>>1606038>but the driver has to talk to the guy shoveling the coal, so both have to be close to the coal storage.Not necessarily. A skilled fireman did and could read the road in front of the train so he was able to anticipate what the locomotive needed or did not need to keep going. Communication between the two isn't as imperative as you'd think. This falls in line with what I was taught:
>"You should be thinking ten steps ahead of where you are right now. What is the fire going to need next?" 