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One question: Are steam locomotives harder on the physical plant - that is, the track, switches, etc? I seem to recall one poster speaking of the pounding the rails receive from steam engines. I would also be concerned about the affect of 4 or 5 drivers, with no flexibility, on a curve. All this compared with the much shorter trucks on 6-axle locomotives. Three fixed axles on an SD9 or SD40-2 have a much shorter wheelbase than even aPacific, and they're fairly short compared to a Mikado or one of SP's big Cab Forwards. Also, what was the overhead of maintaining watering towers - not just the cost of the water itself, but the building and maintenance of the towers, taxes, the extra watering stops, etc? Yes, maybe that could be offset with larger tenders or separate water tenders, but what impact does adding a tender (or for long-range operation, multiple tenders) do to the equation? I suspect there is more to the equation than simply fuel and maintenance costs of the locomotives themselves.
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