GB / US
2011
2hrs 10mins
Dir: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson
Harry Potter continues his quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes
The second part of the Deathly Hallows novel, the eighth and final film, featured an epilogue nineteen years later with all the latest recruits heading off to Hogwarts by train. Although this at least brought everything nicely back to the very beginning, not all is as it seems. There is an establishing shot of the frontage to St Pancras station, and No.5972 and train are seen again at King’s Cross platform 9 ¾. In these shots, Mk.2s are present in the background in mock GNER livery with one numbered ‘95721’ (which is in fact the number of a Mk.1 Parcels High Security GUV). As the camera pans around the Virgin Trains Mk3 standby rake is visible in the opposite platform! Earlier in the film there is an ethereal scene with Harry Potter meeting Dumbledore whilst in limbo. This features King’s Cross without any trains and entirely shrouded in mist. So, what became of the ‘star’ of the Harry Potter films. Understandably, No.5972 began to migrate away from the spotlight upon conclusion of filming though it still remained in Hogwarts Castle condition. In March 2015, after the expiration of its boiler ticket, it was withdrawn from service and moved to static display at The Making of Harry Potter studio tour within the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, near Watford, Hertfordshire, where it remains as of 2020.