What do you call the thing attached to some train engines in the front bottom that looks like a plow or cage?

Question

It seems to have to do with shielding the wheels and lower parts of the engine from objects that might be lying on the tracks.

Answer 1

This is what most people refer to as a "cow catcher," a hold over from the days of steam.  The correct term is "pilot."  The ones appearing as a "cage" are called "slatted" pilots.  Their purpose was to knock debris off the rails.

Pilots are still in use on today's locomotives but as indicated above, most are "pilot plows," to move snow of moderate depth aside.  They also have doors through which air hoses can be coupled between engines, with most of these having the ability to store air hoses behind the pilot in inclement weather, to protect them from the elements and clogging up with snow.

Answer 2

Hoghead is right. On the old steam locos, the pilot was designed to knock debris off the track. More specifically however, the pilots design was to get under range animals and lift them up and out of the way. If a large animal got under the wheels, it could lift the locomotive up high enough to derail it. As fencing became the standard and the numbers of buffalo dwindled, these pilot beams got smaller. Today, it's still called a pilot, or pilot beam. And is designed more for running through large snow drifts, but also still serves to knock fallen trees and other debris out of the way. I gave the pilot a good work-out today on my locomotive in Minnesota.

Answer 3

cow-catcher?

Answer 4

cow catcher

Answer 5

It's probably most proper to call that the pilot.  When I was a kid we always called it a "cowcatcher" but I think that's more colorful than real.

Answer 6

A snow plough. Used when the snow level gets above 20cm

Answer 7

Cow catcher.

patzen.