THE INVICTA RAILWAY ENGINE, CANTERBURYPossibly the first thing that came to mind for the subject of locomotion was a railway engine, and I found one. The card shows the Invicta, the engine built immediately after the Rocket and Stephenson's twentieth locomotive. It didn't last very long in service because the gradient was too much for it. As a result it spent years on display in Dane John Gardens near the Riding Gate, the largest of Canterbury's medieval gates. It is now in Canterbury Museum but there are plans for it to be moved to a new museum in Whitstable.
Built in 1825 by George Stephenson and was used on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway.
The Canterbury and Whitstable Line, C&WR, was known locally as the Crab and Winkle Line as a reference to the seafood for which Whitstable is well known.
The card was published by a Kent firm, CG Williams Ltd. My parents moved to Kent in about 1970 and the Invicta was undergoing restoration by 1977, so dating the card, at least approximately, is not too difficult. On the other hand, I bought a card today, from a museum shop, with an image that is at least 10 years old, possibly more.
Old railroads tell so many historical stories and it is such a treat to see this card and learn a little of it's history.
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