Fortunately, another quick break from moving home has allowed another blog post to be squeezed in!  After looking at what is a common prototype (albeit a locomotive with a story to tell) in austerity saddle tank 23 Holman F Stephens (click here to read), today we look at something very unusual.  It is was avery fitting visitor to the Kent and East Sussex Railway’s gala (click here for more) as it was the first locomotive to run on the fledgling preserved line.

Gervase arrived on the railway in 1962 and steamed in 1963.  It was great to see it returned to help celebrate forty years of preservation on the line.

It is an industrial steam engine, built for a brickworks near Redhill, Surrey.  Its unusual looks come from it being a verticle boiled sentinal 0-4-0VB, a chain-drive tank engine.  Originally a Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST H class (number 1472) of 1900, it was rebuilt as Sentinel 6807 in 1928.

I have never seen a locomotive like this.  It really is a bizarre looking machine, so full of character!

Due to it being fairly underpowered, it was mainly used for shunting demonstrations or doubleheading (as above with the railway’s only tender locomotive, 376 Norwegian).  I believe it did have one or two solo outings, but unfortunately I missed these.

Hopefully it wont be too long until I get to publish another report from this visit to Kent, but as the PC is now about to be packed, we’ll have to see!