Harry Potter's the Hogwarts Express-like abandoned train discovered in woods
SUFFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM: After decades of being tucked away in the Suffolk countryside, a long-deserted steam train resembling the Hogwarts Express from Harry Potter has been found. Urban explorer Steve Liddiard, 36, discovered the locomotive after days of tracking it down in the woods. The adventurer started searching for the Harry Potter train, according to The Daily Star, after hearing rumors about possible locations where it may have been dumped in the distant past.
He read as much as he could about the vintage 1950s train, then looked at maps and talked to locals to learn more. Steve eventually located the steam engine in the woods, surrounded by the natural world and thorny bushes. Steve looked carefully at the ancient carriage, but he was unable to determine how the train ended up in the midst of the woods. Steve, who is a Senior Pathology Informatics officer for the NHS said, "The steam train was one of my best finds, hidden in plain sight. In my leisure time, I find lost or forgotten locations.”
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"Locals seem to know of it, but it a total mystery as to where it came from, some stories here and there, but it's a really strange one. A lot of research and map scanning was done in order to track it down. There are some bits I have found here and there about it. It's now very well protected with thorn bushes and brambles, but enough is still visible to see the scale of it. It's a Harry Potter Hogwarts-style train, but it's a bit of a mystery as to why it's there and sitting on real train tracks. There are some rumors that it was bought with the purpose of renovating it but nothing concrete. The train was built by a Scandinavian company around 1950. It was built to withstand the brutal Finnish winters, but now sits alone on this abandoned piece of track and the elements have corroded it,” he added.
Steve claims that even though the train hasn't actually traveled in a while, it still has a smoky smell. In order to protect the train from vandals, he has also chosen to keep the site a secret. He said, “The train still smells of oil and smoke even though it hasn't been active for well over half a century. It looks like it has been there for decades. I have a passion for urbex and abandoned buildings, structures, and objects. My goal is to document these places before they crumble away and are lost completely." Meanwhile, there’s a real-life Hogwarts Express, which is officially known as the Jacobite still exits in Scotland, where passengers can take this classic steam-train 84-mile long round-trip joyride, and sit comfortably inside while staring out the window and watch actual Harry Potter film locations pass by.
According to The Sun, West Coast Rail is the company that runs the Jacobite. Fans can visit places like the famous Harry Potter Bridge, also known as the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Professor Dumbledore's final resting place at Loch Sheil, the site of the Triwizard Tournament in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', Rannoch Moor, and the scene where Death Eaters attacked the Hogwarts Express in 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One' during the four-hour journey, which is believed to begin at Scotland’s Fort William and ends at Mallaig.
