I bought a Proto 2000 E7 at a train show recently and when I got home, I noticed that the plastic hand rails next to the doors which are about an inch long were broken. They were mounted by inserting the ends into holes in the shell, however, when I called Walther’s, the parts are no longer available.
So, I wondered if any of you have a suggestion as to how I can replace them. I would expect that somebody makes wire ones that I could use but I haven’t been able to find them.
I have the same problem with three of my P2K E units. Check your E unit’s parts sheet that came in the box and look at the part numbers for the handrails. Contact Walthers at 1-800-4TRAINS and ask the parts department about the handrails. Be aware that since the Life Like buy out, certain parts may still be difficult to come by.
Cmarchan gave me an easy solution. Purchase Detail Assoicates brass wire .012" or .015". Cut them to the desired lengths and gently bend them 90 degrees with needle nose pliers.
I’m going to get beat to death on this one and should stay out of it.
What is being referred to here are called grabirons; handrails are found running the length of walkways on roadswitchers, and on staircases where they are usually called bannisters in this usage.
While I’d generally agree with the suggestion to make your own out of wire, the problem is that the original plastic grabirons were over-size, with the result that the holes in the body shell are also over-size for properly scaled wire grabs. You can either use overly thick wire, to suit the existing holes, or plug the existing holes with styrene rod and re-drill for the .012" or .015" wire grabs. I’d also suggest that you use either music wire or Detail Associates stainless steel wire, as the D.A. brass wire is too soft (and easily damaged) for loco grabs.