Locomotive saved from scrapheap set for Hogwarts

The locomotive was restored by volunteers after it was saved from the scrapyard

A steam locomotive that was saved from being scrapped will star in the upcoming Harry Potter TV reboot.

Volunteers from Buckinghamshire Railway Centre spent 40 years restoring Wightwick Hall after it was salvaged from a scrapyard in Barry Island, South Wales, in 1978.

It follows in the tracks of the previous locomotive used in the films, Olton Hall, which had been rescued from the same scrapyard.

Quainton Railway Society, which runs the centre, said it was "extremely proud" that the locomotive would "play the role of the iconic locomotive for the Hogwarts Express".

Wightwick Hall was restored after the forgotten locomotive was found in a Welsh scrapyard

Wightwick Hall, built at Swindon Works in 1948, was withdrawn in 1964 and sent to a Barry Island scrapyard where hundreds of trains were eventually saved by a railway preservation movement.

It is currently on loan to Bluebell Railway in West Sussex and operates on a line near Brighton.

Stephen Green, general manager of Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, said: "These trains have to be maintained and kept running to keep them in working condition, this one needs a long track which they have at Bluebell."

The locomotive will be used for filming for six months of the year before returning to West Sussex afterwards.

Members of the team at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre will supervise during filming to ensure the engine is maintained properly.

Olton Hall was the engine previously used in Harry Potter films

HBO has already announced a crop of actors have joined the show's cast, including Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu, Katherine Parkinson and Paul Whitehouse.

The three child actors taking on the lead roles were revealed in May.

Mr Green hoped the engine's appearance in the series would attract new fans to the working heritage railway centre.

He said: "Hopefully it's a boost for tourism. People can come and see the engineering workshops and a similar train under restoration right now."