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Lionel’s O gauge Hogwarts Express Train Set
I`m a big fan of british trains! My dad and I collect lionel o And 0-27, but we have some oo scale hornby trains.Now that lionel came out with the hogwarts express, I bet they will come out with more british trains.
I took my set to the local O gauge group meeting. I was suprised that members are buying the locos at a quite high price just for the body and tender, to add a scale chassis and repaint in GWR green. Nice model of a Hall - a loco I am very familiar with, but the tender wheels have a tendancy to fall out. The coaches are a little undersize compared with the locomotive.
The air whistle in ours doesn’t work, so it will be off to the service center after Xmas. Color is not a match for the movie train or the Bachmann version (strange, isn’t it: the Chinese not getting the color red correct). Other than that, we all like it here.
I preordered and saved almost a third off list price, and I am glad I did. For a starter set, what quality for the money, as was my Polar Express purchase -first run! These two “gateway” sets alone show that the future for Lionel is “rosy”. The balance of quality, simplicity and price are on target in my book. I for one do not need, and do not buy the complexities [and future problems ! ] of new sound systems, smoking beer reefers and other state-of-the-art features, although I do enjoy seeing them operate . I have been a fan/buyer of " basic" Lionel,Williams,[please KEEP it simple , Bachmann ! ] Railking,etc, NOT the Premium products, and I know there are Many guys like me who can’t/won’t pay $1500 for a loco,[ but I’m glad to see them run for someone else!] The Hogwarts Set is very cool–a SUPER smoker,looker–but be careful- more fragile than my 2056 ! I look forward to a line of Add-Ons, from the beloved kids to the Station Platform, “School” ,etc.My only disappointment is the whistle - U.S. style; it SHOULD have been a shrill British sound we’ve all heard in the movies, but hey, I predict this set will shatter all records for the Company of JLC. The “British have landed”, even if via China !! Clarence Neumann-NJ
So far I really like this set. Some of the plastics denote a cheaper product but look at that great price for an overall great product. When/if the cheaper parts break I am sure heavier duty replacement parts will be available from somebody.The horn is quiet compared to my Lionel Berksire loco but then that was a more expensive product. You get what you pay for and in this case, I feel I got a lot more than I paid for. Highly recommended!
I had ordered a set for my granddaughters and while going in the door at Charles Ro, Malden, saw the set in the showcase - it was quite spectacular - much more than I expected. I agree with Jack Dickinson - maybe we’ll see more interesting trains from other parts of the world; especially since almost all are actually manufactured elsewhere.
I’m very pleased with the set overall. I do plan to replace the whistle with a digital whistle of a real British engine. My only fault is that it did not come with a trainmaster option. But, then, I know that too can be added. After seeing it and running it I ran right out and bought a second set.
It looks great and as Bob says it’s British outline O at a fantastic price. Just to add that the Headlight is as per the films and Hornby’s OO version now sports a headlight in a similar postion. The hose is a vacuum brake line not air brake. The lanterns on the buffer beam are Headcodes and the pattern of lights denotes the train type i.e. Express passenger, Goods, light engine etc. Will stick with Lionel couplers please they work great! Remember us Brits have had years of fiddling with Hornby/Tri-ang hook and loop type! Plenty of these sets will be heading over the pond.
I have ordered a set and expect it in before Christmas. The demo set at the hobby shop exceeded my expectations. If the set I get looks and runs as good as the hooby shop set and my Polar Express, Lionel will have another winner!
Fantastic starter set. Purchased our Hogwarts-Express from Syracuse NY train show this past November 2007. I appeciate this train-set’s future value in promoting interest in our toy-train hobby. Lionel, you get a “well-done” from the Flemming family. p.s. Lionel’s Polar-Express train set a great performer too! Both Lionel trains a ‘working hard’ on our year-round train yard. An avid toy-train collector that can appeciate and welcome new-winners into the ‘yard’. niagara484 (Jim Flemming) Let’s face it, this set looks good, runs well and has my grandkid’s interest.
Nice looking set, currently running under the tree. Only problem I’ve had is the back wheel rubbed thru the wires to the smoke switch ( which wrap around the motor - not alot of clearance there). This caused a spectacular light show before the circuit breaker kicked off. Just something people need to keep an eye on.
I gave this set to my 14 year old daughter as a birthday / holiday present. She is a huge Harry Potter fan and has read all the books many times over. For the price I think its a nice set, though the quality is a mixed bag (see below). For a set targeted to kids, there is a lot of very fragile trim that won’t survive the holiday season. Handle the loco and tender from below to protect the trim. Lionel should have included silhouettes in the passenger cars, and one car should have the main characters (certainly Harry, Ron, and Hermione). This is one of the first comments the kids make! Plan to buy more straight track, so the engine doesn’t look like its chasing its tail. The black paint on the loco has some runs / blobs, and there are several red spots and smudges on the black paint. In the box, the small L shaped piece between the pilot lanterns was broken off or came unglued. The handrail was bent at the boiler front, and the end had popped out of the cab. The cross head guides are VERY thin and were bent in. There were deep scratches in one of the cab windows. One of the passenger car couplers sticks in the open position. All the small trim pieces are very fragile, and glue spots are visible where they are attached to the loco, tender, and passenger cars. The loco itself is a bit underpowered (or geared down) for pulling the set. Even at full throttle using the 80W transformer, the set moves slowly. When I press the reverse button twice to change direction, the loco seems to stay in neutral for a long time, sometimes indefinitely. Then it will barely begin to move. Is this intended to be prototypical, or a problem with the reverse unit delay? Other modern era locos I own don’t have this e-unit delay. I am glad I bought this set, though I hope the loco doesn’t need to go in for repairs. For those looking to add play value, the Die Cast Direct 2008 catalog lists a 1:43 “Mr. Weasley’s Ford Anglia” with figures of Harry and Ron. David Schwartz
I Purchased several of these sets both as gifts and as an investment. I am very glad to see after several years of stagnation in the US Toy Train Market, when it comes to variety in motive power, a “new train”. This should push the other manufacturers into building other European and possibly even Asian steam engines for the O gauge market. At last collectors will have something other than another another consolidation or pacific to put on display. P Anderson (serving in Iraq)
I placed loco. and tender on my track and it ran fine for 8 or 10 laps. Then it just stopped. I checked the transformer wiring connections and the track connections, and they were ok. I then removed the body shell and tested the motor-frame unit, which ran fine. I discovered two strips of electrical tape, one on each interior side of the body. One of these had been slightly crumpled and missplaced. I applied a new strip of tape and replaced the body. Ran fine. This tape apparently insulates an electrical component which becomes grounded when it becomes missplaced.
Bought it for my sonn then when I opened it, it seemed a bit to delicated for him. So Im saving it for when he’s a little old and alot less rougher. But I run it for him and I’m impressed with the smoothness and how it looks… Only wish it had trainsounds along with thew whistle