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What are elephant ears on a locomotive? Why is the name so?

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It is called smoke deflectors. In the UK, the local people are called 'blinkers' as it replicates the elephant ears or blinkers used on horses.
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Smoke deflectors (also known as smoke baffles , smoke lifting plates, and/or "elephant ears") are metal plates that are attached to the sides of the smoke box on a steam locomotive.
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Smoke deflectors sometimes called blinkers in UK because of their resemblance to the blinkers used on horses , an elephant ears US railway slang are vertical plates attached to each side of the smokebox at the front of steam locomotive
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Smoke deflectors, sometimes called "blinkers" in the UK because of their strong resemblance to the blinkers used on horses, and "elephant ears" in US railway slang, are vertical plates attached to each side of the smokebox at the front of a steam locomotive.
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Elephant ears on a locomotive are large metal plates on either side of the smokestack designed to deflect smoke, cinders, and other debris away from the crew and nearby structures.
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Smoke deflectors, in the UK because of their strong resemblance to the blinkers used on horses, and "elephant ears" in US railway slang, are vertical plates attached to each side of the smokebox at the front of a steam locomotive.
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Elephant ears on a locomotive refer to the two large bell shaped exhaust stacks that protrude from the top of the engine. The stacks are designed to direct exhaust away from the crew, and their bell-shaped design is meant to reduce noise. The name "elephant ears" comes from the fact that the exhaust stacks resemble the large ears of an elephant.
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The curved top to the smoke deflectors channels the air into an updraft, the updraft is created by the convection of the hot exhaust, which lifts the smoke from the chimney away from the drivers forward view. So smoke deflectors don't actually deflect the smoke, rather they deflect the air
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