Bachmann Specttum Passenger Cars.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi,

I have several Bachmann Spectrum passenger cars (HO) and here is the problem I have found with the trucks/couplers.

It appears that the trucks and couplers are some how connected. When the trucks turn so do the couplers. From time to time the trucks cause the coupler, (uncoupler pin on the bottom of the coupler) to some how get stuck in a tie or a rail.

I want to open the car up and some how disconnect this arrangment. However there is a problem getting the car apart in order to get to bottom of this problem.

I’ve tried to pry the body apart from the floor of the car but it just will not move. It seem the whole set of cars are like this. There are like 6 small tabs which look like that should be pressed in an that should do it be it will not come apart.

Any suggestion as how to get the car apart with destroying things. Their nice cars and run will.

Thanks

2

First I wuold check if those car derailing have sagging couplers that can be bent back up to the right height. Next I’d be sure that the trackwork is up to snuff as all couplers will derail and uncouple on poor trackwork. If you are absolutely certain that you wnt to disable this mechnicm take one last check to be sure that your curves are big enough to accomadate non swinging couplers. 30" radius should be about the smallest to allow prototypical body mounted ones. The mechanism works like this. There is a cam arm mounted on the truck so when it turns it pushs or pulls a link to the coupler box. If it is below the floor and I don;t think it is you can just cut through it with a pair of wire cutters or dermel tool. Do it in two places so the ends don’t bump each other. I would just do one until I was certain that solved the problem however. You can get to it by removing the body and I forget how they are parted. I think the roof comes off to allow access to the linkage. Or if you want to gamble just hang on to the coupler and turn the truck carefully. You may be able to break one of the mounting points without further need to do anything but this would be my absolutely last choice.

3

I change the couplers to Kadee and cut the trip pin short to avoid any snagging. I don’t use magnetic uncoupling, and passenger cars would never be uncoupled enough to need that feature, anyway.

4

As someone who has done a dozen of these cars over the years, let me tell you the best method…

Buy the coupler mounting pads made for these cars from Jay-Bee. Follow their instructions, and you will have a better car because of it.

To start, you have to pop the roof off. To do this, grab the car body with your left hand, then with your right you pry your thumb against the roof edge that is vertical to the car body (in other words, not the air conditioning duct, but the “normal” roof section). Twist, and the first tab should unlock. From there it’s easy to get the rest of the roof off.

Now, remove the light bar (which is a shoddy piece of work). It just snaps off once you remove the wires. I cut them because I’m not gonna light my cars with that thing. But don’t cut them too short…you may want to go back and add detection or your own lighting.

You now have access to the car body tabs that hold the floor and frame on. Using your fingers, pry the car side open while pulling up on the car body or pushing down on the car floor. They should pop off at this point.

If you want, you can remove the car interior from the floor. It’s only two small screws that hold it. You don’t have to, but it gives you more room.

The trucks and the coupler linkage should be plainly visible. The truck is held on by a screw. The coupler pocket is either a scew or it’s melted on (seriously). Either unscrew the pocket or break it off, depending on the car type. At this point, I cut the rivet that holds the truck tab to the linkage, and remove the linkage. I then put the tab back on the truck and screw it on.

Following the Jay-Bee instructions, drill out the coupler hole with a 1/8" bit. Now glue the mounting pad into the hole. Let it fully set before using the provided screws and a Kadee #5 coupler.

There is a little trick with couple height. The floor is all plastic on these cars, and they are usually bowed in some wa

5

An alternate method for removing the roof and attached clear plastic sides from the outer body and floor of cars:

  1. Push each holding tab away from the car side using a small flat blade screwdriver.
  2. Insert and leave a wood toothpick in the resulting gap between the car side and the tab to hold it open.
  3. Repeat 5 more times with add’l toothpicks.
  4. If roof hasn’t started to lift already, gently! use the flat blade screwdriver to pry the roof from the outer body until the roof and clear sides can be pulled free. Toothpicks drop away as parts separate.

Have done this successfuly many, many times with Spectrum, IHC, and Rivarossi passenger cars for lighting, interiors, weighting, trucks, and coupler work. Learned how to do it from an earlier forum posting. Good luck!

6

PAUL: Good info, as usual.

From what I heard from Chuck Walsh, the Sectrum cars had two different coupler pockets on two different runs, and the JB PADonly fit the earlier version.

I also agree that coupler hoses can be snipped off passenger cars since they generally run together as a ‘unit train’ and little is gained keeping them on, except problems. Ideally one should adjust all cars for consistant coupler height - THEN cut them off.

7

Don,
Thanks for the compliment. [:)] But I have to disagree with your assessment that generally passenger trains are “unit trains”…they really aren’t. Unfortunately, many model railroaders don’t take the time to figure out passenger operations, and too many of our brethren consider passenger trains to be an obstacle to be overcome rather than a means to an end.

Consider this: Passenger train consists varied by the train, day and date. On Mondays, a train would have 10 cars, and on Wednesdays, it would have 15…and not necessarily would all 10 cars from Monday would be used on Wednesday. Holidays would effect train consists, and so would the time of the year.

It just takes time to realize that not all coaches are created equal, nor would all sleepers be approprate for just any old sleeper train.

One can have a lot of operational interest in passenger trains…including a lot of switching.

Paul A. Cutler III

Weather Or No Go New Haven

8

Passenger cars I rode were coupled by shoving them together. I am unaware of any RR cars being magnetically un-coupled, or ‘humped’… Maybe, on the New Haven.

I enjoy being the car-man. Perhaps if I were more the executive type?

Meanwhile I only unhook RPO’s, and occasionally an Obs, (to turn) on my point/point.

9

i do exactly the same as davidvanw does.i put KD’S on a friends spectrum cars and practically every one of them were either to low or to high.had to use the undersets.nice cars for the price.terry…

10

These are decent cars for the money and they will run on a 22” radius. As pointed out removing the roof can be difficult. The wife got me a set for Christmas.
Has anyone changed out the incandescent lamps with LED’s? How about adding decoder to control the lighting? Both are on tmy list to work on.

11

Don,
How do you uncouple passenger cars with working diaphrams if you don’t have uncoupling levers? I have to use a bamboo skewer to hook the Kadee “hose” to open the knuckle as I can’t fit the skewer between the diaphams.

BTW, I also don’t recall steam engines being powered by electric motors, or sound effects for said steam engines coming from the tenders, or giant hands coming from the sky carrying a sharpened telephone pole that swoops in and jams it in between cars to pop the couplers open. IOW, there’s a lot of things we do as model railroaders that are compromises due to the scale involved.

As far as you only uncoupling the “end” cars (baggs and obs), you do realize that’s not exactly the most realistic thing to do? Where are your diners, coaches, or parlors? On some roads, the coaches were always on the rear, seperated from the parlors by the diner. Other roads kept the coaches on the front. This, in effect, kept the “riff raff” away from the extra-fare passengers…and never did the two mix. Either way, they were always set up to run the same way, every day. Either coaches in the front or in the back. Some trains had multiple diners, or grill/cafe cars for the coach passengers.

There’s a lot that can be done with passenger operations if model railroaders would only take the time to learn what can be done…

Paul A. Cutler III

Weather Or No Go New Haven