Class R1 4-6-0 (1888)

Marek Luršimonš was not the only locomotive engineer to try to "extend" a successful 4-4-2 design to a 4-6-0 and the engine shown above was to have been his "contribution". Unfortuately, the fiasco of the class S 4-4-0 of 1887 was reason enough in many peoples' eyes to impute to Luršimonš an encroaching senility and to write off all his late work as useless. In fact, the R1 would very likely have been quite a useful addition to the RSR's stud, combining size 20 driving wheels with the free-steaming boiler of the 4-4-2. Also, the constricted ashpan that was a common complaint of such 4-6-0s was certainly not a problem here, so that it is a pity that this engine never got off the drawing board.

Text and graphics © Norman Clubb 2012