The year 1900 was something of a watershed for Karel Belčamin, who since succeeding Luršimonš in 1891 had produced no startling innovations in locomotive design for the RSR. Train weights were increasing steadily but locomotives remained stubbornly small. The class B13 4-4-2T is illustrative of this. The engines had the same boiler as the B12 of 1894, combined with smaller driving wheels for slower work and a more orthodox arrangement of cylinders and steam chests. The B13 represented no real gain in power over the class P of 1880. What it did offer was speed and economy. Speeds of up to 115 kmh were recorded regularly on the northern plains lines from Bevice to Magane, Ištedi and Freltehnie. Their environment was steadily eroded as newer locomotives appeared over the years, until their last enclave, the cross-country route from Null to Martihpe, was conquered by the 4-8-4Ts of 1954.

Text and graphics © Norman Clubb 2012