Foot Rests that disappear

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NP317
Posts: 4551
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Foot Rests that disappear

Post by NP317 »

Fifteen years ago I made foot rests for my Allen Ten Wheeler that stow and extend very simply. They have worked flawlessly over the years.
When I was building this first-for-me locomotive, those foot rests caused me much thinking-time to come up with a design that would simply disappear when not being used, while surviving the heavy foot-pounding they would likely receive. I like "clean" designs.
Several members of Kitsap Live Steamers have copied this simple design - and I'm sure others have independently arrived at the same ideas too.
I just made another set to install on the front of the tender of my Mikado, so I took some pictures to share, for those Folks interested.

First are two pics to show the foot rests on my Ten Wheeler:
FootRestsExtended -small.jpg
FootRestStowed -small.jpg
These finished parts are made to fit the tender-end casting for an Allen locomotive.
Outer tubing is 1" square x 1/8" wall steel. As wide as required.
Foot rest tubing is 3/4" square x 1/8" wall, with a 1/8" thick end piece silver brazed in place.
FootRestPartsComplete -small.jpg
Milling the slots in the main tube.
Milling the slots in the main tube.
The slots are 3/8" wide x length required to access mounting screws (#8-32 countersunk for flush mount) and for appropriate foot rest length.
The telescoping foot rest has a 3/8" diameter sleeve (1/4" long) screwed into a position to limit its movement in the slot. I used the same 8-32 screws for simplicity.

Assembled parts:
FootRestsOut -small.jpg
Construction notes:
-The outer 1" sq. tubing has a weld line inside. I milled the 3/8" slots through that weld line, so there remained only small end and center portions requiring removal using a long square file. That took some time, but welcome to machining. Then the inner tubing would easily slide in and out.
-The slot length provides access to the six 8-32 mounting screws for assembly (see pictures above), and allows the foot rests to move their appropriate length,while providing sufficient inner contact for strength.
-The actual positioning of those mounting screws may be dependent on clearances of the beam they are being mounted to. For the Allen casting I used, they are spaced from the ends of the outer tube at 1.5", 3" and 5.5". The slot length corresponds to those requirements.
-The 8-32 CS-head crews I used have heads 3/8" wide, allowing easy placement through the milled slot for assembly.

Have fun altering my ideas for your own uses. Hopefully these notes and pictures can help make your work faster and more fun.
And please do share your results here.
~RN
Last edited by NP317 on Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RCW
Posts: 430
Joined: Thu May 19, 2011 12:54 pm
Location: Valle de Oro, TX [near Amarillo]

Re: Foot Rests that disappear

Post by RCW »

Thanks for posting this!
--Bob
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NP317
Posts: 4551
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Foot Rests that disappear

Post by NP317 »

RCW wrote:Thanks for posting this!
My pleasure, Bob.
~Russ (another one...)
Brian Hilgert
Posts: 302
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:35 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Foot Rests that disappear

Post by Brian Hilgert »

That is slick! :D
utahwestie
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Salt Lake City, Ut

Re: Foot Rests that disappear

Post by utahwestie »

This is really nice, simple and well thought out foot peg setup. I think i'll use this design on my Mogul.

Thank you for posting.
~Anthony~
~Ex Pat Kiwi now living in Salt Lake City, Utah
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NP317
Posts: 4551
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Foot Rests that disappear

Post by NP317 »

Anyone who makes these, please post your results. I like to see what people construct.
~Russ
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