Guys,
I want to replace my old Blue Box Athearn engines’ handrails with the new plastic rails. Does anyone know what I should do to obtain these? As in, is there a company that makes them that will fit right into the holes already provided by Athearn? What about using Athearn’s RTR handrails? If I got some from Athearn themselves, would they line up with the holes or have the spacing changed?
Yes, the Athearn plastic handrails should line up with the mounting holes on your BB loco.
Problem is, if you already used the stamped-steel handrails, you will find that they have enlarged the mounting holes so you will need to use some sort of adhesive to make the plastic handrails stick.
BTW hope your MRL loco painting is going well! [tup]
I’ve used RTR handrails on a couple BB’s and they’ve fit perfectly using the existing holes. Just be sure you use the rails from the same model, eg. use handrails from an RTR GP40-2 on a BB GP40-2, etc.
HTH,
Steve
I’m just the opposite…I don’t care for the new plastic handrails…the metal ones were more sturdy …I just soldered them at the handrail and the stantions so they wouldn’t slip from side to side and then they weren’t going anywhere…the new plastic handrails are flimsy, easy to break, and some of them never take after they’re glued and I end up having to re-glue them…give me those old metal BB handrails anyday…chuck
Thanks but I haven’t even started yet. Would you beleive that I am having trouble getting some Scalecoat II Paint Remover for the LHS. I’ve tried both of the stores around here and they have to order it. I’ve been waiting now for two weeks.
I’m looking to replace my SD40-2 handrails from Athearn. I have like 5 of them and though I have them in place and painted, I just don’t think that they look very prototyplical. I’m going to contact Athearn and see what it would cost me to pick up some plastic ones.
Hey Zak - Walthers is showing that Scalecoat paint remover in stock. Your LHS should be able to get it fairly quick if they are a Walthers dealer. I think Walthers is the only distributor left (that I deal with anyway) that still carries Scalecoat.
And if your LHSs are Horizon dealers, they shouldn’t have much trouble getting you plastic handrails from Athearn. I’ve ordered a lot of Athearn parts from Horizon and have had pretty good success in obtaining them.
Yes, they are Walthers’ dealer but they told me that it would take some time to get them. Heck, I could have gotten the stuff from Walthers direct quicker.
I just emailed Athearn for those handrails to see if they would sell them to me for what price. I’ve had great luck with their parts department where I needed something and they just gave them to me for free. This obviously is different so I’m willing to pay, as long as it’s not too pricy. I just think that my engines would finish off with better handrails.
Athearn just responded saying that they only engines that they have are SD40-2 and C44-9W. The SD rails run for $6.75 and the GE are $6.98. I guess that a good price. He says that they will fit just fine, so I just might do it. Now I just have to find handrails for my 2 SD40T-2s. I guess that the SD45T-2 won’t work since the front railing is a little different.
hmmmm…perhaps Athearn meant that is all they had at their place in California…
I suppose this is allowed: go to www.horizonhobby.com and in the search box type in “handrail” and you will get almost 4 pages of both plastic and metal handrail sets listed, most of them in stock. More than just SD40-2 and dash 9s.
You can order direct from Horizon or use your local dealer(s). Hope that helps some!
Yea… The SD40T-2 and SD45T-2 have their cabs in different positions (the 45T-2’s cab is a lot more forward on the frame), so the 45T-2’s handrails won’t fit on the 40T-2 unfortunately.
The ones available on the Horizon site for the SD40T-2 are the stamped metal ones.
If you want nicer-looking handrails for the SD40T-2, you can get a cast brass stanchion and handrail kit from either Smokey Valley or Precision Investment Associates… Back in the January 1985 issue of Model Railroader, Bob Zenk did a superdetailing article on dressing up an Athearn SD40T-2 in Cotton Belt colors, and he used the handrail kit from PIA. Very, very nice looking.
I don’t know if PIA is still in business, but the Smokey Valley kit can look just as good if you know what you are doing.
I have used the Smokey Valley handrails, and really like them. Great detail, but a bit more work. Walthers lists their products
I gave some details on how I install them in this thread, about 7 items from the top (just below LongIslandTom, again [;)])