Harry Potter

Hogwarts Express

The train that made me want to build a whole Platform 9 3/4 around it.

Brick Rated Score

4.4/5

Set 75955 · 2018

Pieces806

Minifigs5

Year2018

Set number75955

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The verdict

This is the version of the Hogwarts Express I'd hand almost anyone, and the red locomotive with its real coupling rods is what got me.

It gives you a proper little Platform 9 3/4 with a brick wall you can push a trolley through, five lovely minifigures, and a carriage that opens right up for play. It isn't a giant display centerpiece and the platform is on the compact side, but for the money it does so much right. If you want the Harry Potter train experience without spending hundreds, this is the one.

Best for: Harry Potter fans who want a playable, display-worthy train without the collector's-edition price

The full review

What it is

There is something about a red steam engine in brick form that just works, and the 2018 Hogwarts Express nails the feeling of the GWR Hall Class locomotive from the films. The first time I rolled the finished engine across the table and watched the coupling rods actually turn with the wheels, I grinned like a kid. This set gives you the whole Platform 9 3/4 moment in miniature: the crimson locomotive, a passenger carriage that opens up, and a slice of King's Cross station complete with a clock bridge, a newspaper stand stacked with Daily Prophets, and that famous brick wall you can push a trolley straight through. It captures the story beats fans actually care about, not just a generic train.

The catch

I'll be honest about where it comes up short. The carriage is a touch stubby and compact compared to the real coaches, so purists who count windows will notice. LEGO also leaned on stickers for some of the loveliest details, and if you're anything like me, lining those up neatly is the least magical part of any build. The platform itself is small too, more a hint of King's Cross than a proper station, so don't expect a sprawling display. And because this is the roughly 800-piece budget version rather than the enormous collector's edition, there are no power functions baked in, so it rolls by hand rather than under its own steam.

Who it's for

None of that changes my recommendation, because you have to weigh what you're paying. This landed at around eighty dollars at retail, and for that you get a handsome train, a real play feature, and five excellent figures. Set it beside the giant 76405 Collectors' Edition, which ran five hundred dollars and split fans down the middle, and this little one starts to look like the smarter buy for most people. Get it if you want a Harry Potter train that both displays well and actually invites play, especially for the platform gimmick. Skip it only if you're after a true 1:1 scale showpiece, in which case you already know you're saving for the big one.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build is a joyfully linear one. You start with the locomotive, move through the tender and carriage, then finish with the platform, and it never feels like you're repeating the same forty steps over and over. The engine is the highlight to assemble because those steam wheels and coupling rods give you a satisfying little mechanism at the front, and the carriage's removable roof and side panel mean the interior comes together in a way you'll actually see and use. It's a relaxed couple of hours rather than a marathon, which is exactly right for what this set is.

The headline piece here is that set of proper steam locomotive wheels with coupling rods, the first time a Hogwarts Express used real ones, and they do a lot of heavy lifting for how convincing the engine looks. On the minifigure side you get the first physical Trolley Witch ever made, alongside Harry, Ron, Hermione and Remus Lupin, each with expressive dual-sided faces, plus a Dementor and Scabbers. The little accessories are a delight too: a chocolate frog, an ice cream, four wands, and a stack of printed Daily Prophet tiles. At roughly a dime a piece it's fair value, and the figures alone carry a chunk of that worth.

Fun facts

01This was the first Hogwarts Express to roll on genuine steam locomotive wheels with working coupling rods, a big step up from earlier train versions.
02It marked the very first appearance of the Trolley Witch as a physical LEGO minifigure.
03The set retired in December 2022 after a long run, and with an original price of 79.99 dollars it has held its value well on the secondary market.
04The platform includes a push-through brick wall so a luggage trolley can 'disappear' onto Platform 9 3/4, recreating the films' most famous entrance.