David Dumpling Wrote:
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> Dear Leader's oil firing setup will likely only
> make enough steam to blow the whistle,


How do you know that?

so top
> speed will be whatever a diesel is capable of. The
> UP tried to convert a 4000 to oil back in the day
> and it was a dismal failure.
> DD

Nope! The 4005, which was converted to oil burning, was NOT "dismal failure"!!!! Yes, the 4005 did have some growing pains early on, but once some corrections & modifications were completed, the 4005 was a VERY good performer. I talked to more than one "old head" that had chances to run & fire 4005 as an oil burner, after the corrections were completed and all stated how well she performed.

The reason 4005 was returned to a coal burner was, the UP Engineering Dept. was NOT about to spend the money to install an oil fueling facility on Sherman Hill, for just one class of 25 locomotives, assuming all the rest of the 4000s were converted to oil. No other class of oil burning locomotives required additional fuel oil westbound on Sherman Hill.