locomotive part what is it

[joshtesla]

I need your help, on a walk today I found a very interesting part I believe it's from a train a very small train. I believe it's a part of the smokestack, I was wondering if you guys could identify this.this was found on the original B.E.V Railroad remains near tow Hill ghost town in state college PA tell me what you guys think

here is the video of it
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I0eCvDDI70">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I0eCvDDI70</a><!-- m -->

[BR60103]

Josh:
I might be called a smokestack cap.
It may be a spark arrestor. It could have contained a screen to catch hot, burning coals to keep them from setting anything on fire. A lot of older locos had even larger versions -- see pictures of the General.

[nachoman]

There were different styles of smokestacks, depending on what kind of fuel was being burned. I'm not sure if there was a specific name for the piece you have. But, some smokestacks had ornamentation that was specifically aesthetic and had no functionality. I'm not sure if that was the case here or not.