LEGO Orient Express vs Hogwarts Express: Which to Track Down
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The LEGO Orient Express and the Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition are both retired now, so the choice is which one to look for second hand. Here is how they differ in size, figures and detail, and which LEGO trains you can still buy new.
The LEGO Orient Express and the LEGO Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition are both retired, so the question is no longer which to buy at LEGO but which to look for second hand. The Orient Express is the one for furnished 1920s interiors on a long, slim train; the Hogwarts Express is the one for a big 1:32 scale replica with four scenes from the films. If you want a display train new, LEGO's current 18+ train is the Holiday Express.
Both trains have retired
Our catalog lists both sets as retired. The Orient Express launched on December 1, 2023 and has an expected exit at the end of 2025; the Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition launched on August 31, 2022 and left at the end of 2024. Both are marked 18+. Current prices and piece counts are on each card.
The LEGO Ideas Orient Express: locomotive, tender, dining car and sleeping car with removable roofs, 8 minifigures and a section of track. Retired.
The Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition: a 1:32 scale engine, coal tender and three-compartment passenger car, plus Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross. Retired.
How they compare
| Orient Express (21344) | Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition (76405) | |
|---|---|---|
| Line | LEGO Ideas, designed by a fan | LEGO Harry Potter |
| Launched | December 1, 2023 | August 31, 2022 |
| Left LEGO's range | End of 2025 | End of 2024 |
| What you build | Locomotive, tender, dining car, sleeping car, track | Engine, coal tender, three-compartment passenger car, Platform 9 3/4 |
| Size (LEGO's figures) | About 116 cm long, 12 cm high, 8 cm wide | About 118 cm long, 26 cm high, 20 cm wide |
| Figures | 8 minifigures | A cast of 20 characters |
| Signature feature | Furnished interiors under removable roofs | A lever that rocks the train like a moving steam engine |
| Age mark | 18+ | 18+ |
The Orient Express (21344)
The Orient Express came through LEGO Ideas, created by a fan designer and voted for by LEGO fans, and one of its minifigures, a film director, is based on that designer. The build covers the locomotive, the tender, the dining car and the sleeping car, and the roofs of both cars lift off to show their interiors.
- Interiors: inlaid panels, a mirror effect above the bed in the sleeping car's first-class room and an OE backgammon board.
- Exterior: decoration showing the Paris to Istanbul route.
- Figures: a duchess, conductor, train driver, waiter, railway station manager, scientist, writer and the film director, plus a buildable baggage cart.
- In the box: train track for the display and an illustrated booklet on the history of the Orient Express, with interviews with the fan designer and the LEGO designers.
At about 116 cm long but only 8 cm wide, it suits a long shelf rather than a deep one.
The Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition (76405)
LEGO built this one as an approximately 1:32 scale replica of the train from the films. The engine has a detailed underside and a lever on top that makes the whole train rock with the motion of a steam train, and a tender carries its coal.
- The passenger car: three compartments, each a scene: Harry, Ron and Hermione meeting in the first film, Professor Lupin saving Harry from a Dementor in the third, and Luna rescuing Harry from Draco's spell in the sixth.
- Platform 9 3/4: the King's Cross scene with the adult Harry and Ginny and their children Lily, James and Albus, waiting for Albus's first trip.
- Building together: it comes with 4 sets of printed instructions so up to four people can build it at once.
It is about as long as the Orient Express but far taller and deeper, so plan for a deep shelf, a sideboard or a cabinet of its own.
Buying one now
With both retired, any copy comes from the secondary market, new and sealed or used. For a used set, check that it is complete before paying: the minifigures (8 for the Orient Express, the full cast for the Hogwarts Express), the printed details on the cars and the instructions. For the Orient Express, ask whether the track pieces are included. Each set page shows our current market data where we have it.
LEGO trains you can still buy new
If you would rather buy new, these are the closest current sets in our catalog.
The Icons Holiday Express Train, LEGO's current 18+ train: locomotive with a bobbing chimney, coal tender, flat wagon and a furnished end carriage, a 16-piece circular track and space to add a Powered Up motor, sold separately.
The Book Nook Hogwarts Express: a section of the train and Platform 9 3/4 that stands between books, with Harry, Ron, Hedwig and Scabbers. Marked 10+ and expected to leave LEGO's range on December 31, 2026.
The City Vintage Steam Train for builders aged 7 and up: a steam engine, coal tender and passenger car with a station platform and a working semaphore signal, motorisable with LEGO's train components sold separately.
Which should you track down?
Look for the Orient Express if you want:
- Furnished period interiors you can lift the roofs to see
- A train for a long, shallow shelf
- Historical appeal rather than a film franchise
Look for the Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition if you want:
- The definitive LEGO Hogwarts Express, at about 1:32 scale
- Four film scenes and a cast of 20 characters
- A centrepiece for a Harry Potter display
Buy new instead if you want:
- A train at list price with no hunting: the Holiday Express Train
- A smaller Hogwarts Express for a bookshelf: the Book Nook, before the end of 2026
Related guides
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