Disassembling Bachmann Mk1 coach Options

[Drewfield]

I am trying to take a coach to pieces to add passengers / lighting. Found a useful article at http://trains-of.blogspot.com/2008/02/bach...ssembly_20.html so managed to remove bogies and undo three screws. The centre of each coach is now loose(ish) but both ends are stuck firm ... perhaps due to some unseen clip somewhere.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Drew

[34C]

The body shell clips onto the chassis, easing the sides outwards will release. (No screws to undo as far as I can recall.) Small slips of card to prevent clips re-engaging are a useful aid. Check the coach ends too for the wire representations of the handrail/filler pipe, and release one end of any that bridge body and chassis.

[Drewfield]

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately the body shell remains firmly stuck to the chassis for about 15mm at both ends. The pipework at both ends now seems to be firmly glued in place so would require neat cutting if and when I solve the first problem!!

[34C]

My error, apologies; it has been a long time since I took one apart, had to look in my notes.

The vehicle ends stay with the chassis. Usually the wires come out of the ends relatively easily, and with less chance of leaving visible evidence than freeing from the roof. The sides are rather tight at the ends, and sometimes there is a just a little adhesive bonding that has to be broken out. The three screws on the underside hold the interior seating and partitions moulding in place, slacking these helps with body removal. Getting at the two at either end requires the bogies to be removed, and the close coupling mechanism to be moved aside - avoid unhooking the springs. When you have the body off you will discover that the sides clip (firmly) onto the roof also.

[Drewfield]

Success! Many thanks for the further advice. After a good deal of gentle persuasion, the various pieces came apart. There was some adhesive bonding that needed breaking. In fact, that was the most difficult part. Next time, I think I will concentrate more on the roof which comes off (relatively) easily and then the interior can be wriggled out.

Now I need to concentrate of detailing the inside. Curtains for First Class, I would think!!

Many thanks again.

Drew.

[geoffwba]

Does the coach roof come off easily? The first one I have tried seems reluctant to do so!

[34C]

I have never found it that easy, and would be rather concerned about doing visible damage to the well finished body sides or roof gutter, which is why I go for removing the sides and roof as a single piece. Once this is off the chassis, then it is then much easier to unclip the sides from the roof. (Small scuffs on the chassis side members from releasing the body sides are very easy to conceal, as this area is always pretty weathered on my coaches, the carriage cleaning plant didn't clean the chassis solebars to any extent.) But there are others out there who do it this way, so it clearly isn't impossible.

[Drewfield]

In the end, with useful advice from several people, I used my nail to ease the sides from the base, and stuck in strips of an old credit card to keep the gap open.
Then I went to work on the ends with a small screwdriver and fingernail. With a lot of wiggling and sweating, it all eventually came apart without damage to the fine detail. Beginner's luck, perhaps .

[Graham Plowman]

One would have thought that in this day and age, models would be designed to be dismantled easily, exactly for the purpose of fitting passengers!

Graham Plowman

[MikeDunn]

Could it be the mfrs are

• thinking that children will easily break them if they do

• thinking that where they have crafted an interior, they don't want 'bungling amateurs' messing it up

• something I can't think off at the moment

• all of the above

But I agree, making them more than normally difficult is just asking for complaints from modellers, especially when the interior is pretty basic !

But the same goes for DCC-Ready loco bodies - sometimes they can be an absoute pain to remove & the space left for a chip can be ludicrous ...

That reminds me ... I need to have another look @ a tender-based chip I fitted ... not happy with the way it went back together, as one of the wheel pairs seems to miss the track quite often due to said space limits !

Mike

[34C]

On the positive side, in 50-some purchases of Bachmann mk 1 corridor coaches, I haven't had a single assembly fault or subsequent damage in transit causing any component to be detached or displaced, so the robustness is good. The very solid assembly with positive engagement of the lower body side the full length of the chassis, means that the curvatures that can be seen in bodysides and solebars of Bachmann's earlier design mk1 non-corridor and Thompson vehicles are eliminated. These earlier designs have a more easily removed clip fitting bodywork; but if the trade is slightly more difficult disassembly for significantly better appearance, that's a trade I will happily make. Moreover the disassembly is less likely to leave visible evidence than with the earlier design, and they snap back very positively 'all-square', essentially looking exactly as new in terms of fit and finish. Net, I perceive that as progress.

The manufacturers are hardly likely to worry about what we do to them post sale. The prospect of our ruining them doing modifications must fill their hearts with glee, potentially more sales!

[MikeDunn]

The manufacturers are hardly likely to worry about what we do to them post sale. The prospect of our ruining them doing modifications must fill their hearts with glee, potentially more sales!

Ah, but if the carriage 'pops off' the chassis at a glance, then they'll have a lot of returns, complaints, and no re-sales !

[geoffwba]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I have successfully taken one coach apart and put some people inside. I hope I can put it back together now.
The only downside I suppose is that it will look a bit strange when the coach is in the carriage sidings! Mind you, I have heard stories about people falling asleep and then waking up in a carriage siding.

[Drewfield]

Why not add some lights whilst you've got the roof off? They really add atmosphere and show up the passengers well.

[SGP]

The dismantling gripe also rings true with locomotives. A lot of manufacturers locos are damaged when disassembling to fit chips. Surely a chip could be made to plug into the bottom of belly tanks of diesels?
Anyway, regarding Bachmann Mk1 coaches, is it only me that is displeased with them? The early batches (A / B suffix) were great ... no problems and a scale height of 49.5mm. Later ones (C / D etc) were 1mm too high and very noticeable to my eyes. They look too high against a loco and you get a staggered effect if you mix them up. The worst problem (which only seems to effect my E suffix coaches /all liveries) is that they are curved upwards / humped like a camel and when close coupled the corridors touch at the top but not at the bottom. A steel ruler / straight edge confirms that the centre of the coaches are bent upwards at the centre by nearly 2mm but is very noticeable to the naked eye anyway.
I did buy all my models from one shop, but would indicate a bad batch rather than the shops storage, as the other (older suffix) coaches bought at same time seem to be unaffected.