The Hogwarts Express is coming to Lancashire

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A.� Sorry. No. The picturesque station at Carnworth had hoped to run the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter film, but film-makers Warner Brothers are blocking the idea.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� Why Carnworth

A.� The train used in the films is housed at Carnforth by a private company. Peter Yates, chairman of Carnforth Station Trust, thought turning it into an attraction would help boost tourism in the area. 'I rang Warner's press office but they said 'No way',' he said. 'They've made over �260 million from the film and we've been desperately trying to raise over �1.5 million to restore the station. We've baked cakes, had tea dances, little old ladies have been trying to help us out. But Warner's aren't interested in people, they're too interested in business,' he claimed.

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Q.� You said it was a picturesque station

A.� Yes - and it's already part of film history, having been used in the stiff-upper-lip love story Brief Encounter, starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, made in 1945. It is in the refreshment room that their suppressed emotions simmer while steam trains toot by. It's all very atmospheric and British.

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The station clock, �immortalised�in Brief Encounter

A. Carnforth station was opened in 1846 by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway Company as a roadside station, and was originally just a single platform. In 1857, the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway reached Carnforth, and Carnforth became a junction. In 1938 the London Midland and Scottish Railway, backed with government money, spent �53,000 on improving Carnforth station. This involved major rebuilding, and a new 890ft additional platform.

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Q.� So it grew in importance

A.� Not really. When Dr Beeching infamously reorganised the railways in the early 1960s, Carnforth lost out. Facilities were run down and by 1970 - in preparation for the electrification of the West Coast main line - Carnforth's main line platforms were removed, leaving it as just a branch line station. Carnforth station lost its entire station staff, and then became a 'signing on' point for railwaymen. When that was closed, the station deteriorated.

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Q.� And now it's being renovated

A.� Yes. The Carnforth Station and Railway Trust was formed in November, 1996, to rejuvenate the station, and after strenuous efforts, and with the assistance of Railtrack, work started in late 2000. But as Peter Yates says, it's hard work. And it's not just about replacing bricks and mortar.

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Q.� How so

A.� One of the station's proudest possessions is a large and attractive clock, used to great dramatic effect in Brief Encounter.

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Q.� I'm a bit of an horologist myself, Tell me more.

A.� The date of its installation is not known. It is marked 'Joyce Whitchurch', clock suppliers. But this firm's records were destroyed by a fire in 1963.� Expert opinion would indicate it was built in the late 1800s.

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Q.� It's still at the ststion

A.� No. When Carnforth station became unstaffed in the 1970s, the clock dials, and mechanism were removed, and replaced by an electrical mechanism. The original clock faces and mechanism were acquired a private collector, but have now been bought by the railway trust and are now being kept safe until they are renovated.

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Steve Cunningham