@breezinup posted:The inclusion of a diesel has been explained before, and someone with knowledge (or better recall) can jump in. My recollection was that a major reason is to provide additional braking capability.
Other than braking, the main thing I was told was that 4014 with 2 canteens is good for about 200 miles a day unassisted. If you look at the schedules, they are often in the 150-200 mile range. What it means is that you have very little leeway if things go pear shaped up ahead on the railroad. The diesel can stretch the water and gives you the flexibility so that the steam train doesn't become a problem because something happened in front of it.
844, even with one canteen, has a longer range, so it doesn't cause nearly the problem.
