Class 434C 4-8-4 (1961)

Class 434C 3-Cylinder Compound Express Passenger Locomotive
Designed by Mikhail Rodnivacek
Rebuilt in 1961 from Šahlmeti Class 434A
by RSR Works, Bevice-Akohniçe, Ruhnia

It is well known that Bela Šahlmeti was forced to resign in 1929. What became of the engine that caused the row is less often discussed. Since the RSR had already paid for the 434A and Henschel wasn't about to let them have their money back, it was left to Tešlov to make the best of a bad job. The engine ran a number of trials but could not be made reliable or safe enough to please the inspectors, who of course were aware of the fate of the LMS high-pressure engine "Fury". The engine first received new cylinders and ran for several years with normal boiler pressure. In 1939 it was involved in a minor accident and stored. After WW2 the engine spent many ignominious years as a stationary boiler at Akohniçe until in 1959 it was taken into the works to be rebuilt as a prototype for a new series of express passenger locomotives being planned by Mikhail Rodnivacek. The 434C, which retained Walschaerts valve gear, duly became the basis of Ketterik's class 434D 4-8-4s.

Graphics and text © Norman Clubb 2015