Class
A1 2-Cylinder Passenger Locomotive
Designed
by Giorg Maznicek
Built
in 1855 by Robert Stephenson & Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
This
was the last express passenger design that Maznicek produced for the
RSR
and, up to a point, the best. With 2100mm wheels and 8.4 tonnes of
tractive
effort,
they were completely the equal of their work. Their one weak point was
a tendency to flex their frames to breaking point, which resulted in
one
or two mishaps which would have been quite hilarious but for the tragic
consequences for human life. In September 1866, the left frame of no.
170 broke
completely
in half while passing at speed over a bridge near Kolmino, throwing the
engine and most of its train off the track and into the street below.
Twenty-three passengers and the fireman were killed and over seventy
persons injured. Marek Luršimonš
finally relegated the A1s to goods work, for which, with their large
driving wheels, they were quite unsuitable. The whole class was
scrapped within a year.
The
A1s were the last of the early classes to receive six-wheeled tenders,
from 1860 onwards.