Class A1 2-4-0 (1855)

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.

Class A1a 2-4-0 (1860)

Text and graphics © Norman Clubb 2012