Since I'm only 17, I don't have the means right now to become one, but I wouldn't even know where to begin when I did have the means. But, what does it take to become a steam locomotive engineer?

Thanks,

Carl will be quite surprised at the news of his untimely passing. I assure you, he was quite well at the Roanoke Chapter, NRHS board meeting last Tuesday.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. It know it's going to be a few years. Because where I live in KY there are virtually no live operation museums "too" close to here, unfortunately.

I'm more into the electric aspect of railroading, but my home museum has an operable steam engine and one thing's for sure, if you don't mind getting dirty, there's a lot of work to do. I've forgotten what the ratio of maintenance time to running time is, but 12 to 1 comes to mind. But it's all worth it when you see the boiler pressure gauge start lifting off the "0" mark.....

It's not a locomotive, but since there's no museum really close, see if you can find a well-regulated steam thresher club. It won't teach you everything, but you'll get used to working with old iron and paying close attention to safety.