34027 Hogwarts Express?

Hi All

When and where did 34027 Taw Valley become Hogwarts Express?
34027 Hogwarts Express??? (Taw Valley in Red livery location unknown)
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.net/p63596470.html
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.net/p63596455.html
Neil

 

From Wikipedia:
""Olton Hall" is not the first real locomotive to be disguised for hauling the Hogwarts Express. To promote the first Harry Potter books, Southern Railway West Country Class locomotive "Taw Valley" was temporarily repainted and renamed. It was rejected by film director Chris Columbus as looking "too modern" for the film but carried the name and colour for some months later."

 

It was in 2000, for the promotional tour for 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'.

 

I do believe 34027 carried the liviery until about 2002.

 

I can remember Taw Valley being at Didcot while J.K.Rowling was doing a book signing about 9-10 years ago.I think the train ran North and ended up in Edinburgh via various book signings.
Colin.

 

According to UKsteam, on the 8th of July 2000 it did Kings X-Didcot-Kidderminster-Crewe, then on the following days it did Crewe-Manchester-Bradford-York, York-Newcastle-Edinburgh, and finishing with Edinburgh-Dumferline-Perth-Stirling-Carlisle-Preston.

Was there much enthusiast interest at the time regarding this trip?

Chris

 

Not sure about enthusiasts, but I know it made the news while in the station at Didcot, I saw it on BBC World in India.

 

I think I remember seeing a picture of 34027 in one of the magazines running over the Forth Bridge

 

that's a funny place to find a picture!

 

Duly edited

 

Yeah those dates seem right
we took our first daughter to go and see it at Bradford interchange when she was about a week old ( born 27/06/00). I always remember taking her to see it , as She slept through the whole thing even when it departed.

I deffo have some photos somewhere of the nameplate ,headboard and it leaving Bradford interchange ( thought I'd put some on our website but not goT that far back yet lol)

JIM

 

She did look great in Red! how is the overhaul coming along?

 

i remember seeing it on CBBCs Newsround showing it at Kings X

 

There was a special edition of Newsround where the presenter travelled on the Train (formed of the Queen of Scots set) from Kings Cross and interviewed J.K. Rowling in the observation car right behind 34027. I still have this on video somewhere but can't remember which video it is on!

 

yeah thats the one i remember!

 

I remember seeing her at Kidderminster and later departing on the mainline being very much pushed by an EWS 66 (probably to conserve water on some very long legs of the book tour). The book signing was undertaken at the SVR station, the train being brought onto SVR metals for the purpose. Incidently the red colour used on 34027 was I believe EWS Maroon!
34027 later arrived at the SVR after being sold to Phil Swallow and operated on the line for a while in this colour including during an S&D event where she was heavily disguised in 'improved engineman's loco ash grey'-all very well until she took water and the tender overflowed revealing EWS maroon underneath! She was repainted soon after (in correct shade of green) and emerged as 'Ottery St Mary' until she was withdrawn with a cracked cylinder and heavy overhaul. I am led to believe that she won't be going mainline when she emerges from Bridgnorth in a couple of years, a great shame as she was always an excellent performer. I can understand the reasoning though as aside from the cost of TPWS/OTMR, she was totally knackered when they stripped her down and some of the blame has to be laid at being used on the very heavy VSOEs in Clan Lines' absence a decade ago, an experience I am sure Mr Swallow doesn't want to repeat.

 

There is a brief update on here (February) http://www.svr-engineering.co.uk/news/news.html. She has recently been allocated a specific engineer to complete the overhaul under the new SVR engineering re-organisations after being on the backburner as the home fleet had been given priority (she is being overhauled as a contract). With new faces being taken on at Bridgnorth, contract work can now be taken on with greater confidence, hence the new website and the winning of the contract to build Dolgoch's boiler. Taw Valley's boiler is at Chatham's and the new cylinder block has been fitted and re-bored as per photo. She is still a good couple of years away though, behind 2857 and 1501 I would imagine, but is progressing nicely.

 

Just found a clip of 34027 in Maroon as Hogwarts express and posted up to youtube



Its the third shot on the vid --hope you like it

 

100%
Some how the link disappeared