Invicta taking part in the 1925 Stockton and Darlington Railway Centenary celebrations.
Invicta photographed in Dane John Gardens, Canterbury in September 1948
Invicta taking part in the 1925 Stockton and Darlington Railway Centenary celebrations. |
Invicta photographed in Dane John Gardens, Canterbury in September 1948 |
Invicta got it's name from the rampant white horse that is the emblem of Kent. After only a few years in service, the locomotive was put up for sale in 1839. No one wanted it, so it was put under cover. Restoration began in 1898 and continued intermittently. For years, it stood forlornly displayed in Canterbury's Dane John Gardens by the Riding Gate, opposite the main bus station, where it gradually rotted until 1977 when the painstaking restoration work was finally completed by the volunteers of the National Railway Museum in York. The Railway Museum was understandably reluctant to let Canterbury have her back but the locomotive was returned to Canterbury in time for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the line on May 3, 1980 and she is now safely housed under cover in the old Poor Priest Hospital, Canterbury's heritage museum.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at elliottsimpson@hotmail.com
Aug 2006