Handrail Spacing on Rolling Stock and Locomotives

[Anonymous]

What is the generally applied rule of thumb for the distance of a hand rail from whatever surface it might be on HO rolling stock and locos? I recall that it is something like 0.030" ( a little less than 2 3/4 scale inches), but this seems to little to me.

What would you suggest?

TIA

Don Tanner
Oakville, Ontario

[ericsp]

Are you asking about the handrail diameter, or the distance from the walkway to the horizontal handrail?

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you're talking about the distance between the handrail and the loco bodyside (like the cab door handrails on an F-unit, that type of situation)? Personally I just go for what looks right. Take a look at the hands on a HO-scale figure, then compare that to prototype photos to get an idea of how much space there should be. I've found a good technique is to use a small strip of card as a spacer - I slip it behind the handrails when fitting them, glue the handrails in place, then remove the card - all handrails are then at the same spacing from the shell. www.railpictures.net is a good place to look for prototype photos by the way.

Hope this helps
Matt