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[quote user="jondrd"]  Esthetically and emotionally, yes. Efficiency and productivity, no. On our layouts when we run a double header or a long train with pusher(s) running steam isn't an issue. Try running train crews for each loco(in steam) in the real world and the labor costs are prohibitive. The engine shops for steam were a catalog of skills requiring a large workforce to get the job done right. The skill sets required for diesel shops are not as broad and staffing can be much smaller than those required by steam. The dismissal of large groups of employees in railroad engine maintenance was a harbinger of what was to come for other employee groups in the nation's economy.Jon   [/quote] I recall some photos of large steam being sent straight to the scrap yard with chalked word "JUNK" on the cylinders. The attitudes is that they are wasteful, dirty and consumed too much manpower to run freight. The nice clean economical desiels saved the railroad so much in many ways.I disagree with your view that Desiel Shops are somehow smaller and less labor intensive than steam.The Desiel Shops down in North Little Rock on the Union Pacific is bigger than my town with a supporting yard that just goes for miles. Now. Steam. When they break, easy fix. Just very big tools and strong workers who know exactly what they are doing. Desiels when they break you need alot of drones carefully studing tomes, manuals and other material to even understand the root cause of the problem. Then the Drones tell the Worker Bees who are trained on that specific area of maintaince. Then everything is stamped and approved by a gaggle of suits who only want that engine under power pulling a money making train RIGHT NOW and not rotting in some costly and non-revenue producing shop. Serves the Suits right if they are unwilling to purchase robust and strong desiels fit for the load and able to stay out of the shop in the first place. Sometimes I see a set of very dirty desiels lugging a train on the main with doors hanging open in winter and obvious dirt, soot or other image-impairing problems overlooked in the quest to get power onto that revenue generating train and sent out.The way things are going, they would rather have unmanned machines take over the work of running the train and save the costly payroll of actually maintaining warm air breathing bodies in the cab.There is a certain glory in having a well shopped steam running it's appointed schedule and is well cared for by both the crew that runs it and the shop that needs to maintain it. Woe onto the workers should that engine not be able to do it's duty.
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