According to pictures and captions in both "High Plains
Route" and "Alliance and Everywhere West" stacks like
on the photo of 1248 were common on engines assigned to Line West. They are
spark arrestors and are used to prevent fires while burning lignite coal.
There seems to have been at least two different styles of them. The photos
all seem to be in the late thirties. I always thought that was
also why you see other bigger engines with long smokeboxes, and no place
else to put a spark arrestor. Is
this true? John
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