The city of Cincinnati required the trolley company to use the two wire collection/return system. Normally, rail trolleys used just one pole with the current to run the cars picked up from the wire and returned to the power station through the rails. Cincinnati officials feared that the current in the rails would induce corrosion in underground utilities (water, gas and sewer lines) and demanded the use of two wires to supply and return the current. The cars switched to one pole at the city limits.
The "cowcatcher" was a device to keep errant pedestrians from falling under the cars and being injured or killed by the underhung motors or the trolley's wheels. They were actually called "fenders". Some varieties automatically stopped the car if they hit an obstacle, providing the advantage of the car not derailing.
(from shorpy.com)
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