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Update: A Chance for Fans to Ride the Hogwarts Express

The train that is the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films is heading to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, as part of the Cotswold Festival of Steam. The festival runs from May 23 to 26. It will then tow trains between Toddington and Cheltenham on May 27 and 28, and then May 30 and 31. Tickets for the festival are £10 for children aged five to 15 and £14 for adults. A family ticket for two adults and three children costs £34. The tickets give unlimited travel on the trains for the day they are issued. UPDATE: The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway have sent us a press release and a press photo and press release for the event. You can see the photo here. Read more to see what they had to say! Thanks to Barbara and to GWR for letting us know!

PRESS INFORMATION FROM Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway 14 May 2009 EXPRESS WAY TO A MAGIC TRAIN RIDE ON THE GWR The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is conjuring up a magic few days in May, when the biggest – and heaviest – star of the Harry Potter* movies pays a visit. The ‘star’ is the dark red steam locomotive that, in the films, hauls the ‘Hogwarts Express’, carrying Harry Potter and his young wizard companions to Hogwarts School. Although the GWR may not have a Platform 9¾, visitors will be able to enjoy a ride between Cheltenham Racecourse and Toddington stations, behind ‘Hall’ Class locomotive No. 5972 ‘Olton Hall’, which is perhaps better known as ‘Hogwarts Castle’. Says GWR commercial director Malcolm Temple: “This is probably one of the world’s most famous steam trains, as it has appeared in all of the Harry Potter films, which have been seen by millions in cinemas, all over the world. “It really is a unique chance for visitors to see this magical engine in all of its red and steamy glory – and to ride through the Cotswold countryside in a train pulled by it. But it’s much more than just a train ride – it is a journey into the imagination. “Although the locomotive has worked public trains on the main line, this is the first time the engine has operated services on a heritage railway for families to enjoy and we are thrilled that the GWR is where this is happening. What a fantastic way for the GWR to celebrate 25 years of operation!” No. 5972 appears first at the GWR’s ‘25th Anniversary Cotswold Festival of Steam’, from 23rd to 26th May. It will then exclusively work a special service between Toddington and Winchcombe with 1907-built world-record beater ‘City of Truro’ between Cheltenham and Winchcombe, on 27th and 28th May. The ‘Hogwarts Castle’ actor then runs the whole length of the line over the weekend of 30th and 31st May. Special fares apply for the Cotswold Festival of Steam, when up to eight steam locomotives will be working. Normal fares** apply on remaining dates – there is no additional charge for travelling on trains, pulled by the ‘Hogwarts Express’ star. Full information on www.gwsr.com Ends/more Notes for Editors *Locomotive No. 5972 ‘Olton Hall’: A Great Western Railway ‘Hall’ Class 4-6-0, built at Swindon, in 1937, and withdrawn from service by British Railways, in 1963. It was bought from Barry scrapyard, in South Wales, in 1981, and restored to working order in 1997. The locomotive is now looked after by West Coast Railways, at Carnforth, in Lancashire, and, in 2001, starred in the first Warner Brothers Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, based on the book of the same name, by J K Rowling. In the film, it appears as No. 5972 ‘Hogwarts Castle’ painted in maroon livery instead of green, at Kings Cross station departing from ‘Platform for 9¾’ for Hogwarts Castle and is later seen crossing the elegant Glenfinnan Viaduct, on the West Highland Line, in Scotland. No. 5972 has appeared in all subsequent Harry Potter films and is expected to take part in filming for the final release in the series, soon after its visit to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. This is the first time the locomotive has operated public trains on a heritage railway. The locomotive appears on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, by kind permission of West Coast Railways. The GWR: The entirely volunteer-run Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway operates trains between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, offering a 20-mile return journey through glorious countryside. The railway this year celebrates 25 years of operation. It opened on 22 April 1984, running trains over just 700 yards of track at Toddington, having acquired the derelict 15 miles of track bed from Cheltenham to Broadway. In April 2009, the GWR carried its one-millionth passenger. **Fares: Cotswold Festival of Steam, May 23-26, Adult £14, Child (5-15) £10. Family ticket (up to two adults and three children) £34. May 27, 28, 30 and 31: Adult £11.00, Child (5-15) £6.50. Family ticket £30.00. All tickets allow unlimited travel on day of issue. Under 5s travel free. Media Contacts: Ian Crowder, Press Officer, 07775 566 555 or ian.crowder@gwsr.com or Malcolm Temple, Commercial Director, 01608 661 698 or temple@lexdens.demon.co.uk

14 May 09| by Dijares | Category main | Views 2302 | Comments 0 | Submit News Print | RSS | Return Home |

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