Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

trackside details

1096 views
2 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: US
  • 429 posts
trackside details
Posted by train18393 on Thursday, November 15, 2007 3:33 AM

I am looking for the proper distance to place details such as battery boxes, signs etc from the track. I seem to remember a magazine fairly recently with such information, and I think it even included a chart with spacing for frequently used details. I tried searching the Model Railroader site, but it could have been in Scale Rails, RMC or MR. I sure wished I remembered.

Thanks for inputs

Paul

Dayton and Mad River Railroad

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: US
  • 429 posts
Posted by train18393 on Thursday, November 15, 2007 4:01 AM

Man, do I feel ignorant. It was right in front of my face in the November issue of MR. I looked through that issue quickly twice, and just blew past the page with that table of clearances that I was looking for. Perhaps the problem was that I had not filed that copy yet as it was still to new and I was looking for an older magazine.

Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Martinez, CA
  • 5,440 posts
Posted by markpierce on Thursday, November 15, 2007 4:38 PM
 train18393 wrote:

Man, do I feel ignorant. It was right in front of my face in the November issue of MR. I looked through that issue quickly twice, and just blew past the page with that table of clearances that I was looking for. Perhaps the problem was that I had not filed that copy yet as it was still to new and I was looking for an older magazine.

Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR

Yeah, that is useful information.  Perusing SP Lines Common Standard Plans volume 1 (Steam Age Equipment Co., publisher), covering mid-twentieth century practices, I noted the following.

Distant-warning sign, stop sign, yard-limit sign, flanger sign: 13 feet from track center, 9 feet tall (vs. 11.5 feet from track center per MR table.)

Fouling point sign, derail sign: 13 feet from from track center, 4.5 feet tall (vs. 11.5 feet from track center per MR table.)

Searchlight signal: 9.5 feet from track center (vs. 10.5 feet per MR table.)

Relay box: 10 feet from track center to near side of relay post.

Freight platforms at stations: 7.25 feet from track center.

I presume some of these clearances would need to be adjusted if there was a close parallel track, assuring sign was not in a drainage ditch, and so on.

So if you are modeling a particular railroad and time period, it may be worthwhile to get actual data for it.

Mark

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!