This question is geared to help me with a modeling issue so i could use some guidence…
I know it is a saftey rule that the handrails by the steps must be painted in a color that will cause them to stand out more or be more visible on the engine. Seems like white and yellow are the only colors. Then agiain, pretty much only see a handful of roads. Are the only one colors allowed? Do other roads, maybe reginol use different colors to work with their paint schemes, such as orange or red?
Yes, indeed the FRA requires the handrails at the step wells to be painted a color that contrasts with the carbody for visibility. White and yellow are common but D&RGW used silver to contrast with the Grande Gold and Black of the units. Red might also be useful but light colors are more visible to crews getting on and off than dark colors, perhaps the reason KCS white units that have black handrails have them wrapped with yellow reflective tape.
There may have been a rule of some sort passen in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I definitely remember a lot of CNW units suddenly having formerly-green handrails painted white in the area of the steps. Now I wish I could remember when!
Yeah, sorry, I ment GP-30. Looks like one in the pic. Ya know, I am goin to do some research and find out for sure on the handrail question. I am curious now. [:)]
Step sills, and locomotive side sills, along with the leading and trailing hand rails must have reflective material, DOT approved, applied in a manner that makes them highly visable at night.
The material must be white or yellow, and visable under a lantern light up to 100 feet.
I cant remember what distance for automobile headlights…
Same rule also covers the retro-fit of side sill and car side reflective stripes on new and rebuilt rail cars.
When I find the copy, I will post it, but yes, handrails on on new locomotives, and those that are shopped for a major project, must have reflective front and read material applied to the hand rails.
If I remember correctly, all locomotives must comply by 2007.
Yes, it applies to steam engines, if they are going to be run at night.
But, as most of those that still run are on daylight excersion train, they can forgo the rule, as long as they are not in regular freight service.
Don’t you just love the FRA? A few tons of reciprocating mass in plain view, louder than heck, won’t stop a motorist, but some reflective striping will? [:)]!
Ed, thanks for digging that up. That would explain the rule that has affected UP’s famous red stripe going bye bye in favor of the reflective yellow.
Exactly trainjunky. A horn that can be heard 2 miles away, over 210 volts of light with probably somehting stupid like 3 million combined candle power, a moveing mass of 3 times the size of a greyhound bus and weighing 350,000 lbs and chances are you can throw in a bunch of flashing redlights ringing away for good measure.
I can see it now…
“Don’t worry honey, I saw the train. That 3 inch wide reflective thingy just jumped out at me and I knew there was a train!”
Personaly, I think if you see the stripe while you are drving you car, your probably [censored]ed anyway.
The whole reason I was wondering about this is I am painting my own custom paint scheme. The body is done in white and black with all red hand rails. Guess I got a year before I need to paint them yellow or white.