Locomotive handrails

[Il Grifone]

Probably a silly question to which everyone but me knows the answer, but what are the prototypical dimensions of handrails and the support knobs (for want of a better word)?

Edited April 9, 2020 by Il Grifone

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I have examined a number of large reproductions of good clear photos of chaps various standing on the footplating of LNER locos and the average handrail thickness came out at a 69th of their height. So my estimate would be an inch. The knobs on the stanchions are 50% larger than the handrail diameter, so 1.5".

[Michael Edge]

It depends what you mean by handrails - boiler handrails and others fitted in pillars are usually 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" diameter but the sort that are not fitted in pillars (just bent wire in models) are thinner, 3/4" or 1". From a model point of view the pillars we can buy are usually too big so I normally use wire which is slightly thicker than scale to give a better ratio between the handrail and the pillar diameter. For this reason in 4mm scale I use .5mm wire rather than .45mm and in 7mm I use .8mm rather than .7mm.

[Il Grifone]

Thank you both.

I had an idea that I'd seen 22 S.W.G. wire suggested, but since this works out at about 2" diameter in 4mm scale it seemed too large.

 

I could go and measure one locally (30km), but we are in strict lockdown. She's Italian metre gauge (950mm) so possibly not typical anyway.

[Michael Edge]

2" is definitely too big, a quick look through some drawings showed up 1 1/2" handrails on a Midland loco but that's the biggest I can find, except where the "handrail" is actually a tube with a control rod inside.

[JeremyC]

LNER D30 handrails (boiler and cabside) 1 1/4"

Barclay 0-6-0ST tank rail 1 1/4"

(Both measurements taken from full sized copies of the builders 1 1/2" = 1 foot scale general arrangement drawings.

Edited April 10, 2020 by JeremyC