Re: Derail and how common?

Attention, Mr. M Allen,
I must take exception to you belief that Diesel run poor track better than steamers. I have had considerable life time experience on the question and must explain that the steam engine with it suspension system spread out over the entire engine length will track over rough track much better than any diesel. When diesel first arrived, they found all the bad spots that the steamers regularly got over. But some say the new diesels were stiff in the springs and years later loosen up. BS. They put all their weight in just the short wheelbase of each truck and added much more stress to the rails, spreading them sooner.
Note that it was the Diesel that spread the rails on the Loop and not the steamer on it more volume of trips. Being a 4-wheel unit, coupler stress might have pushed it in a manner to help spread the rails. Only the engineer of the steamer knows his power at that moment which might have caused uneven power. Did the steamer spin the moment before and then gain a good hold and shove the diesel? They might investigate the use of coupler stops to prevent a big swing on a coupler.
As many know, old GP-7 needed coupler stops in order to be towed behind head end power. The "stops" restrict the side swing of the drawhead on the GP-7 or 9.
If ng diesels (example WP&Y Units) were running all trains on the C&TS, it would have been shut down a decade ago as they never would travel those ties with the few problems the steamer have encountered. The tie count quality can be much lower for a steam powered railroad than for a diesel one, and have liminted problems.