I'll back up what Lee said above all the way. But back in those days, engineers were really engineers. Nowadays, with way too tight rules and regulations and managers out there just waiting to fire you, including having your relief with them when you reach the point where you will be fired, you can't even try to be anywhere near what an engineer might of been, even 30 years ago.
All this brings to mind a little story. There was once an engineer on the ATSF out of LA named Dick (Richard) "John" Fleming. Not too long after Amtrak began on May 1, 1971, he had taken a regular run on the Amtrak San Dieagan. On one particular trip, they had assigned a UP E unit to the train. At first he thought he had trouble with this engine, as he was arriving at all the stations ontime, but couldn't quite get it, per its speedometer, to the maximum speed of 90 MPH. When he got the train on straight track, he put the throttle in run 8 and maxed it out. He then used his stop watch and found out that when this engine showed on the speedometer that it was doing 89 MPH, the train was really doing 103 MPH! So he kept his mouth shut about it and wouldn't you know that he got this same engine on his run for the next several weeks! In todays world, you wouldn't have even tried to do this, as you would not only have been fired, but your employement would have been terminated right on the spot!
It should be noted that Dick Fleming was one of the charter members that started Pacific Railroad Society in LA back in 1936. Dick passed away some time ago. The club is still going strong. His Daughter, Marti Ann Draper is an Amtrak Conductor out of LA and bends over backwards to do all she can for that Railroad Club, her dad helped to create.
As they say on the UP, "Stay Alert, and you won't get hurt."