Leaking oil occurred on the railroad well after WW2. When I was an engineer forced hostling at Alliance, NE in 1975 it was standard procedure to fuel the locos when they came to the roundhouse pit/fuel track, even if they were to then go into the roundhouse itself for maintenance. (This was still the old Q roundhouse not today's modern shop). One night I'd just finished fueling an SD45 when the rhse foreman came out and asked if I had done so. When I replied that I had he was upset because there was some problem with the loco's tank and it was scheduled into the house for repair. So they pulled the drain plug of the loco tank and let 3000+ gallons of fresh fuel run into the pit and into the ground!
When I came to Sheridan later in 1975 company diesel fuel was still being shipped in old steam, loco tenders. Pr
obably the old oil tenders off of the Casper Division's 4-8-4s? At the time I didn't pay much attention as it was just part of railroading then. Wish I had taken photos of those. These old steam loco tenders were always right behind the diesels and they were constantly soaked and dripping with diesel oil. I think most of it slopped out the top hatches. At speed the slopping/dripping diesel fuel would fly back in the wind and coat the first few cars of the train. I wondered at the time why none of them ever caught fire due to hot braking. On numerous occasions the first 2 or so cars behind the tenders were covered hoppers loaded with Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer. More than once I found those cars drenched and dripping with diesel fuel that had blown onto them from the tenders. Ever hear of ANFO? It is truely amazing what went on back in the day, even when "the day" was the 1970s!