Since when (back in the steam days) did you ever see people having to sleep overnight on a train because it broken down in the snow? There were 2 inccidents recently, one at Three Bridges in Crawley and another somewhere in Kent (Sevenoaks I think). There we are!
If we can build (or refurbish) a whole fleet of steam locomotives and paint them in the liveries of the train opperators for use during winter, then we have our answer to the weather problem and conductor rail freezing over.
Im not saying get rid of electric, im saying use steam power during times when electric isn't viable. Attatching a steam loco to a 12 car 377 on a Brighton - London trip would solve the problem overnight, and could reach near enough the same speed as well
Think of the money it would save the rail company's in the long run!
As quoted by another forum member, most electricity comes from coal fired power stations anyway.