MRG Car Top Rails

What car top rails are

Car top rails (also called car top railings or car top fall protection) are guard rails on the top of an elevator car that protect the mechanics who work there. Suppliers and inspectors also call them car top handrails, top-of-car safety rails, and car top guardrails. Whatever the name, the intention is the same: protecting a worker from the fall hazard that exists at the edges of the car top. ASME A17.1/CSA B44 requires a standard railing on the car top in both the United States and Canada, on passenger elevator cars and freight elevator cars alike.

MRG builds them in two configurations. Which one your car needs comes down to one thing: overhead clearance.

Fixed or collapsible: the overhead decides

One question sorts it: does the car’s overhead clear a railing at full standard height?

Fixed (Model TOC-F). Adequate overhead (new installations and existing cars with room) takes a fixed rail at full standard height, with no moving parts, no safety switches, and no controller work. → MRG Fixed Car Top Rails, Model TOC-F

Collapsible (Model TOC-C). Low overhead that won’t clear a fixed rail takes a stowable rail: it deploys to full height for car-top access and folds flat in normal service, with position-monitoring switches, under the code’s alteration provisions. → MRG Collapsible Car Top Rails, Model TOC-C

The overhead survey decides. Not sure which your car needs? Send your survey dimensions with a quote request and we’ll tell you.

On retrofit portfolios, the two are frequently ordered together. Different cars in the same building need different rails, and the survey sorts them. MRG makes both, so one source covers the whole portfolio.

What every MRG car top rail shares

MRG does not certify code compliance for your installation; the authority having jurisdiction does. What we do is engineer rails to your surveyed dimensions and the requirements that apply to the unit.

Tell us about the car and we’ll tell you which rail it needs.

Send us what you have: survey dimensions, drawings, or photos from your mechanic’s visit. We’ll confirm fixed versus collapsible and quote it.

Frequently asked questions

What are car top rails?

Car top rails are guard rails on the top of an elevator car that protect mechanics working there. ASME A17.1/CSA B44 requires a standard railing on the car top, on passenger and freight elevator cars. MRG builds them fixed or collapsible, depending on the car’s overhead clearance.

Fixed or collapsible: which one does my car need?

The overhead survey decides. Adequate clearance for a full-height rail → fixed (TOC-F). Low overhead that defeats a fixed rail → collapsible (TOC-C), under the code’s alteration provisions. Send survey dimensions with your quote request and we’ll confirm which one the car needs.

Do MRG car top rails ship to all locations in the US and Canada?

Yes. MRG car top rails ship to all locations in the United States and Canada, ready to install, with lead time quoted on each order.

When is a car top rail required?

ASME A17.1 and CSA B44 require a standard railing on the car top where the gap between the car top edge and the hoistway wall exceeds the code threshold of 300 mm, which is about 12 inches. Beyond that gap there is a fall hazard that must be guarded. The requirement applies to passenger and freight cars in both the United States and Canada, and in Ontario it reaches existing cars through TSSA Director’s Order 245/10. The overhead survey then decides whether the car takes a fixed rail at full height or a collapsible rail.