Hogwarts Express-4881. Anyone motorize? Easiest way to custom?

chadm76

1st time poster here, been on Brickset awhile. My son and I are mainly into the City theme in addition to Castle and Kingdom sets. We have a good layout with a few trains already; however, I found this set at Walmart on clearance for $40.00; good deal, had to pick it up. So the question, has anyone customized this using power functions, etc. Any good tips or site referrals would be helpful. Note.. I have not unboxed this yet, so I haven't gave it too much of my own thought. Just curious at this point. Thanks!

akunthita

There are several video tutorials on YouTube on how to motorize this set. You might want to check them out. Here is one: http://youtu.be/roL0ohDt_ZA

chadm76

Thank you for the link akunthita.

monkey_roo

OK, so the picture isnt exactly a close up but I have customised my Hogwards Train using power functions. Putting the power pack in the coal truck was easy (although you are left with a bit of cable to tuck in). The hardest part was rebuilding the cab to make the IR Reciver part of the roof structure without looking 'silly'. Runnning the light cable through the main hollow section of the engine was quite simple but again just need to keep the cables tucked in at the end. All in all I think it looks good, the only downside is you can't get a driver figure in the cab once it is done. I think it took me a few hours to do this trying a few things out. Worth the effort though.

chadm76

monkey_roo, looks good from the picture. Thanks for the picture and tips. I will probably get some parts ordered and start this soon.