Conrail boxcar door grabs help (HO)

[Ted Thorson]

The picture of CR 171013 below was posted on Trainorders by Marty Bernard; he was kind enough to allow me to post it here.  I was thinking about modeling this car in HO using a Branchline kit.  In looking at the picture I noticed the yellow grabs(?) on the outside of each door.  I haven’t seen anything like this before, I’m wondering if it is just a straight small diameter bar welded or screwed to the door, or are there brackets at the top and bottom?  Can anyone give me the details on these items?

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[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'd recommend looking through these to see if you can find any good oblique photos: https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/galleries/class-800-series-ex-nyc-cars

[dem34]

At the other photos it looks like a plate with a handle bolted the door instead of a grab.

[Ted Thorson]

Thanks Ed, those were very helpful.  Al, I think you are right, there is a plate shaped to conform to the door that the grab is part of.  It is easier to see in this pic at Ed’s link:
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/cr-170546-class-857b

How the heck do I model that?  Fake the contoured portion of the plate with paint?  I definitely shouldn’t have looked at that first picture so closely… 

[dem34]

In HO its a little more forgiving, yes, I personally would paint it. add the appropriate resin rivets then mark a strip of styrene the appropriate length of the handle with the distance of the ribs then carefully notch then round file until it sits flush above the ribs over the plate.

You could try foil but I feel that's going into the territory of vastly diminishing returns for effort.

[Spades]

Would painting a rectangle to represent the plate and a piece of fine wire glued in the middle also painted be the easiest way?

[dem34]

Would painting a rectangle to represent the plate and a piece of fine wire glued in the middle also painted be the easiest way?

While I think one could get away with it in N, the wire being proud of the ribs would be more noticeable in HO.

[Spades]

Take a fine sharp new blade and gently score where the wire goes until the piece of wire is recessed to your liking.  Mask an area the size of the plate and paint.

[Lemosteam]

That larger yellow plate is formed to the door (maybe cut from a scrapped door?) with a similar vertical rib stamped in the center.  the second grab on the other door us a u-channel, with a rod acrosss the u.  were folks required to use some form of hook to open a door with the second one?

You could use putty to form the vertical bump and then mask off the rectangle and paint. The second one is easy with some brass channel and a wire, with the legs of the cannel chamfered up to the wire from the bottom of the U.

[Ted Thorson]

Thanks for all the good suggestions.  I agree foil is probably not the way to go.  Painting the rectangle is probably the best idea, but I also might try some modeling paper I bought some time ago to do covered flatcar loads.  I might be able to cut a rectangle and get it to form over the model’s door.

[cv_acr]

Thanks Ed, those were very helpful.  Al, I think you are right, there is a plate shaped to conform to the door that the grab is part of.  It is easier to see in this pic at Ed’s link:
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/cr-170546-class-857b

How the heck do I model that?  Fake the contoured portion of the plate with paint?  I definitely shouldn’t have looked at that first picture so closely… 

I'm not sure that's the case...

There's definitely a vertical bar (which looks like a solid piece, not a "wire" grab on the last example) with a top and bottom horizontal reinforcement/securement, making a large "I" shape, and the yellow square is just painted on the door around it. I don't think there's any actually additional plate surface-welded to the door.

[wazzou]

I'm not sure that's the case...

There's definitely a vertical bar (which looks like a solid piece, not a "wire" grab on the last example) with a top and bottom horizontal reinforcement/securement, making a large "I" shape, and the yellow square is just painted on the door around it. I don't think there's any actually additional plate surface-welded to the door.

I agree with this.

[nickelplate759]

Is that bar for a machine to push on to slide the door?

[wazzou]

Is that bar for a machine to push on to slide the door?

Based on the "push here" labeling, I'd think you could surmise that, but the lack of any scarring or rust is confusing too.

[Ted Thorson]

This photo at Ed’s link makes me think it is a plate:
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/cr-146476-class-883b

Also this one:
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/index.php/photos/cr-170546-class-857b

Edit: This is interesting- different door, but a similar feature?  Doesn’t necessarily look like plates?
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/cr-173670-class-862b