Trains and Hogwarts express

[pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no]

No: HPFGUIDX 26505

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., vheggie at y... wrote:
[snip]

> In older Britrail trains (and indeed - in some carriages of the new 
> ones, by the guard's van, etc), some carriages are divided up 
> into 'compartments' (like the first-class carriages in some trains, 
> or on the Eurostar).  A corridor runs down the side of a carriage, 
> from which lead the four, five, or even six sliding doors which 
> lead into smaller 'compartments' which would hold 6 - 8 people.

That is most certainly the type.  The carriages indicated by the 
books seem to be from the steam-era on British railroads, where open-
seating coaches were all but unhear of on British railways, while in 
USA open-seating coaches seem to have always been the only type.  
Most coaches seem to have had ten compartments.  That would indicate 
a train 15-18 coaches long for 1000 students (allowing for some 
overhead capacity and baggage-space).  I would presume the school 
would desire compartments of a uniform size, to facilitate 
familiarity for the students, and to facilitate manageable groups of 
people for new students, who have to get to know people.  It's easier 
to socialise with strangers when there are only six of them, than 
when there are 34.  

I also have another theory:

As i believe has been established, the carriages of the Hogwarts 
Express have a row of compartments, each seating six-eight persons, 
connected with a corridor along one side of the coach.  This is a 
typical layout for many European types of coaches up to ca. the 70s.  
My theory refers to a specific British breed of such coaches, not 
commonly seen in other countries.

In most corridor-compartment-coaches, you leave by exiting the 
compartment into the corridor, and moving towards the end of the 
coach, where there are exit-doors.  In this particular British breed, 
however, there is in each compartment both a door to the corridor, 
and a door directly to the outside.  From the corridor there will 
typically be four doors, evenly spaced along the length of the 
corridor, leading outside.  Some clues in the boks hint to this type 
of coach, including some places where Harry apparently loads his 
luggage directly into the compartment from the platform.  The photo 
at 

http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/images/2001/09/harry-dh-
hogwartsexpress.jpg 

also seems to support this.  If you look at it, you'll see a door 
that is not at the end of the coach, but at the middle.  The windows 
along the side of the coach, also are of a type consistent with 
compartments with a direct-exit door - three tightly spaced windows 
in each window-unit, suggesting that the middle one might be the 
window of a door.

Best regards
Christian Stubø