a LMS 4-6-0 black 5
It really wouldn't. A hall class and a black 5 look very different.
Maybe I'm getting two O-gauge lionel lionchief train sets polar express and hogwarts express
Hola buen dia excelente video muy bueno el modelo abrazo grande
My ready to play Hogwarts train won’t connect to the controller, any tips? Train keeps beeping and controller light is blinking and it has new batteries.
I love it ! I wish I was 10 again instead of 75 !
I have heard the Dementor car sounds tend to match or even overpower the locomotive sounds. Do you agree or am I just hearing from over critical folks?
“;-)” Awsum 🚂👍
I will get one it’s kool
Great review on both
I also have a lionel Hogwarts express but the coaches have light flickering problems
now I know for sure... That's a Jaaaaaaag
I have polar Express but it did not come with remote.
You are at york correct
Correct
Eric I hate to bother you you know Sid from Sid's trains do you know if he's there I'm trying to get in touch with that young man I can't seem to email him for some reason I reached out to JD stucks and he has no reply for me yet obviously no rush in the event you run into that young man could you have a reach out to me via this email I have an old school Lionel train I'd like to give him I think he deserves it he likes to play with that type of stuff he's an engineer to be and it's at least I can do for you guys we're all in this together all for one and one for trains I greatly appreciate it if you could pass the word along unfortunately I cannot come there I am nursing a hernia and crying because I want to be there having said that thank you I don't mean to bother you don't go out of your way by all means and thank you for everything you do I just watched your Hogwarts very cool and I will forever watch once again thank you for your time effort and if you could help me help Sid that would be awesome
I'm currently watching your Big boy 4014 with the complete beautiful passenger set words cannot say what that train looks like if you have the passion for the trains then you could understand but that is just Dynamite you know what your layout is dynamite as well that bridge second to none have a nice day
I apologize say hello to your girlfriend as well
I'm sorry for watching that big boy is like listening to an orchestra the articulating front end through the s curves is absolutely stunning I want to say it's almost better than a woman not quite we're getting close to the older I get enjoy your work
Why does it have an extra rail in the middle? It can't be using the ancient three rail electrical system that died out in the early 1960s.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail_(model_rail)
That’s weird, I never saw Eric buy a Traditional O guage set. No offense Eric, your mostly into legacy engines not much traditional O
My Hogwarts express doesn’t let me stream my voice on the app I have tried to uninstall the app and install it but nothing if you have any recommendations for me please feel free to reach out to me
Long live Robbie!
Hey Eric I have the Lionel g gauge Pennsylvania flyer train set I’m making a layout with that
nice
@@Ericstrains l custom built it and it looks real
Where is can it get cheaper. i live in India. how can I buy it?
Will the train run between carpet flooring and hardwood floors?
hard floor, yes. Carpet, probably.
Eric, was it my imagination or were the vocals of Hagrid and Harry sounding better from the cheap battery train? On the expensive utility powered unit they sounded too high-pitched and I didn't recognize the voices as Robbie Coltrane and Daniel Radcliffe. It was almost as if the track were playing too fast, or maybe the playback system was tinny. Your thoughts? And loved the video. I agree, the only use for the battery powered set is for around the tree, or maybe as a gift to a young child you aren't willing to let plug a cord into an outlet yet.
They sound pretty good from both
i got the Ready-To-Play Hogwarts Express train from the California Sacramento State Train Museum for my birthday! Me and and mom are still trying to figure out how to power it 😅
I want to buy It
Hi Eric, I’ve watched many of your videos and I have a question. I recently decided to purchase a Diesel engine several Christmas cars for around the tree this year. New grandson! All are Lionel! Why would Lionel produce rolling stock that doesn’t match the size or scale of the engine? I guess I can live with it but it really doesn’t look right.
A full train consist is supposed to be 7 passenger cars the engine and tender it would not fit well on the starter oval ether.
Yep
I've heard that in the movies, the Hogwarts Express has 4 passenger cars.
Speaking of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts express Robbie Coltrane past away last week this month .
Yep.
Pretty sad huh?
@@WilliamCreator57 yeah sure is