Invicta (locomotive)

Invicta

300px Invicta, plinthed at Canterbury in the 1970s

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Robert Stephenson Builder Robert Stephenson and Company Build date 1829

Specifications Configuration 0-4-0 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver diameter 4 feet (1,219 mm) Loco weight 6 long tons 5 cwt (14,000 lb or 6.4 t) Boiler pressure 40 lbf/in2 (280 kPa) Heating surface 192 square feet (17.8 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 10 in × 18 in (254 mm × 457 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort 1,275 lbf (5,670 N)

Career Operators Canterbury and Whitstable Railway First run 3 May 1830 Withdrawn 1836 Current owner Canterbury Heritage Museum Disposition Static display

Invicta is an early steam locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1829. She was the twentieth locomotive built by Stephenson, being built immediately after Rocket.

History

Invicta was built for £635 to work on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. She was named after the motto on the Flag of Kent, "Invicta", meaning undefeated. She was shipped by sea from Newcastle to Whitstable and hauled the inaugural train into Whitstable Harbour station on 3 May 1830. Contemporary illustrations show that Invicta was equipped with a single-axle tender, which has not survived. Modifications were carried out in 1835 to try and improve the efficiency of the locomotive, as she was unable to cope even on the flattest section of the line out of Whitstable, but these were not successful.

Preservation

Invicta was retired in 1836 as the stationary engines proved adequate to work the line. She was offered for sale in October 1839 but did not find a buyer and Invicta was put under cover. She came into the ownership of the South Eastern Railway and was exhibited at the Golden Jubilee of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1875 and at the Newcastle Stephenson Centenary in 1881.

Restoration started in 1892 and for many years Invicta was displayed in the Dane John Gardens, Canterbury. It wasn't until 1977 that a full restoration was undertaken, with help from the National Railway Museum. Invicta returned to Canterbury in time for the 150th anniversary of the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway on 3 May 1980.

Invicta is currently on display at Canterbury Heritage Museum, cosmetically restored. In November 2008, it was announced that a £41,000 Heritage Lottery Fund planning grant had been made to Canterbury City Council to develop a new museum at Whitstable to house Invicta and a stationary winding engine built at Robert Stephenson's works. As of 2014, this had not been started.