Ollies Trainstuff - Scandinavia

[MountainMan]

What are the bars over the windshield for?

There are times when I simply cannot resist- - -
They're protection against "low flying pigeons"

Seriously, I would suspect there is a part of the right-of-way, where falling rocks present a danger to the locomotive crew.
I recall seeing something like this in use in some U.S. Cities, where things were being thrown at trains.

So instead of eliminating the falling rock problem the solution is to protect the windows? What happens to the rocks that land on the tracks?

Sounds like rodent-centric engineering to me. (that's Mickey Mouse engineering)