What's the part of the train that gets cattle off the tracks?

Question

It's the pointed part at the front of train. What's it called?

Answer 1

Its called a Pilot.

All Railroad employees that actually know are calling it a pilot, myself included.  All the rest are calling it a cow catcher.  You can believe who you like, the only place its called a cow catcher is in childrens books.

Answer 2

It's commonly called a cowcatcher but it wasn't designed specifically to remove cattle from the rails.  The basic design includes an inclined frame in front of a railroad locomotive that is there to throw all obstacles off of the track.

Answer 3

I am loathe to cut and paste here, but below is my answer to the same question a few days back.  I ain't lookin for a "best answer," as this is only provided as information...

(As a footnote, it is almost as bad hitting an animal as a pedestrian or motorist.  The animals don't know any better.  I've plowed through a herd of migrating deer before.  It was sickening.  I called the dispatcher and suggested trains be instructed to run with caution through this area this night, in the interest of conservation.  Here, the migratory patterns are annual and always near the same spot, at Mt. Hebron.)

"Good answers., pilot and pilot plow.

However, the term "Cow Catcher" could have come from either the public domain or as railroad jargon. In the by-gone days of westward expansion, cattle were more valuable than train, crew or lading and were far more numerous across the open cattle ranges, those ranges still in existence today.

Consider this rule from timetable: Southern Pacific Company,

Oregon and Woodland Divisions, Time Table No. 7, effective Sunday, November 1, 1891.

Rule #52 "Killing Stock":

"Great care must be taken to prevent killing live stock. BRING THE TRAIN TO A FULL STOP IF NECESSARY. Should any be killed or struck, the engineers must report in writing, on blanks furnished for that purpose, to Division or Assistant Superintendent, giving number of engine or engines, number of train, names of Conductor and Firemen, and all other information that may be useful. If stock is killed when it is apparent that it may have been avoided, the value of the stock so killed will be deducted from the Engineers' pay."

1891 was a very late date in expansion but cattle were still kings. The cow catcher had been around at least 30 years before that.

So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and speculate that it was probably a hogger who came up with the idea, as a good way to protect the old paycheck.

Rails have always been resourceful folks, ya know... For example, did you know, in the good ol' days, if in a pinch, the old "flimsies" made dandy cigarette rolling papers?"

Answer 4

The others are correct; it is called a "cow catcher."

Answer 5

A cattle guard

Answer 6

The structure fitted below sole bar level that gets cattle off the track is known as a cow-catcher, but it's a last resort.

If cattle choose to graze on the railroad the first deterrent would be the whistle / horn, to clear the miscreants from mischief. If that fails and the noise and vibration of an oncoming train doesn't work, the cow-catcher will do the job admirably and the cattle will be double-whoppers in no time.

Do you want fries with that?

Answer 7

A "cow catcher" I would like one installed on the front of my pick up please! It's all about me and I'm in a hurry! LOL LOL

Answer 8

It's called a cowcatcher, I think.

Answer 9

It is the pilot and is more snowplow shaped nowadays then pointed.

Many old time steamers tried long tapered devices that were called cowcatchers but those arent in use on deisels, they werent all that effective. They were intended for use when huge herds of buffalo still roamed the west.

I can tell you from expereience that the pilot/plows only get about half the animals off the tracks, the rest roll underneath and you can hear them rolling and tumbling and crunching as they pass.

Either way they are just as dead and gruesome.

Every year we kill hundreds of wild animals, deer, elk, moose, and bear. It is heartbreaking but unavoidable.

Cattle on the righ-of-way is relatively rare, the RR maintains pretty good fences and farmers dont really like their critters roaming about the tracks.

Answer 10

In Canada, we call it a pilot.

It certainly gets animals of the track. I hate hitting anything (especially animals, humans should know better, but luckily I have not hit a human yet), but we hit two cows, whilst we were doing 55 mph. They could not get out the way (they were on a bridge). It is surprising how far we threw them!!!!!!

Whenever I encounter animals on the right of way. I turn my lights off and ring the bell (not whistle, as this tends to make them stop and stare).