Okay, so i’ve done a bunch of searching and couldn’t find the info I’m looking for, so here goes:
What size drop-grab irons do I need for installation on various EMD engines? The ones I’m mainly going to be detailing/upgrading are GP9’s, GP35’s, GP40’s, and SD45’s.
I was just at my LHS today… and thought i’d found what I needed, but soon realized that there’s a ton of different sizes.
Are 18" ones the ones I’ll need? 17" looked a bit small, but 24" ones looked way too big. Help?
I’m not an expert, but I think that the 18 inch size is close to correct. I’m sure that as soon as this is posted, the real experts will jump in and have another opinion.
That being said, I think that in some cases you would be better to pick a size that fits the engine rather than what might be prototypically correct. What I mean by this is some model engines come with the grap iron locations dimpled so that you have a starting point for the drill bit. The Atlas HO Trainman GP 38-2 is one example. On my Conrail model I used the A-Line #29100 drop style grab iron. The package these came in did not have a size designated, but I measured them roughly with a scale rule and they were about 18 scale inches. Anyway, what you would probably want if the engine comes with the locating holes spotted is to pick a grab iron that fits the designed holes. Makes the installation much easier.
Hope this helps.
My Athearn GP-40 took 18’s. You have to remember too that grabs come in .012" and the better looking .009" diameters. Look at the BLMA ones.
yeah i noticed the A-Line ones, and they were the cheapest per, because they gave you a whole crapload in a package for only 3 bux.
stupid question, but grab-irons are supposed to be the same color as whatever color they’re attached to, right?
I assume that we’re still talking engines? I would like to say that that is a correct statement, but like everything else there are probably exceptions. For example, I like Conrail, and one would assume that all the grabs on a blue engine would be blue. But I have a Conrail motive power book, and while most of the grabs are blue, there always seems to be one white one generally on the engine hood nose. So if you are modeling a prototype you need photos unless you don’t care what the nit pickers say. If you are doing proto-free lance, then you can make them any color you want.