Steam Engineer to Diesel Engineer

[Flintlock76]

@BaltACD

However, the crafts that were required to keep steam operating were seriously pruned with the switch to diesels, no longer was it necessary to remove and replace flues and all the other ‘consumable’ aspects of steam engines.

Taking that thought a bit further I’ve always suspected that the railroad’s fairly rapid transition from steam to diesel had to have been helped by all the hundreds if not thousands of diesel mechanics and electricians trained courtesy of Uncle Sam during WW2 and now looking for jobs. It had to have had an influence, you don’t make diesel mechanics overnight.