DIY Penn Central Handrail Project.

Greetings and welcome back to the Ralston Creek shops for this installment. This project was started as a rescue from the "Purgatory Box". I bought this shell from one of Caboose Hobbies famous "Junque Sales" back in the late Eighties. It languished for almost thirty years until I pulled it out for its time to shine.

The subject at hand is a 1/87th Athearn model of a Penn Central (PRSL) GP38, #2010.

The PRSL was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad and later the Penn Central. Looking for replacements for their aging Baldwin switcher fleet, the PRSL ordered several batches of GP38's.
PC 2010 was part of the last batch, ordered after bankruptcy in 1970.

By order of the Bankruptcy Trustee's, the order was diverted to the Penn Central in the fall of 1970.
Some facts about PC #2010. It was ordered without the dynamic brake feature. Had dual cab controls and extended cab. It was equipped with the newer paper box filter. It was delivered with PC noodle logos but Pennsy gold road numbers. I decided the 2010 would be the inspiration for my long lost GP38 shell. One note, I did not add the extended cab feature to my model. 18 scale inches didn't seem worth the extra brain damage to model the extended cab. Otherwise it is true to the prototype.

 The biggest challenge to complete the project was #2010 did not come with handrails. After watching some YouTube videos, I took on the bold move to bend my own handrails. Here's the base material for my project. .016 diameter brass wire. Soft enough to bend, strong enough to hold its shape. I had a factory set of GP38-2 handrails to use as my guide for my replacement set.

The first phase involves the long hood of the locomotive. I had several leftover stanchions from other projects. New stanchions are available directly from Arrow Hobbies. The two sizes you'll need for most projects is the 5/8" Medium Stanchion and the 9/16" Short Stanchions. The uneven appearance of the handrail is easily straightened with pliers after they are set.

The Fireman side is next. Again the wavy appearance is easily straightened with careful plier adjustments.

Next challenge, the front cab handrails.

A close up of the bends with the wire. I use a factory original as my guide to make the bends.

A front view of the Engineer Side of the cab. The brass is very forgiving to mistakes and will let you make adjustments if needed.

Some more wire bending using the factory handrail as the template for the new brass one.

A view from the Fireman Side of the Cab. Slow and steady is the call of the day, with this project.

Some tools of the trade. You will need two pair of pliers to make your bends and adjustments. I started off with using Super Glue to keep all of my work together. I later found clear nail polish worked better and was more flexible and forgiving. (Nail Polish courtesy of my Daughter.)

The completed end rails. I'm glad that I finished the project with the end rails. For me, this was the most challenging part of the project. I would have given up on it, had I started with them first.

Some shots of the glued and painted handrails. From the Purgatory Box to a 1/87th scale replica.

With the addition of some more details, windows and number boards, Penn Central #2010 will soon be placed in revenue service and join the fleet.

Thank you for reading! I hope this will help inspire other rescues from the "Purgatory Box".