Cowcatcher

COWCATCHER"Pilot. The old term was discarded by railroad officials, probably because it was a butt for jokesters.

Cowcatcher Early term for a locomotive's pilot. A pointed device used on the front of a locomotive to shove livestock off the track. Now used to prevent any object from going under the locomotive's wheels. Cradle ...

This eliminates the wack of the wheels at stressed joints at the top and bottom as well as pilot (cowcatchers) catching the center rail at the bottom and longer locomotives rocking over the peak at the top.

The engineer is another scarecrow wit ha jack o'lantern head. You can see the grimacing pumpkins atop the cowcatcher of this venerable Marx tinplate steam locomotive.

Pilot - Structure at the front of a locomotive for sweeping tracks, often called a cowcatcher; also an additional locomotive coupled to the front of the train locomotive to provide assistance over a heavy graded section of line.

See also: Track, Train, Locomotive, Gauge, Engine