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Making Handrails and Steps
Ken asks readers:
“I am detailing some of my models and wish to add handrails and steps etc. I can find plenty of detail on the width/length of these items, but nothing that tells me how far off the face of the wagon/carriage the handrail, steps etc project. I am modelling in HO.”
13 Responses to Making Handrails and Steps
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Measure the distance from the front of your heel to your big toe, divide this by 87 and that should be close to what you need to allow.
Robert, Thank you for the prompt reply and the foot measurement idea. It is the simply and obvious solution that we tend to overlook.
HO scale is 1/87. If you can work from photographs of the original, find a dimension that you can quantify, such as the height of a man at about six feet. Using that dimension on the photograph, measure the size of the handrail in the picture, and thus calculate the gap. I would guess that most handrails are about the width of a man’s palm away from the surface.
Basically, about 1mm is ok for your HO train crew to grab onto !
Unless you are entering an incredibly high level competition, no-one is ever going to measure your model !
Frank. Thank you for the prompt reply and the detail solution. I am not a “rivet counter” so I would not be worried about a slight over scale solution.
They are not that far out from the siding of your cars. I usually make themout of tiny-tot staples and drill them and glue from the inside. I can go down to the museum here and measure the distance from the hand grips and the siding and let you know for sure but up till now I space them on my HO models the distance of a hobby knife blade but in scale that may be too far out. I will be going by there Saturday and let you know. from Newman Atkinson
Newman, Thank you for the prompt reply and the detail of your method. I was proposing to use hard brass wire suitably bent to size over a scale handrail ruler marketed by DCC solutions from West Australia ( similar to the USA Micro Mark gadget). I am not “a rivet counter” so a slight over scale solution is not a great issue. Plase do not make a special trip to the museum on my account but I would be interested in your findings if you do call by.
I did go there the other day but forgot to measure the steps and hand rails, so will get that measurement the next time I go. Using a small piano wire might work for the steps and railings and bend that into shape. from Newman
Newman.My local hobby store has hard drawn brass wire in various diameters 0.3;0.4;0.5mm. I was going to use these in the appropriate size matching the real life size.
Government standards (via OSHA) determine that with a 2-rail handrail system, meaning a top rail and a (roughly) midrail, give the top of the top rail about 42 inches above the walking surface, and the midrail is about 18 inches above. Depending on the site, rails can be made of pipe or angle. Solid round bars can be used instead of pipe but they are heavier and costlier to use. You can look for miniature structural steel shapes for the angles and wire for the pipe or rod. In industrial areas these are painted yellow (see the Steelers’ gold of the “black and gold” color as an easy reference) for safety and visibility.
Stairways and ladders are also painted yellow.
Continuing on stairways and walkways, for the handrail pipe a diameter of about 2″ minimum is good for the top rail while 1 1/2″ diameter is good for the midrail. Scale your rod or wire accordingly.
Steel angles (for posts and railing, top and mid) are about 2 to 2 1/2 inch legs wide. Posts could also be 2 1/2 inch wide bars instead of angles.
Ladder (including rungs) are also painted yellow and are usually spaced at 12 inches apart.
These regulations are based on what I’ve seen in industrial settings such as factories.
James. Thank you for the reply and detail of the Government standards.
Ken I am back with some info from the museum cars for you
I got there today and measured the steps and had rails. Although they are older cars (an N6b Cabin Caboose, and a troop car) Here are the measurements.
The had rails and the curved hand rails at the corners of the caboose was 3/4 inch diameter rod and the steps and hand holds from the inside of the step to the siding was 2 and3/8 inch clearance on both cars. But in HO scale that is not very much clearance. without measuring and converting a beieve the clearance is probably no more than the thickness of an exacto knife blade.between the siding and the rod step or hand hold. I don’t have measurements of modern cars but most likely they are not far from these. Hope this helps from Newman Atkinson
Hi Newman: Sorry for the delay in responding. Thank you very much for the detail and for going out of your way to visit the museum, it is much appreciated. Regards Ken