What would it of been like to drive a The Sierra No. 3 (131) steam train?

Question

What would it of been like to drive a The Sierra No. 3 (131) steam train?

Answer 1

Welll, when I was growing up, I knew a lot of engineers who were "made on steam". By modern standards it was pretty rough, extremely hot in the summer, cold in the winter, noisy, hard work. Steam locos with the cab in the rear, (most of them) had extremely limited visibility, you would never really see in front you except on a right hand curve, the rest was guesswork. But I would love to do it, maybe not for a career but for the experience. By today's standards the air brakes were quite primitive, there was no regenerative or dynamic braking, it required a higher level of competence from the engineer to get by.

Answer 2

Awesome!  One of my (minor) goals in life is to go to one of the  rail museums or tourist lines that allows you to "rent" a steam locomotive for an hour, and provides the instruction on how to run it.  You don't get to go out onto the main line, just move around in the yard, but it would be cool to be able to say I've done it.  I've had cab rides in diesels and even operated an SD45, but it still doesn't compare to steam.

Answer 3

SAD