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Hogwart's Freight and Ferry
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Contents
Hogwart's Steam Engines
| Left to Right: Bachmann 4-4-0 "Jupiter"; IHC Premier 4-4-0 Hinkley Demonstrator; MDC Old-time 2-6-0; Rivarossi Two-Truck Heisler; IHC 0-4-0; IHC Premier 2-6-0 Camelback "Mother Hubbard"; IHC Premier 2-6-0 Camelback "Mother Hubbard"; IHC Premier 4-4-0 (Modern); MDC 4-6-0 Kit (unbuilt)
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The Hogwart's Express
The original Hogwart's express is a British Modified Hall. The one that came with Shane's original train set was either made or imported by Bachmann. The picture on the right is the only picture I have of it in one piece. It did not survive the falls to the basement floor under my son's careful touch.
The axle on one of the drivers came apart. I talked to Bachmann after I junked it and they told me they would have fixed it.
Finding a Replacement
When the Hogwart's Express crashed the race was on to find a replacement before my son lost interest. After a search of eBay proved fruitless, I started looking for alternatives. The Hall was a 4-6-0 so I figured that my son wouldn't notice a big difference between an English 4-6-0 and an American 4-6-0.
 So I built an MDC 4-6-0 kit and painted it in Hogwart's Colors. I painted the cab and added an engineer and fireman. AT the same time, I painted an IHC 4-4-0 for my daughter. But the Ten-wheeler had problems early on with its front truck and my son was not satisfied.
I started looking for a new replacement, but my son's interest was failing quickly.
Dixie
Dixie is a 2-8-0 Consolidation from the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis, the "Dixie Line." An online friend sent me a Soundtrax DCC decoder and Dixie came to life. Af first, Shane like the sound and accepted Dixie as a replacement for the Hogwart's Express. But he refused to let me paint it. It was a case of too little too late. Shane made a small attempt to keep me happy, but in the end, he had moved on.
Dixie had made the transition from the Hogwart's Layout to the Rock Ridge and Train City and now the Indiana Branch of the PRR. It will probably find a spot on the Redwood Empire.
Pixie
Pixie, a IHC Primier 4-4-0. It is by far the the most responsive steam engine I've ever seen. It can pull smoothly at a speed of one 9" straight in 22 seconds. Pixie, was named by my wife as a companion to Dixie by my wife. Believe it or not she did it to honor father, a world famous chemist who measured intermediary chemical reactions to 10-15 seconds. The lasers that measured these reactions were named Pixie and Dixie.
When I told her that Pixie and Dixie were Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters that tormented a cat named "Jinx," she said "Oh."
The kicker that as a kid she had a cat named Jinx.
Pixie got the most rail time as the lead engine ahead of Dixie on the Hogwart's display train at the Central Indiana Model Railroad Club during open houses. It was by far the train on the layout. You see why when you see the rolling stock. Both engines were needed because the train consisted of both the Hogwart's passenger cars and freight cars.
 The last train to Whoville.
Hogwart's Diesel Engines
Lil Guy
 Lil Guy was my first lesson in eBay. Vintage really does not mean old and valuable. Lil Guy is a Lindberg SW1 that has a spring drive and a sub-sonic slot car engine. It is full capable of doing a double endo off an 18" radius curve. In order to give it just a little cool and redeem myself for winning the "Sucker of the Year award, I painted it in Hogwart's colors.
I don't know what Lil Guy's life was like before I threw my money at him, but once he made it to my house, hi life got strange. After some minor surgery that got him running in the low eights, I decided to take him to the Club and show him off. I set my case on the stool and the latches came open and spilled Lil Guy on the floor and broke off his rear truck.
So naturally, when it came time to pick a good picture for my online signature, I picked Lil Guy. I figure if you do something really stupid like spend a couple pay checks on spring-driven slot cars shaped like a switcher, you have to show it off like you meant to do it. It backfired when I didn't notice that the rear truck had derailed.
I took a lot of flack for not having all four wheels on the track so I decide I'd better re-rail it. Notice Harry Potter sitting on the barrel.
Sparkie
Sparky is a Plymouth Switcher made in Yugoslavia no doubt by Yugoslavians. It got it in an eBay "Lot". It get's its name because if you turnout the lights, you can still see where Sparkie is on the track--and all the structures within 3 feet. It looks cool in Hogwarts colors, too.
Rolling Stock
Hogwart's rolling stock falls into two categories: Passenger and Freight. The two passenger cars are the two that came with the Bachmann Harry Potter set (shown above.) The freight cars are old time MDC models, but when they enter the Hogwart's special, they some how become larger on the inside than they seem on the outside.
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