Topics:

Bachmann Archbar Truck with outside brakes

Bachmann Framed Tank Car

Bachmann 3000 Series Box Car

Bachmann Dropside Gondola

Accucraft Tank Car

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Disassembling A Bachmann Archbar Truck with outside brakes

Turn the truck upside down. The brake detail is molded in plastic as a single piece. It is held in place by four pins that extend into holes in the cross member. Using a small screwdriver gently pry one side about half way up to loosen it. The screwdriver is leveraging on top of the other side of the brake detail so it will not come all the way out. Turn the truck around and insert the screwdriver under the other side of the brake detail. This time twist the screwdriver so the flat of the blade lifts the detail up. Do not press lever down as it will just push the first set of pins back into place. The detial should now be loose enough to lift off.

Flip the truck back over and remove the side frames by unscrewing the four bolts in the top. These can be torqued in pretty hard and will round out if not loosened first.

using a small set of needle nose pliers grasp the outside of the screw head and turn it at least one full rotation. Finish with a number 2 Phillips. This may sound big but the large blades will help keep the screw head from stripping.

With the side frames removed lay them down with the inside facing up.

Use a small hobby screwdriver to catch the spring at about the 1/3 way from the bottom. Compress the spring toward what would be the top to the frame and gently pull it over the nub in the bottom. Leave it resting on the lip and quickly move the screwdriver to the inside of the spring. Apply gentle pressure and the spring will come out guiding along the shaft of the screwdriver. This is way better than having it shoot across the room or bounce under the work area. But it is your preference.

With both springs removed bring the top of the mount to the middle of the truck and twist it gently  toward the outside of the frame.

When reassembling the trucks I have found that a drop of Elmer’s White glue is more than adequate to keep the screws tight. It can be removed by soaking the truck in warm water for a few minutes.

Disassembling A Bachmann Spectrum Framed Tank Car

With the domes made I needed to dismantle the tank car. Like most Bachmann products there is very little glue. Construction is done with screws or press fit. Not all of the screws are visible in the beginning. The truck screws do not go through to the tank. They are only attached to the frame. With the trucks removed I could see that the frame was held on by a screw at each end and the tank held together with two other screws located beneath the frame webbing. You can see about half of those holes in the second figure.

In addition to the screws the tank is held to the frame by the brake chain, tank bands and screws at the base of the ladders. I removed the chain from underneath since it required me to bend the last link open. The bands are attached using a small plastic pin. I will have to glue these when I am ready to reassemble. They are probably a press fit but I could not get mine to pull out. Others may have better luck so I recommend trying.

Tiny screws hold the ladders and walkways on. You can see them at the blue arrows in the first picture. The top of the ladders are held on with plastic tabs under the walkways. These are passed through holes in top of the ladders and then melted. The handrails are  two pieces passed through loops in the ladder frame and then held on by the stanchions. The stanchions are press fit and can be pried out gently. The last piece is pressed in as shown in the bottom picture. Removing all of these will allow the frame to be separated from the tank.

To get the tank apart remove the two large screws in the deep recessed holes. The walkway is secured inside of the tank by three screws along the center line. With these removed it will lift out with the coupler chains still attached.

 

Disassembling A Bachmann Spectrum Box Car

 

Disassembling A Bachmann Spectrum Drop-side Gondola