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Replacing handrails on Locomotives

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  • Member since
    September 2010
  • From: Sierra County
  • 221 posts
Replacing handrails on Locomotives
Posted by caballorr on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 12:18 AM

I had bad wreck  this weekend with one of my locos involving  a cat ,any way with the plastic  handrails broken off .So I was think on using some kind  of small mental wire for handrails any ideas on this ?

~ Tim .

To see photos of my HO scale / 1/64 scale  layout and diorama photos base in the present day .  http://www.flickr.com/photos/icr140/

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 1:38 AM

Caballorr:

I would suggest that you tell us which loco specifically you are working with. Somebody may know exactly what you need.

Some after market suppliers make metal hand rail replacement sets which are preformed to make the task fairly easy. They also offer stantions either of formed wire or cast brass where you add your own wire. Bowser offers Cal Scale kits. You may find what you need here:

http://www.bowser-trains.com/hoother/calscale/calscale.htm

You can make your own hand rails. I use .015" phosphor bronze wire which is close to HO prototype in size. It is stiff enough to hold up to handling but is also easy to form and easy to solder. It is available from Tichy among others:

https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/Default.aspx?SearchValue=phosphor+bronze

If you are going to make your own handrails I suggest that you not bother with brass or steel stock. EDIT: Brass is too soft and will easily bend out of shape when being handled. There are harder versions of brass available. Steel, like music wire for example, does work but it  is really stiff and doesn't solder easily.

Dave

 

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    September 2010
  • From: Sierra County
  • 221 posts
Posted by caballorr on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 2:19 AM

Thanks for that info , It is a Athearn SD 40T-2 

~ Tim .

To see photos of my HO scale / 1/64 scale  layout and diorama photos base in the present day .  http://www.flickr.com/photos/icr140/

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 10,582 posts
Posted by mlehman on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:06 AM

caballorr
It is a Athearn SD 40T-2 

If the loco is one from the recent runs of RTR Tunnel Motors, I'd think the handrails should still be available as separate parts from Athearn.

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: South Carolina
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Posted by Train Modeler on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:13 AM

Here's a good one, Kit #19.   Great detail and won't just break.

http://www.smokeyvalley.com/Catalog.txt

Richard

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:17 AM

I'd check eBay too, there are usually quite a few on there for decent "buy it now" prices, from different manufactures, and Athearn.  Besides the manufacturers mentioned already, also try Smokey Valley.

For Athearn, he is the Horizon site, which is the dealer for Athearn.

horizon hobby trains

Mike.

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 9:22 AM

Train Modeler

Here's a good one, Kit #19.   Great detail and won't just break.

http://www.smokeyvalley.com/Catalog.txt

Richard

LOL, sorry Richard, I guess your post beat me to it.  Smokey Valley does make great handrails.  Their stantions are right on !

Mike

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Pottstown PA
  • 1,039 posts
Posted by rdgk1se3019 on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 7:21 PM

Are Smokey Valley all plastic or brass?

Dennis Blank Jr.

CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 8:07 PM

They are all brass.  They are pretty "putsie" ( is that a word ?) to install, but look great.  I don't think they have pics on their web site.  I think I'll go look!.  I think they are in the $15 to $18 range.

Mike.

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 8:10 PM

I just looked, no pictures, just a price list.  Everything is $15.95 plus shipping.

SmokeyValley Railroad Products, HO Scale Parts

Mike.

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: Cresco, IA
  • 1,773 posts
Posted by ChadLRyan on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 10:43 PM

Hi,
I have various set of the Smokey Valley ones & the recent ones are trending toward engineering plastic stanchions, with the traditional wire, most likely PB.
Some sets include Brass Pilot Stanchions with Eng Plastic Side Stanchions.
So, please be aware, just in case you are expecting something else.

Also, you can search YouTube for "HO Handrail Stanchion Drill Tool" to see the method some pros are using.

Chad L Ryan
  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Stockton, CA.
  • 333 posts
Posted by Truck on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 11:27 PM

MENTAL wire,    I think the CAT went MENTAL on your layout.  Get a dog, keeps cat out of layout room.

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 1:01 AM

A friend was looking for an RS-1 and I happened to find a reasonably-priced used Atlas one at the LHS.  He described the CNR-inspired paint job which he wanted for his free-lance road and I painted and lettered it as shown.  (SMP Accu-paint, Champ alphabet set for the roadname and Accu-cal CNR decals for the road number and some striping).  However,  I thought that the stock plastic handrails were overly thick and detracted from an otherwise decent-looking (and nice-running) loco.

Using the stock railings as patterns, I formed new ones from .015" piano wire, then cut the handrail portion from the plastic stanchions.  After drilling them to accept the wire, I threaded them onto the new railings, then installed them on the loco.  Once the wire was trimmed and inserted into the diesel's shell, the stanchions were aligned vertically, then applied a drop of ca at each point where the wire passed through.  A brush was used to paint the wire portion.
After a few photos on my layout, the loco was packaged and mailed to its new owner.




Wayne

  • Member since
    November 2014
  • 1 posts
Posted by simon on Sunday, November 11, 2018 1:27 PM

hi 

i have the same problem he doase but i have a ho scale atlas dash 8-40cw silver loco cant find hand rails any were need help

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