Building a retaining wall with a 6' fence on top of it

[Dennis]

I need to remove an existing wood retaining wall and fence. I would like to replace it with a split face (8"x8"x16") masonry retaining wall 24" high by 51' long. On top of it I would like to install a 6' fence. I would like to use galvanized fencing pipe (12' length) instead of the typical 4"x 4" redwood. I am struggling with the size of the footing, amount of rebar, concrete in masonry units, even if this can structurally be done. I don't want this to blow down, or crack the mortar. I saw something on the web stating the the footing should be 2/3 the height of the wall I wasn't sure if this included the fence and retaining wall or just the retaining wall. Any help would be appreciated.

[Rich]

Sounds like it would be a very nice fence. I can give a few tips but the rest should be left to an engineer (Hope my old man didn't just hear that - he would strike me down).
The main thing I would use the engineer for would be the size of the footing.. as you say 2/3 sounds about right but is dependent on many other factors. Such as wind, depth of stemwall, etc..etc.
Typical spacing on rebar is 12" o.c. both ways. As far as being structurally sound - it sounds good depending on what the engineer says about the footing.
I realize that didn't really answer any of your questions and I apologize for that - but there are too many variables to even make a guess.