Hello everyone i have been a long time model rail roader been away from it for awhile i am starting to get back into it i dont have a layout but i have a lot of old trains that i am fixing up can anyone tell me is there a place to get real looking hand rails for my older engines i have a lot of older atheran engines that have the thick rails on them i would like to put somthing else on them any advise would be a help
Thanks,
Hard brass wire should do the trick. They come in various thicknesses too.
0.015" brass wire is close to a scale inch in thickness, so that would be the best choice for better realism. 0.020" wire will also look fine if you want it to be a little more sturdy.
If you want more realistic stanchions, check out Smokey Valley's handrails. They may have full stanchion kits for your Athearn diesels, and they're usually available with or without the handrail wire. A Line's fine brass chain works well for the end railings.
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Darth Santa Fe 0.015" brass wire is close to a scale inch in thickness, so that would be the best choice for better realism. 0.020" wire will also look fine if you want it to be a little more sturdy. If you want more realistic stanchions, check out Smokey Valley's handrails. They may have full stanchion kits for your Athearn diesels, and they're usually available with or without the handrail wire. A Line's fine brass chain works well for the end railings.
I like using the .015" brass wire also. Smokey valley brass rail is fit in pieces. I perfer to bend them from 1 piece Phospher bronze also works but is more difficult to make the intricate step bends. I wasn't sure if Smokey Valley was still around. Have used their stanchions on many retrofited Athearn BB. Here's a link:
http://www.smokeyvalley.com/
After careful bending and dry fits, I will secure a couple rail/ stanchion w/ CA and the solder the remaining ones. The final results are that similar to an Overland brass job. When retrofiting these rails, you may need to check if you need to change the battery boxes, add anticlimber etc, before fitting the rail and stanchion. If you're not that concerned w/ the prototype, don't bother. I do find that the end rail stanchions will work better on an applied anticlimber, but this may not fit for the model or phase you're doing.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
srud01 Hello everyone i have been a long time model rail roader been away from it for awhile i am starting to get back into it i dont have a layout but i have a lot of old trains that i am fixing up can anyone tell me is there a place to get real looking hand rails for my older engines i have a lot of older atheran engines that have the thick rails on them i would like to put somthing else on them any advise would be a help Thanks,
If you have Athearn's BB GP38-2,GP40-2,GP50 and the SD40-2(low hood) the newer thin plastic handrails will work.
I am told the newer handrails for the upgraded SW1000 and SW1500( not the SW7) will work on the BB SW1000 and SW1500(again not the SW7)..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
thank you everyone i have another question dose any one know were i can go and identify my trains
could you tell me where i can go and identify my engines so i can get the right things from smoky valley