Video captures the moment the Hogwarts Express roars through Motherwell Railway Station on Halloween eve

At around 5pm yesterday, a lone commuter at Motherwell Railway Station was taken by surprise when the Hogwarts Express steam train started to chug through the town’s centre.

Jim Gerrards was waiting for his train back to Glasgow at around 17:15 on Sunday, October 30 when he heard the faint sound of rumbling coming down the tracks - interspersed by the echo of a steam whistle. He took out his phone and started filming.

He had no idea what would appear from the approaching steam mass - the sound got louder as it roared down the railway line - and emerging from the mist was The Jacobite steam train, of Harry Potter fame.

Unfortunately for aspiring young wizards and witches from ML1, the train passed right through without stopping. It ferried a second engine as well as their carriages. The second engine (which can be seen in the video directly behind the front engine of the train) is called The Lancashire Fusilier.

The train was used in the filming of all eight of the Harry Potter films - although not all scenes were used in the final cut of the movies. Warner Brothers requested to use the steam engine and some of the carriages for the Philosopher’s Stone, making the old steam train an iconic British cultural icon.

The train was heading back to the main depot back to Carnforth in Lancashire, England after its tourist season ended up in the Highlands. The train takes two trips a day during the summer - travelling the same line as Harry Potter and pals did in the films.

So Motherwell isn’t a usual stop - or even passing destination for the train - although we would have liked to see what Harry, Ron, and Hermoine would have had to say about the post-industrial town.

Usually the train chugs along a 42 mile stretch of line between Fort William and Mallaig, on the West Coast of the Highlands. Known as ‘the greatest railway journey in the world’ passing a list of landmarks like Ben Nevis, River Ness (Britain’s shortest river), the most westerly station at Mallaig, and the deepest sea Loch in Scotland - also at Mallaig.

And of course the train crosses the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct made famous by the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s books. The train enjoys an active lifestyle in its old age - with two trips a day - using some of the actual carriages used in the filming of Harry Potter.

We can only hope that no magical Motherwell residents were too disappointed by the quick and quiet journey the train took through the station.