Would you have liked being a steam loco engineer ?...

[Anonymous]

Nooo!!! I'd rather be a diesel engineer.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'd be there for sure.

[JimValle]

I've had a taste of it, a few cab rides now and then and one summer running a Crown 4-4-0 at an amusement park. The thing the captivates you with a steam engine is that it NEEDS you. You've got to lubricate it, fire it, adjust it, get your throttle and reverse lever settings just right and then LISTEN for the right bark of the exhaust, the right beat of the cylinders, the right squeals and groans and right roar of the blower and draft in the firebox. You can hear the engine WORK and you can feel it falter when you haven't been a skillful runner. It rewards skill and punishes carelessness. The same is true about the old reciprocating engines in ships and tugboats plus the hypnotic fascination of all those exposed moving parts gyrating around their eccentrics can't be experienced anywhere else. One thing about being an engineer in mainline service though, is the terrible feeling of helplessness when you're thundering down the track with 300 tons of locomotive and a 2,000 ton train and something goes terribly wrong. A car or truck stuck on a grade crossing, a boulder on the rails, a train up ahead not in the clear for you. It was not uncommon for steam engineers to "loose their nerve" after a few close calls. They just couldn't face up to the job anymore and had to find some other line of work.

[PennsyHoosier]

I'm with Bigboy. I'm heading up north and taking hold of that throttle![8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]

[nasaracer32]

QUOTE:
I'm an NS stockholder now, but I'd gladly give up a penny or two off my dividend checks if we could bring back that program again.

Hmm, didn't they just get a new CEO. Maybe it is time to start with the letters and calls that fell on deaf ears 11 years ago.

You mentioned seeing them with your dad. That is the way it started with me, riding at a young age, and I was very lucky to have a chance to spend time working on the 611 before it ended. Now that I have kids that like trains, it makes me sad to know they won't get to experience the things I did.

[Anonymous]

Hell yes should be an option

[MidlandPacific]

QUOTE: Hmm, didn't they just get a new CEO. Maybe it is time to start with the letters and calls that fell on deaf ears 11 years ago.

You mentioned seeing them with your dad. That is the way it started with me, riding at a young age, and I was very lucky to have a chance to spend time working on the 611 before it ended. Now that I have kids that like trains, it makes me sad to know they won't get to experience the things I did.

They did indeed. That's not a bad idea.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Nope. Spent too many years running trains (no steam) and have no urge to get back into any cab. I enjoyed diesel, never had much interest in steam.