Steam railway enthusiasts spent 28 years restoring a historic locomotive - and then found it was the wrong one.

For almost three decades the train buffs believed they were working on Great Western Railway locomotive number 4983 Albert Hall.

But days before the massive restoration job was complete, staff at Birmingham Railway Museum discovered the engine was actually number 4965 Rood Ashton Hall.

The Hall class were all built in Swindon between 1928 and 1943.

The museum bought the 4-6-0 mainline locomotive from a steam engine scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, for �3,000 in 1970.

Fund raising and dedication helped restore the rusting hulk but as the painstaking work neared completion, engineers spotted tell-tale signs which showed the locomotive was an imposter.

Many internal components on the engine were stamped "4965" - the number of Rood Ashton Hall.

An investigation revealed the Albert Hall locomotive was scrapped by British Railways at Swindon Works in 1962 and its identity, including name and number plates, switched to Rood Ashton Hall, which was in for repair.

The Editor of Steam Railway magazine, Robin Jones, said: "It a tribute to the professionalism of the restoration team at the Birmingham Railway Museum.

"They spotted the tell-tale signs which indicated that Albert Hall was not as it should be.

"It is remarkable in view of the fact that most of them were aged 19 and under, and would not have been alive when this 'error' occurred at Swindon works."

Museum staff have now nicknamed the engine Rood Albert Hall.
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