[HPforGrownups] British train stations (was: Re: SHIPPING NEWS!)

[Chris M. Dickson]

No: HPFGUIDX 32136

(Delurking after months - only now, for the first time, do I feel I have 
something worth posting!)

In message <a05lbv+349c at eGroups.com>, joanne0012 <Joanne0012 at aol.com> 
writes
>I was surprised to read that JKR mixed up King's Cross and Euston stations, as
>they're very different.  Now I wish we had paid more attention when we were at
>Euston!

One interpretation of that remark, which I think you realise, is that 
she confused the internal layouts of the two stations; famously, there 
*isn't* a wall between platforms 9 and 10 of King's Cross Station in 
real life as the two platforms are just opposite sides of a double set 
of rail tracks. (See the map at 
http://www.railtrack.co.uk/old/stations/kx/station_map.cfm for an 
illustration.)

However, http://www.railtrack.co.uk/old/stations/euston/station_map.cfm 
- the equivalent map for Euston station - doesn't go into nearly as much 
detail as the King's Cross one, so I don't know how platforms 9 and 10 
are aligned there, whether there is a wall between them or not. (If 
someone could fill me in on the details here, I'd be grateful!)

Another interpretation of that remark is that JKR might have intended 
the Hogwarts Express to leave from Euston station rather than from 
King's Cross. Trains do run from Euston station to Scotland, so it's 
still perfectly plausible, but it would tend to favour a route in real 
life that would be more likely to place Hogwarts towards the *west* 
coast of Scotland rather than towards the east coast. This would tie in 
with comments I've seen suggesting Hogwarts could be among the Scottish 
Highlands to be better hidden from wandering Muggles.

It also gives those of suitable mind a few more walls to try "just in 
case"; furthermore, if JKR got two stations confused in her mind, what's 
to say that she hadn't got two sets of platforms confused as well? 
Perhaps we should all be looking for platform 8 3/4 on Euston Station 
instead! ;-)

In fun,
Chris