Thanks for the T O MDO response. I believe there is another one somewhere in which he also expressed some of the reasons I stated to the point that he would prefer that steam should not run on the railroad again and that didn't just exclude 4449. I believe that he included all steam. The point that those who's responsibility for daily operations was interrupted by a steam locomotives presence on the railroad is a valid point and those people should have been disciplined for their failure to attend to their assigned duties. Would that have happened to higher ups at that time? ? ? ? The point that was made that the accident would have happened anyway regardless of steam being present is also valid. Those folks in charge of making up that train and assigning the crew screwed up. Maybe this thread will provoke a response from MDO as the ultimate authority and avoid holes in my memory as it was so long ago that these chronicles were written. I too am waiting for the book.
Bill