On the Pacific end The Milwaukee ran through heavily forested areas with really big trees in the Seattle water shead area. On the east end in Montana the tracks ran on a shelf along the edge of valleys or canyons where rock slider would have been a problem. Maybe it was to protect agains a pantographs that got tangled up in the overhead when double heading as the second unit. I do not know, but in those days the windshield glass was probably just double strength plain old house glass. You surely did not want a face full of it.
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