Karel Belčamin, it seems, was not the last RSR engineer to leave behind plans for engines that were never built. Several drawings were also found in Šahlmeti's filing cabinets, including this 2-10-2T, which was an alternative derivate from 423QQ 2-8-4T. In this design the drive is to the second coupled axle, allowing the running gear of the 423QQ to be adopted mainly unchanged. Kraus-Helmholtz bogies are provided at both ends and there is a considerable increase in braking power, with opposed shoes on all five pairs of driving wheels. This locomotive, like its cousin, would certainly have been the equal of its work; if it had had any, that is. The Šahlmeti rebuilds of the Belčamin 0-8-0s were still doing good work and were ably supported by the D6A 4-8-0s, and so a 2-10-2 goods tank engine was really not needed. In spite of this, Šahlmeti seems to have had second thoughts about the short connecting rods and developed an alternative with drive to the third coupled axle, shown below, which would certainly have evened out the load on the coupling rods.

Although it was a later design, the 523W was so called because there was already the 523Y 2-10-0.

Text and graphics © Norman Clubb 2016