A little history.
Dick Casull in the late 1950s developed the 454 Casull cartridge by overloading 45 Colt brass in Ruger Blackhawks, eventually developing his own revolver and the longer cartridge.
Elmer Keith did the same thing with the 38 Special and the 44 Special in the early 1950s, but he didn't market his own brand of ammunition and revolver. Remington and Smith & Wesson did that, reportedly at Keith's urging and these became the 357 Magnum and the 44 Magnum.
The 357 Magnum grew out of the 38 Special in the same sort of way and the 38 special grew out of the 38 Long Colt and 38 Short Colt in much the same way. (Note that the 38 Short Colt's parent case was converted cap & ball revolver cylinders.)
So, just as you can load a (modern, solid head) 38 Long Colt brass cartridge to .357 Magnum pressures and safely fire in a .357 Magnum revolver, you would be ill-advised to fire that cartridge in a 38 Long Colt revolver. By the same token, you would be ill-advised to bore out a 38 Long Colt chamber to 357 Magnum dimensions. If the original 38 Long Colt's frame was strong enough, you MIGHT be able to swap cylinders to the more powerful cartridge, but would probably reduce the number of chambers, for strength and safety.
In the above paragraph, substitue "45 Colt" for "38 Long Colt" and "454 Casull" for "357 Magnum" and you get the same truth.
Caveat: I am not a gunsmith. All the above is what I have concluded from reading and observing. If anyone claims that anything I wrote is incorrect, I will hear their reasoning and supporting evidence and consider changing my mind. This forum is, after all, a place to exchange knowledge, experience, views and opinions.
Lost Sheep