This popped into my mind so here goes...When pulling a shift, what percentage of the time do/did you sit down and stand up? Would steam guys have stood more often than diesel guys?
What got me wondering was the only model figures I've seen are of crew sitting down. Hard to hand fire an engine sitting down I would think, so maybe the firemen stand a bit longer than the engineers.
What's your best guess???
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This popped into my mind so here goes...When pulling a shift, what percentage of the time do/did you sit down and stand up?
Depends if the steam locomotive is hand fired coal, stoker fired coal, or oil burning. Obviously, with a hand fired locomotive, the Fireman will be standing and shoveling most of the time when on the move and working hard. Flat level track and/or down hill, he would mostly be sitting down.
With a stoker fired locomotive, the Fireman would be seated most of the time, just like the Engineer, when moving.
With an oil fired locomotive, the Fireman would have to stand occasionally in order to sand-out the flues/tubes.
Would steam guys have stood more often than diesel guys?
Possibly.
What got me wondering was the only model figures I've seen are of crew sitting down. Hard to hand fire an engine sitting down I would think, so maybe the firemen stand a bit longer than the engineers.
What's your best guess???
Guess?!?!?!
Guess?!?!?!
LOL! Thanks Jack 
This popped into my mind so here goes...When pulling a shift, what percentage of the time do/did you sit down and stand up? Would steam guys have stood more often than diesel guys?
What got me wondering was the only model figures I've seen are of crew sitting down. Hard to hand fire an engine sitting down I would think, so maybe the firemen stand a bit longer than the engineers.
What's your best guess???
You sit when you have to and stand when you have to. However, the fireman will tend to get a little more "seat time" on an oil burner or a coal burner equipped with a stoker.
Sometimes, the fireman doesn't get much of a chance to sit down on a hand bomber if the coal is of poor quality, bad water or the engineer's having a bad day.
Rusty
Ain't no seats in our cab--Engineer and fireman both stand the entire time we're running (well, I can sit a little on the windowsill).
Seems as though our good English friends across the pond stood while operating their locomotives. There was a description of a transplanted Englishman, Joe B. Smith, who was an engineer on the Burlington's coal line to Southern IL, in a Burlington Route Historical Society Bulletin ("The Q in the Coal Fields"), a while back. Seems he persisted in standing up when running his big 2-10-4, because "that's the way they did it back home" !
Small quick aside, (please don't pummel me for deviance!), in the same BRHS publication, it was noted that recently deceased Reagan Press Secretary Jim Brady, shot during the Reagan assasination attempt, that his father was "Iron Jaw" Brady, a Yard Clerk on the Q, in Centralia, IL. He was reputed to have had absolutely illegible handwriting - a bit of a problem for a yard clerk!
I work on a 3 mile tourist railroad (basically a big loop) that contains flat spots, downhill grades as well as uphill spots (~2.5% at the steepest). Depending on which of the three steam locomotives I'm firing on a particular day, how the engineer running the locomotive that day is working the engine, and how many cars we are pulling are usually the factors in deciding how much I can sit while firing. I usually have to fire our smallest locomotive more often (all three are hand fired coal burners) due to its small grate area, while the other two larger locomotives don't usually require as much effort on my part to keep the pressure up.
Our goal is to keep an even clean fire, while also spending as much time in the seat as possible to watch out for any obstructions that are in the engineers blind spot when going around curves.
A twist to the above is when I'm firing our Mason 0-6-4T. The articulated design forced them to locate the firebox pretty much entirely in the cab. We have fold down seats that are functional (though you're crammed in between the cab wall and the firebox), but it's usually easier for the fireman to stand due to the locations of the various appliances in the cab. For example, the injectors, pressure gauge, blower valve and boiler blowdown handles are located near the front cab walls, while obviously the fire door, damper levers, try-cocks and sight glass are located near the rear of the cab on the back head. The downside to firing that locomotive without sitting all day, is that I have the tendency to overfire late in the afternoon when I start getting tired. At that point I usually pop the seat up to force myself into letting the coal ignite and burn properly before firing again.
Ain't no seats in our cab--Engineer and fireman both stand the entire time we're running (well, I can sit a little on the windowsill).
Ain't no seats in our cab--Engineer and fireman both stand the entire time we're running (well, I can sit a little on the windowsill).
New Hope Valley Ry. No. 17.
Ain't no seats in our cab--Engineer and fireman both stand the entire time we're running (well, I can sit a little on the windowsill).
. . . a self-maintaining alertness process. 
I don't know, as I have gotten into my mid-years, I have become fairly adept at falling asleep standing up!
I don't know, as I have gotten into my mid-years, I have become fairly adept at falling asleep standing up!
Maybe it's just me but, I sure don't think there is ANYTHING funny about THAT. Especially coming from a railroader!
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