Actually, some of us (I accept the term tree hugger although I am not an activist in forest preservation) do reduce/substitute our use of carbon and other polluting items. No car/DL over 30 years, turned off the pilot lights in the stove around same time, got rid of gas dryer 20 years ago, expect to have some solar PV in service this fall, have had solar DHW in service since'97 or so, mostly leds a few cfls/linear fl for lighting, Will likely set up a 12V solar + battery rig for the model trains over the winter.
And, much as I adore steam engines, I would electrify/solarize most mainline RRs. FWIW a study done before UP added SP/DRGWW showed that wind electricity from the Wyoming ROW could power most of the freight tonnage then running system wide. As we are 20 years along in both wind and solar PV efficiency gains, and need to transport far less coal because we turn out to have abundant natural gas (lighter shipping weight bonus), the gross figures are probably still relevant.
So, whether you "love the stench of coal smoke in the morning" (apologies to F. Coppola) or not, we just don't need to continue desecrating our landscape in order to live in comfort, and play w/our model trains.