What the heck is an anti-climber?

[Anonymous]

where is the anti-climber located at on a locomotive? and what is it?

[Anonymous]

An anti-climber is on the front of the locomotive. It is basicly an extension of the front porch over the coupler. What it does is prevent debries from climbing over the locomotive and smashing into the cab and injuring the crew members.

[Anonymous]

While an anti-climber does keep debris from the track from climbing up, the actual purpose is to prevent whatever is coupled behind the locomotive from jumping up and telescoping into the crew space during a collision or derailment. Tank cars containing hazardous cargo accompli***he same task using the couplers with vertical movement restricters. By keeping the force of the collision down at the frame level you increase the survivability of an accident for the crew.

[favuprailroadfan]

If you see an older locomotive with ditch lights. Notice where the lights are. Most of the railroads put the lights on the anti-climber.

Dru

[Anonymous]

A year or two ago, a simi truck carying lumber was hit dead on by a BNSF freight. The truck driver was killed instantly, and luber splintered evrywhere. The lead unit was a C44-9W, which was badly dented on the front, but the crew was not injured, because most of the impact was low, and the anti-climber stopped lumber from peircing the cab, although it did bend the handrail and the platform was covered with splintered lumber. The units were switched around and the train continued with a different crew a few hours later.

-Brian

[BR60103]

Chad:
If you want a clear look at an anti-climber, look at a PCC streetcar. Just above where the coupling would be, there's usually a set of channel or angle iron bolted horizontally. When it meets another streetcar, they lock together and the one doesn't rise up and slide along the floor of the other.
You can also see it on F and E units. It's just more visible on the streamlined bodies.

David

[dknelson]

Yes, the anti-climber was originally a streetcar/interurban item.
it was a belt of steel at the edge of the frame.
It was ribbed so that when two of them met presumably the ribs would interlock and prevent one trolley car from plowing into another -- otherwise collisions at speed involved telescoping two cars into the space of one (which still happened when the speed was high enough such as at the 1950 NMRA Convention in Milwaukee).
Obviously anticlimbers only did their work at certain speeds.
Anticlimbers on modern locos are a somewhat different looking item.

David Nelson