Class A3
"Allegretto"
Express Passenger Locomotive
Designed by Marek
Luršimonš
Built in 1865 by John
Cockerill, Seraing, Belgium
With
this superb
machine,
Marek Luršimonš produced what is generally regarded as
his
masterpiece.
First built in 1865, the "Allegrettos" were the equal of every task
entrusted
to them and always had some reserves of power. They quickly took over
all
fast pasenger work throughout the RSR network and revolutionised the
schedules
in the process. Start-to-stop timings of 30 minutes for the
Kropčahne-Bevice run were no problem, despite steadily increasing train
weights.
The "Allegrettos" outlived several later types and were the mainstay of
lighter fast services well into the 1890s. The first built,
"Allegretto"
herself, was preserved in the Bevice Museum of Science and Technology
on
withdrawal in 1887.
Text and graphics © Norman Clubb 2012