Hogwarts Express invites passengers to take a tour of the Cotswolds

No. 5972 Olton Hall aka The Hogwarts Express had its first brush with Hollywood in 2001 when Warner Brothers chose the engine to star in the first Harry Potter film but the locomotive hasn’t always enjoyed such a charmed life. Built in Swindon in 1937, the train was withdrawn from service in 1963 and scrapped. It was rescued from Barry scrapyard in South Wales in 1981 and had a makeover Hollywood would be proud of in 1997.