Present Day Santa Fe Prototype Track Info Needed.

[Anonymous]

I am freelance modeling an area of the Santa Fe R.R. resembling the Cajon Pass area. Stupid as it sounds I can't find any pictures of end of the track bumpers (as used at the end of yard tracks). I want to subsitute my Atlas stock bumpers with custom made ones made from rail sections, with steel plates I recently purchased at a train show. How close is that to prototype? How are they painted, or are they just rusty? Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

[leighant]

I have never seen end-of-track bumpers similar to the Atlas stock bumpers except on stub-end passenger track in a major terminal. Where I grew up, I recall an industry spur with a pile of dirt at the end to stop a rolling car.

[Dough]

Well I've seen several of them on the NS. Even the old rail variety. I have a picture, but off the top of my head I want to say that it is painted orange. I think that railroads use what is available and if you looked hard enough then you could find an example. I've also seen many of the dirt piles.

HTH

[Anonymous]

They would definately be painted

[Anonymous]

I've seen a number of the "bent rail" bumpers, and they've always been painted orange. The paint was never fresh, rather old and chalky, giving them a very pale orange, almost peachy color. Some have been left unpainted so long that they looked mostly rusty with patches of paint coming through.

The other 2 styles that I've seen often are I beam steel, usually painted yellow, for what ever reason, and then the smaller wheel stops, cast iron, painted orange or red.

There are a few areas around here with dead end tracks. I'll see if I can get a few pictures of the bumper stops for you.

Rey