Kent & East Sussex Railway 0-6-0 Saddletank No. 8 ‘Hesperus’ at Rolvenden, Kent. Built by Manning Wardle of Leeds in 1876 for contractors Cropper & Macauley and named ‘Ringing Rock’. Sold to GWR in 1898 and then re-sold to K&ESR in Nov. 1912 and named ‘Hesperus’ in 1915. Withdrawn in March 1939.

In Greek mythology, Hesperus is the personification of the Evening Star - the planet Venus. He is the son of the dawn goddess Eos and a brother to Phosphorus - the Morning Star.

Photo: Steve Armitage Collection