That's a beast of an engine to run! Congratulations on the opportunity!
Was anything different than you expected? I remember my first time running an excavator from the 1920s. I expected it to be difficult in general. Turned out I was good at not crashing things into their end stops but any precise movements were just impossible. I couldn't believe the amount of finesse you had to have with the clutches to make any fine movement. I was terrible! The foreman would have fired me that day, no doubt about it. It was such a great experience though! I suspect running a full scale steamer would be similar situation; my expectations would not match how it really goes.
