Tallow Pot, your post brings a couple of stories to mind.
First, I have a friend who is a retired engineer. I have had officials tell me he was one of the best we had. He tells about the engineer that he dreaded to fire for back when he was a fireman. My friend would get to work early, check out the engine to
see if it was ready for the trip, get his fire
built up just the way he wanted it. All before the engineer arrived.
When the engineer arrived the first thing he would do was blow down the boiler and turn the
injector on and fill the boiler with cold water. My friend said they were "barefoot" for the rest of the trip.
Second, a story about my Dad. He was on a run where they used the "Q" 01A's which were at that time hand fired. The first half of the trip the regular fireman would do the firing. For the second half the fireman would occupy the brakeman's seat and the brakeman would do the firing.
On this particular trip they were running two hours late and as head brakeman it was Dad's turn to fire.
While they were in the hole at O'Fallon,waiting for a passenger train to clear, Dad got his fire and water all fixed up just like he wanted them. Then he walked over and tapped the engineer on the shoulder and said," Look, you and I are not friends, we are not relatives, in fact, you don't even like me. Now let's go !"
When they got to the end of the run, the conductor came up to the engine and asked, "What
happened over there at O'Fallon ??"
The steam locomotive separated the men from the boys. One crew could take an engine and get over the road while another crew with the same engine
would be struggling the whole trip. John Norwood points this out in his books about the NG.
