This morning I was lucky enough to be invited to view the ongoing construction of the brand new expansion at Warner Bros Studio Tour London, featuring the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4. Over the past few months, work has been secretly carried out, with the extension of ‘J stage’ on the studio tour lot. A new 20,000 square foot space was added, which will house a replica of the Kings Cross train station set, as well as the original Hogwarts Express steam train ‘5972 Olton Hall’.

As we donned our hard hats and high-vis jackets, we made our way through the secret corridors behind the scenes and into the brand new space where Kings Cross is taking shape. The builders were all hard at work, but you could see the progress that has been made, as the set is almost complete, and sitting proudly on the railway tracks that had been brought in, was the Hogwarts Express.

In order to begin the work, the very first thing that had to be done was to move the steam engine from its home in York, all the way down to Leavesden, and this was done in secret so as no one would discover the nature of the studio’s expansion plans. We were told that in the coming days there will be a video online depicting the train’s journey, and a time-lapse of it being moved into place. The nature of the construction means that they have to build the set around the Hogwarts Express as it wont be able to move in the Platform 9 3/4 set, which is all enclosed. One funny note was that a few train enthusiasts noticed that the locomotive was missing from its home at the railway museum in York, but the tour staff were able to brush the rumours off and so the secret remained intact until its reveal this morning.

The new space will also feature a new Platform 9 3/4 themed gift shop, and there will be two different dedicated photo opportunity points. The first is similar to that at Kings Cross Railway Station in London, whereby you can pose with the trolley going through the wall with the 9¾ plaque. The other photo opportunity, which we could still see being constructed, are replica carriage interiors all decorated to look exactly like the train itself, which will feature video screen backgrounds to simulate the train moving and the environment outside on the journey to Hogwarts.

Overall this looks to be an exciting new addition that will certainly add a new dimension to the Studio Tour, and gives it just that top up of magic, which we all love.

We will be back in March with a full preview and photos when it is officially unveiled.