I want to install some traffic posts at the corner of an industrial building- the kind of thing that would help truck and other drivers avoid clipping the corner of the building as they rounded the corner. The layout is HO in the early to mid 1950’s. I think it would be a nice detail. I had a friend recommend just cutting some sections of rail and planting them but I don’t know if this is at all realistic. When I look these up on the internet, all I can find are the modern ones. This are steel or orange plastic and 39" high and 5.5" in diameter. I remember seeing them as a kid and my recollection is that they were iron tubes filled with concrete. Is a section of rail this height really ok or should I look to make something from round styrene? Thanks for the help.
I’ve seen concrete reinforced steel pipe, plain old I-beams. and wood posts. I think the steel post is the most common and is what I would use in similar situations.
I had forgotten about the I beam but remembered it once it was mentioned. This is a coal company that has rail running into it to make deliveries. I’m leaning toward going with the I beam. Thanks.
Another thing I have seen on old brick structures is fairly heavy “L” shaped steel protecting the corners that are vulnerable, up to about 6 or 7 feet – and often that steel is scratched and dented showing it was needed.
That type of post was and still is very popular. The owner of the house on the cross street at the end of my street got tired of losing the corner of his fence to big trucks turning into the back lane too wide or vehicles skidding on the icy street while trying to make the turn into the lane and installed just such a post at the corner of his fence. No more broken fence. It should be easy to model with a section of styrene rod or dowel the appropriate diameter. Paint the rod a dark colour and “rust” it liberally, with lots of horizontal rust streaks where collisions have taken off the paint. Round the top and paint it concrete.
These are called bollards and are still in use today at various locations where something needs to be protected from vehiclular traffic (examples would be a corner of a building, fire hydrant, or power transformer). Presently bollards are typcially constructed of a 6" diameter pipe filled with concrete. I would think though in a railroad related setting old rails would be used in place of the pipe/concrete style. I have actually seen some used to protect a fire hydrant in a parking lot that are made of old rail. The mainline is adjacent to the parking lot so I suppose the contractor saved a few bucks and used a scrap piece of rail.
I work for a steel fabricator and the proper term is BOLLARD. Many things were used in the past but we commonly sell 5 or 6" round pipe that projects out of the concrete about 4’. They are filled with concrete and then painted which gives them the rounded look at the top.
I would go to Plastruct and get some of their I-beams and cut them to the desired lengths and plant them in the layout or as you mentioned round stock to simulate iron or concrete filled pipes.I’ve seen the rail thing done before and it is neat but generally only a railroad related industry like some sort of shop would most likely have something like that not a general warehouse or business.