On Sunday, May 24, 2015 at 12:35:53 UTC, Chris.B wrote:

That's interesting!
I'm a fan of steam but must allow that they do have a bad image where dirt is concerned.
Not to mention the damage to health caused by mining the coal.
Do the old covered stations [and the tunnels of course] still accumulate thick layers of soot?
Do drivers and firemen still suffer from lung diseases?

Leeds station was refurbished 10 years ago and is filthy again due to diesel soot! Some stations
prohibit diesel units from idling to reduce such emissions within the station canopy.
Heritage steam locos require special low-dust coal that is expensive and hard to obtain these
days, but isn't a respiratory hazard to drivers and firebox operators.