Hand Rail Stanchions... A Suitable Candidate for 3D printing?

I think fir some of them I'd have to send pieces.   I think this tender got dropped or something, many of the stanchions are broken.

I see the point of plastic stanchions that is without question and I don't doubt the need for replacements. I removed the hand rails from the grand kids Polar Express locos to get the plastic stanchions. The kids don't miss them and likely it makes the loco safer for kids.  However on several of my TMCC conversions which have metal stanchions I used the hand rails for antennas.  All I did was to drop down a couple thousands on the handrail wire diameter.  I then gave the wire two coats of polyurethane either clear or black and allowed a couple of days for it to fully cure then very carefully slip it into the stanchions.  I then confirm the handrail is insulated from the boiler with a VOM.  This does rule out using the claw from the sky method of lifting locomotives as you don't want to press the handrails hard against the holes in the stanchions.   When possible I spin a dull slightly oversize drill bit to chamfer the edges of the hole in the stanchions and insure they don't scrape the paint off.  If you don't have a dull bit spin a sharp one backwards. A small conical diamond grinder point will also work.           j

I wanted to share what I received in the mail today from @AlanRail.  Yes...it's the Vandy tender hand rail stanchions!  I am very grateful for Alan's kindness, craftsmanship and extraordinary attention to detail. Well done Sir!

From the handcrafted box to the perfectly designed stanchions (the measurements taken from my last two unbroken ones) I can now fix this tender that has been on my shelf for twenty years! Talk about bucket list..   I still have painting and placement to do. 

John

Wow, just the hand crafted box is something, not to mention the stanchions!

John

Thanks but my GlowForge Laser Cutter did most of the heavy cutting and scoring.

The GF actually has a "Cardboard cutting and scoring" setting built into the GF software.

    So nice and no fires!! 

Alan, the box is just so "classy", pretty cool!

Alan, I suspect when the Forum catches wind of this your local post office may have to put on extra shifts...

John

i could not believe my eyes when I saw the postings on Alan's stanchions for the Vanderbilt tender.  I have a Lionel 18056 TMCC NYC locomotive and tender that needs the two different size stanchions.  The original Lionel plastic stanchions were terrible about breaking off and the replacement stanchions were worse than the originals.  Are any of the new resin stanchions available from Alan?

@J611Man I'll probably have some left over. I'll try to contact you through your profile email.

John

These are really nice looking.  Thanks for sharing.

John Meyncke'

Thanks for the "heads up".  You should be able to reach me without difficulty.

Mission accomplished ... 3d stanchions installed. Perfect fit! Sturdier than the originals but use common sense when lifting!

John

john

They look good. If anyone needs them, let me know in Private Message.

alan

Fantastic Job Alan!  I'm in... and, PM'd.  Thank You!

Shout Out to Alan on my Vandy Stanchions... I just received them!  Beautiful... Fabulous work!!!  Better than the originals (and, way better than the replacements).

Thank You Alan!!!

Just received the stanchions for my UP tender, I can finally fix it!   The packaging is a hoot, even the text is laser printed!  There there's the custom holder for the individual stanchions, very professional!

I do have a question.  I was thinking about the best way to paint these black, and I wondered if maybe a dunk in India Ink would be a good way to do a permanent coloring without adding bulk.

John, I just used a tiny brush and a bottle of Floquil steam black I had laying around. A light touch did the trick. No bulk or globs that I can see. Look at my post above to see the stanchions installed.. it's easy  and I was satisfied with the result. I did not paint the base tabs. By the way...cool box!

John

I don't have any paint lying around as I'm not much of a painter.  I figured the India Ink wouldn't add any thickness to the inside of the railing holes.

I knocked a handful into the box... this is seriously nuts Alan!!!!

This makes me tempted to get a 3D printer, but I don't have the time to learn to use it, and probably no room to set it up!  However, it certainly is a cool tool!

John,

My concern would be ink coverage on plastic. I think a black sharpie would work easier for you. Make a pass with the pen. Let dry. Repeat.

See if that works.

John

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I don't have any paint lying around as I'm not much of a painter.  I figured the India Ink wouldn't add any thickness to the inside of the railing holes.

I'll bet I'm a worse painter than you John!  Is Indian Ink indelible?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

This makes me tempted to get a 3D printer, but I don't have the time to learn to use it, and probably no room to set it up!  However, it certainly is a cool tool!

I didn't have time either... and, I still don't ...but, I do have TPU tires!

@Dennis-LaRock posted:

I'll bet I'm a worse painter than you John!  Is Indian Ink indelible?

Yep, it should be indelible.

I wonder if a quick dip in Acetone and then a dunk in Indian ink would do the trick?

Well...I suppose as a last resort you could ship them to me in California, I paint ' em and ship them back...what do you figure THAT would cost us? 

John

It's Holding (well, it's not coming off on my fingers or the stanchion).  Swished in acetone to clean it, let dry for a couple of minutes... then, an indelible magic marker and let it sit for 10 min.

Outstanding!  That's  why they call them "Magic Markers"...

John

I did do the bottom collar but 'not' the stub that goes into the tender either John... I think it will be easier to see and install that way.  Touch up would certainly be a breeze!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Alan, the box is just so "classy", pretty cool!

Alan’s boxes are collectors items. Worth more than the contents. Pass them on to your heirs.

Pete

My box is NOT for sale! A legacy heirloom for sure...

John

Now that is sweet!

Mike

Does the box have an automatic dispenser included? LOL. Nice job in total.  Pat B.

Alan saved me as well!

During COVID, i had a bad time finding parts from the best parts suppliers, including a headlight for one of my switchers. Alan could not have been nicer as I sketched the shape and dimensions and before I knew it, I had 2 boxes of headlights (and the custom boxes)!

https://ogrforum.com/...team-switcher?page=8

Alan is saint!

Tom

Thank you to all of your reply's and to Alan I sent an email

@AlanRail posted:

The top of the eyelet is flattened due to the printer having some surrounding resin present when the top of the eyelet is being lasered.  So the issue is solved by re-orienting the print at a slight angle.

Alan, those stanchions are simply remarkable. Great work.

i will print any sort of stanchion that was made (in scale); but I need dimensions for them

I have the dimensions for the ones John wanted for the sloped tender and the Vandy ones.

If yours are not the same, send me dimensions in decimal (not fractions) inches or send me a sample piece to measure.

Alan how do I go about purchasing the vandy tender stanchions from you . I am in desperate need if you printed them already .

thank you

Anthony

Anthony

OGRR rules do not allow me to sell in these threads.

email me or send me a private message.

thanks

Alan