# Bumpers, car stops, etc., any plans available?



## noela (May 22, 2008)

Hi again,
I was wondering, is there anybody out there that has built their own end of track bumpers that look realistic, and are somewhat functional.
I've looked at a lot of the commercial ones, but, sadly, most of them look like toys, or have a European flair.
Any suggestion and/or direction is appreciated. I am going to have to make about 35 of them, for outdoor use, and left out.
Thank you.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

I model narrow gauge, so I didn't want anything real fancy.

I found these plans in Kalmbach's "Trackwork and Lineside Detail" and adapted them for my use.










I like them because they're very cheap and easy to make. I screw them to the track so they stay in place.









I wrote an article on how to make them: 
Making an End of Track Bumper


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I member on here made some nice outs out of Nails Check for post by Chaingun.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

I saw some nice looking ones from Tux craft. They are molded in concrete and look very nice I think. Though, perhaps too European? I think they fit also American railroads? 
You can paint them in desired colors. But perhaps the picure is inspiring enough for building some variants of your own? 

http://www.tuxcraft.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=30


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Tomar Industries make a nice wheel stop. Not a bumper but very nice looking.
Item G-803[/b]


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Here's a link to the bumpers that Ted (MLS - chaingun) made.

Hayes stile Track Bumpers[/b]


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Ozark makes some very nice cast metal wheel stops that are a model of a commercial prototype. 
Also for yard tracks, sidings, etc., railroad ties from a single one bolted across the rails to two set in an "x" pattern across the track to stacks were used. Many yards, the SP in Oakland, California for example, used a pile of ballast/gravel at the end of track at numerous locations. One such location was alongside the Nimitz Freeway by the 5th Avenue off ramp for those that live in the East Bay. I believe this small yard was/is called the desert yard. I saw cars more than once that were some distance up the pile because of being bumped or pushed too hard. 

Large more substantial bumpers were used only at passenger stations or sometimes the end of a major railroad's commute line. These were heavily reinforced and provided usually with some kind of buffer to minimize the chance of injury to passengers.


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Here are the photos that didn't work earlier. Tomar G-803 Hayes type wheel stops,metal castings.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

I've found some interesting stuf on westernsafety-1[/b]

Several types of bumper posts, including drawings westernsafety-2[/b] (scroll down until almost bottom).










Several wheelstops (and signs that goes with them): westernsafety-3[/b]









EDIT: don't know why pictures don't show.... In 'preview' everything looks OK, when you post it looks all messed up...
(Don't know what happened Paul, but I finally got things to work, SteveC)[/i]


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