Gidday all,

A frustrated modeler here!

I have spent two unsuccessful hours tonight in trying to take the body off a single ended Trainorama 930-class loco.

I have:
1) removed the couplers
2) inserted card along the sides to release the sides.
3) taken the fuel tank off to provide a better "grip"

But alas, I seem unable to separate the body from the chassis. It has moved... the body is up 2-3mm but just doesn't seem to "give". There are a set of steps at the B-end. Are they attached to the body or chassis?

Appreciate any thoughts.

Dan

Have you removed the staff exchanger (if there is one) - that could possibly glued in?

Fortunately the one in my 930 just fell out when I was putting in a DCC decoder.

Wolfpac

Second the staff exchanger. Mine also accidentally broke off when lifting the shell (on at least one single and one double ended job, both on the right IIRC).

As above, staff exchangers. See below link.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mainnorth/44_Sound.htm

I remember my ones and others in the club have had super glue used on the staff ex to keep it in during assembly at the factory in the long tang be very careful

The staff exchanger 'box' always seems to be an issue with the TrainO SE 930s and trying to get the body to sit back down correctly after you have removed it is a right pain in the smeg. I've lost count of how many photos I've seen of these models with the nose sitting high and the front coupler sitting 'low' in the cut out in the cowcatcher. They just never seem to go back together right.

Cheers

The staff exchanger 'box' always seems to be an issue with the SE 903s and trying to get the body to sit back down correctly after you have removed it is a right pain in the smeg. I've lost count of how many photos I've seen of these models with the nose sitting high and the front coupler sitting 'low' in the cut out in the cowcatcher. They just never seem to go back together right.

Cheers

Thank you!  I thought I was the only one who couldn't get one of these back together properly...

I gave up in the end, had so many problems with my 930 that i converted it into a dummy.  It sits up the back of my layout out of sight most of the time now.

1) Remove couplers
2) Remove the handrails from the # 2 end.
3) Flare body out from chassis to ensure body isn't superglued to chassis. A few models (not 930s) have been like this.
4) Staff exchanger. The staff exchanger box has a feature which slides up into the body. The main issue is actually in regard to the cab floor. If you try to pull the body off with the staff exchanger, the cab floor will want to come up with it, but it should stay with the chassis. From memory the cab floor is glued to the chassis, and the staff is below the floor, so when removing the body from the chassis, things get bound up.

Reassembly is just as tricky around the staff exchanger housing.

If you can't grab onto anything, screw the front coupler screw in all the way and use pliers to pull on the screwhead (with care) and pull the chassis up away from the body. Sometimes doing this is necessary to break the glue bond that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I have had up to 3 people needed one day to get a body off, of a 930 this was a double cab version though. We followed the instructions to the letter but after a hour or so gave up in disgust. We came back to it a couple of hours later and with much pulling and wriggling we finally managed to get it apart. They are a pain in the you know where to get apart and reassemble properly though.

I have had up to 3 people needed one day to get a body off, of a 930 this was a double cab version though. We followed the instructions to the letter but after a hour or so gave up in disgust. We came back to it a couple of hours later and with much pulling and wriggling we finally managed to get it apart. They are a pain in the you know where to get apart and reassemble properly though.

Wow, amazing!

So... an update....

As suggested by Mansfield, I have removed the rear handrails. I still cannot budge the staff exchanger.

That said... the chassis is moving around the staff exchanger. BUT does not seem to be budging at the B-end.

It really seems that it is stuck at the b-end.

This is a massive frustration. So much so... I've decided to put it to one side and work on a different 930-class... one that took me a few moments to get the "lid" off! (admittedly, a double ended version!)

Fair dinkum... why should this ever be this hard....

Oh and some examples I have the glue used to secure the rear shunters step/ladder was spilled over to the body during assembly at the factory, joining the chassis and body. You might need to 'break the seal'.

Cheers

Okay..... UPDATE!

SO.... I put this nefarious little ba$t@rd to one side awhile ago, did two other double ended 930's with comparative ease.

The other day, I decided to go back to this nefarious so and so and have another go. As per a previous post, It seems that indeed glue was the culprit. I slide a thin blade between the chassis and the end of the loco. This seemed to give a bit of give. Eventually, POP off came the body and at long last, I could do my decoder installation. The problem was with a brass etch at the rear for what is probably to represent the coupler levers. The person assembling the loco was VERY generous with their use of glue!

So as far as instructions for dismantling...

1) You do NOT need to remove the staff exchanger. The body/chassis will move past the staff exchanger casting. YES this IS contrary to popular belief. (side note: On my first 930, I removed the staff exchanger box, but in subsequent (four), I haven't with no issues)  The cab interior "may" come out, but no issue.

2) The rear handrails do need to be disconnected from the body. This seems to be better than removing from the rear steps, though this may be six of one, half a dozen of the other. I found the handrails rather painful to re-install. I ended up letting the holes out a little with a 0.5mm drill.

3) I used the cast "tank" to hold the chassis with neddle nose pliers, while "flexing" the body. This worked really well.

4) While the chassis/body will separate around the staff exchanger, once dismantled, I altered the cab a little. Firstly, I cut off a little bit of "dash board" and ensured that the fireman and the headlight casting didn't foul the exchanger. You can't see this alteration. when re-assembled.

5) If there seems to be something stuck, then slide a thin blade between the body and chassis. I also used small pieces of card (like a business card thickness) to assist separating the body from the chassis. There are four lumps that "hold" the body on. Slide the card over these lumps to "release" the body.

These are my thoughts. Assuming that glue hasn't been splashed around, this loco is not that hard to dismantle, but it is fiddly. The conventional wisdom of removing the staff exchanger box is **incorrect** which is a prime finding. BUT having removed the body, life is easier if you alter the cab to facilitate easier replacement.

I really do not see why dismantling a loco should EVER be this hard!!!! The issue did seem to be the metal etch at the rear. It was glued to the Chassis? and excess glue then attached the body to the chassis. So now I've been able to dismantle the loco and install a fantastic Loksound ESU decoder!

Cheers! and Happy Australia Day!!!

What ever happened to the good old days when we only had 4 screws (same size) on the bottom of the loco to undo, then the top came off.

They can give us great looking locos but far from simple way of removing bodies.

Bring back the old ways I say.

What ever happened to the good old days when we only had 4 screws (same size) on the bottom of the loco to undo, then the top came off.

They can give us great looking locos but far from simple way of removing bodies.

Bring back the old ways I say.

Auscision seem to have achieved your wish with the 422 class loco....the body just pops off relatively easily; no screws....not even the couplers. Also, they used a cunning idea for the headlights (which are mounted in the body shell), so there are no wires to the lights from the main portion of the loco.

I think this is the way of the future.

For an exercise in real frustration, have a go at taking the body off a "recent" Powerline 48 class!!!

Roachie

Yeah well, as if to rub salt into the wounds.... After watching Australia snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the ODI Cricket game at the BEAUTIFUL Adelaide oval.... I decided to start on my last 930-class loco, another single ender (#930 itself for the curious). And BUGGER ME.... I had the body off in less than about three minutes. Most of the time spent carefully easing out the rear hand rails...

Go figure....


On the previous loco, I'd probably spent nearly three hours in total.... maybe more....

What a lottery....

Cheers!