Final answer:
The invention that eliminated pollution from coal-driven steam engines was electric locomotives, not diesel engines, catalytic converters, or smokestack scrubbers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The invention that eliminated pollution from coal-driven steam engines was electric locomotives (A). Diesel engines (B) still emit pollutants, although modern systems include diesel filters to reduce particulate matter. Catalytic converters (C) are used primarily in vehicles with internal combustion engines to reduce harmful emissions but were not a direct invention to remove pollution from steam engines.
Smokestack scrubbers (D) are used in power plants to clean emissions before they leave the smokestacks; while they mitigate pollution, they were not the technology that eliminated it from steam engines.