 During wet, rainy weather when there was no danger of setting fires, the diesel locomotives were to be assigned heavier "tonnage" trains so the additional horsepower requirements would allow the clearing of carbon deposits.Such was the degree of the carbon spark problem that the 714th TBROS&DE had to monitor it and make tonnage assignments as necessary and practicable to keep it under control.In fact, the operations sergeant ("S-3") of the 714th TBROS&DE stated that the fire hazard from the diesel carbon sparks was significantly greater than that from the steam locomotive ash.