Steve Firth wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

I prefer chrome leather welding gloves. As chosen by Clarkson, J. for
use when stoking boilers.
Fine for lifting blocks - but not so good for using tools.

I'll use riggers gloves for tools, depending on the type of tool.

Wonder if the make-up girl who applied the 'soot' was sat among the coals?

Heh. I'm astounded they could get a cameraman, sound recordist and what
looked like five blokes actually needed to run the train on the
footplate. I noticed that Clarkson only did a tiny bit of shovelling, I
doubt that he actually shovelled 6 tonnes of coal.

Impossible to shovel 6 tonnes of coal unless you do it daily.

I belive te record is 30 tonnes of ballast by an Irish Navvy.