> I know 99.9% of the time you ran with pilots, but in the odd chance that your crew was running somewhere close to home on its own qualifications and you ran through a slow order or something, would the fireman be hung out to dry, as well?

Contrary to widespread belief, both here and on the RRs, the pilot crew does not run the engine. Anytime the E blows a slow order, everyone on the crew, E F, C and the trainmen, gets "hung out to dry".