Invicta: the first locomotive.

"Oh! Io ricordo la profonda commozione che mi turbò quando all'Esposizione di Parigi del 1900 i miei occhi si affissarono reverenti ed estatici sull'Invicta, la prima locomotiva dello Stephenson, il greve carro di ferro dal ventre di fuoco..." (pag. 31)

"...sia alla composizione meccanica dell'Invicta di Stephenson, al pari delle forze dell'universo che si compendiano ora nella quercia solenne, ora nella volubile e policroma farfalla." (pag. 125)

Invicta

In questo breve video possiamo osservare il funzionamento di alcuni modellini con le stesse caratteristiche dell'Invicta di Stephenson.

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.

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 Whistable, but these were not successful. (tratto da: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invicta_(locomotive))