The C14 Pacific was, as we know, the last class of locomotive built during Karel Belčamin's term of office. It was not however the last class that he designed. That distinction belongs to the 2-10-0 seen above, which was intended to haul faster goods trains over the main lines in the southern highlands via Čdelectu and Kaišo. Unfortunately, Belčamin died shortly after the drawings were completed and the new chief engineer, Bela Šahlmeti, showed no inclination to perpetuate his predecessor's work.

The classic lines of the Belčamin locomotive are at once apparent. The E2 was a combination of the E1 0-10-0 and the D6A 4-8-0, using the boiler and wheels of the one and the four-cylinder compound drive of the other. It is a great pity that the E2 was never built, for it would, without a doubt, have been a formidable piece of motive power. In the event, the RSR had to wait another 30 years for its first 2-10-0.

Text and graphic © Norman Clubb 2009