Hogwart's Express Cars and Accessories

Could be the cost of licensing is to great

I always wondered why no scale Legacy Hogwart's locomotive. There's so many accessories made by Dept. 56 and others.

For the Polar Express scale items, many of us, some still around here on the forum, campaigned in various ways to Lionel for them to make the scale engine and cars. It took them about 4 years, starting slowly with a release in 2008 of the PM Berk with separate for sale PE tender, and it soon ramped up with new scale items released every year. Polar Express is seasonal and given that Christmas and Lionel trains have pretty much gone together for over a century, there's that traditional appeal that Hogwarts may not have, but I really don't know.

I'm guessing the Hogwarts sets didn't sell anywhere near as well as the Polar Express, which would explain their product development of the two lines.

Harry Potter trains require tooling for British prototype equipment.  Tooling costs money; the tooling can be shared with Thomas and British prototype modelers.

To make the investment worthwhile, Lionel would need to make British prototype trains that would sell in the United Kingdom.

Lionel re-used the tooling for the "Shakespeare Express" set, which I missed out on. I wish they would release that set again! It looked fantastic.

@BenLMaggi posted:

Lionel re-used the tooling for the "Shakespeare Express" set, which I missed out on. I wish they would release that set again! It looked fantastic.

So you're saying, is it to be or not to be re-released. 

It just might be licensing issues. I was able to purchase additional passenger cars to add to the Harry Potter set and 3 boxcars, representing 3 of 4 of the Hogwart's schools but there are plenty of Polar Express accessories and probably they could do the same with Harry Potter stuff because you don't need tooling for a bridge or station. I did get a Department 56 Building, Hagrid's Hut, that looks close to 0 gauge scale. I believe Lionel still sells the Harry Potter train set.