He's too busy fighting off the volcano right now.

Meanwhile, can we leave picturesque air disasters aside and get back on track?

A bit off topic, but the Aloha incident is something of an anomaly. The particular 737 involved had the highest number of cycles in the 737 fleet at the time of the accident. This was due to the number of flights Aloha operated daily and the fact that the aircraft could go through several pressurization cycles a day, compared to three or four for most other 737 operators.

While the repairs on this 737 failed, the design did exactly what it was supposed to do. In the investigations that followed the losses of the original Comet airplanes, one factor observed was that the tears in the fuselage were significant in length. When Boeing introduced their 700 series of jetliners, they incorporated a feature that few people knew about, until the Aloha incident. That is the tear stopper. They are placed at specific locations on the airframe and are intended to limit the amount of damage from an explosive decompression.

That said, the Aloha incident was caused by failures in the inspection and maintenance of the aircraft, not a design issue. There are ways to correct damage that don't involve a lap joint, but that makes repair much more expensive.

As for how many space shuttles we've seen explode? Only the Challenger. Columbia burned up on reentry due to damage to the heat shield tiles. That was an error in judgment on the part of the operators.

What doomed those aircraft is germane to our industry in that it was common operating practices that directly resulted in the losses. Those of us who operate vintage railway equipment cannot afford to be anything less than professional and our industry must keep working to improve our operating practices if we are to remain in business. As one of my mentors at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum once said, "We can't afford to be professional. We have to be more professional than the professionals."

The "UP Steam Club" sent out an update email today with this video linked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up1UaMVnv4M

Ed Dickens discusses the 4014's conversion to oil and some of the changes that they are making now. I found it to be interesting.

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I wonder if the circulators and brick arch were retained in 4014?

Thanks for the link and good response to the topic. UP 4014 is probably the biggest oil conversion since UP 4005. Personally I would enjoy learning what has been done differently in 4014 vs 4005 vs 3985 vs 844 vs D&SNGRR vs C&TSRR
Thanks for your post.