A steam locomotive can burn through a massive amount of fuel in a short time. Wood-burning engines were fine for eastern railroads in heavily forested areas, but not practical on the Great Plains. It made more sense for those trains to burn coal, and burn coal they did. Depending on the size of the engine and its speed, a locomotive could burn as much as 800 pounds of coal per mile. The fireman had to constantly shovel coal into the firebox to keep the train moving.