castle class

[peteb]

can anyone help me how do l take the body of a Castle class loco ????????

 

[Baz48]

Hi Pete, Firstly there is a Maintenance Instruction sheet on the hornby website for Castle 4-6-0 locos, this can be downloaded, just go to the"help and advice" section.- This will take you through the procedure.- However I have stripped my Castle down several times so here goes, firstly you need a clean work area , you must store all the screws etc carefully and note which goes where! -Turn the loco upside down, remove the small screw which holds the bogie in position, then carefully slide out the bogie, this will reveal a further small screw which holds the body and also the bogie spring, (a strip of metal), then remove the screw at the rear of the loco (under the cab), the two piece drawbar/s can now be removed, note which way these must go back, then remove the helix spring which is part of the drawbar assembly, then carefully remove the body from the chassis , it is a top tip to use a bit of sticky tape to hold the cylinder block assembly in position or you may find it drops of and is a bit fiddly to put back. The reverse is straightforward however the fiddly bit is replacing the drawbars back under the helix spring (under the cab) and locating the holding screw through the drawbars and the helix type spring. - I hope this helps, this operation sounds harder than it is, but it does require a bit of care and patience. Best Regards, Barry.

[GWR LNER fan 4472]

Also, depending on which model you have, you might need to unscrew the tender from the loco and getting the decoder plug out can be difficult and be carefull not to snap any wires. Good luck!

[peteb]

thanks GWR & LNER fan