R2446 DCC ready how to remove body

[Steven-363407]

I have an R2446 Duchess of Montrose which is DCC ready and I want to get the body off. The service sheet is missing so I looked it up but it only shows an exploded view. The front screw seems to be missing and I removed the rear screw under the truck. For the life of me I can,t get the body to budge. Any help please?

[LTSR_NSE]

@Steven welcome to the forum.

This sub-section is only intended for posts about Hornby’s blog (titled The Engine Shed). If you click the 3 dots on the right side of the post you should be able to move it to the ‘General Discussion’ sub-section where more people will see it & be able to offer advice. Alternatively a mod may be able to do the move for you when they spot it.

Mod note - already did it whilst you were typing.

[Going Spare]

If your loco has a sprung drawbar gripping a pin at the front of the tender chassis, the Service Sheet* suggests the body should be held on by a long-shouldered cheese-head screw at the very front of the chassis block above the bogie and a short counter-sunk screw at the very rear of the block above the pony truck. After releasing the speedometer drive from the rear driving wheel, body and chassis should separate. The motor may be a tight fit so a slow but firm pull may be necessary, checking to make sure there are no wires trapped and keeping gripping fingers well away from the motion.

*The Service Sheet (223E) which ostensibly covers R2446 does not show this model as being DCC-ready - i.e. there is no socket fitted. Did you buy the loco new as DCC-ready (does it say so on the box)? If so, it may have a later chassis (hence asking about the type of drawbar), perhaps even with the DCC socket in the tender.

[5Dublo2]

I also spotted that Service Sheet 223E was apparently for R2446 and did not show DCC ready, however there are a number of internet records of R2446 having a DCC socket and the next Duchess service sheet (336) shows a similar chassis (including wired tender drawbar arrangement) that does have a DCC socket

Looks like both versions come apart in the same way so you'll have to get the body off to find out if it is really DCC ready.

Note: I have fitted a 6-Pin DCC socket into one of the 2004 Duchesses that was not DCC ready (and had the same tender drawbar arrangement) and was able to rest the decoder and socket (on extended wires) in underneath the chimney

[atom3624]

Some loco-drive Duchesses have a slotted-head screw beneath the smokebox (chimney), under the bogie, some have a same-type screw into the cab.

It's only one screw at one end, moulded pegs at the other.

Al.

[ColinB]

I don't think Hornby have changed the body design on the Duchess since the old tender driven days. That is how come it is so easy to upgrade the tender driven locos to loco driven, although a bit of filing is sometimes needed. Reason I say that is generally the body on all of them is held be two prongs on the front of the chassis and a single screw at the back. The way the single screw is used changes, on this one it is a long shouldered screw with a small thread at the bottom. Someone may have bodged this as those screws are extremely difficult to come by, make sure it is fully out. I have build loads of these from bits. The thing it might be (if it is not a speedo drive causing the issue) is the DCC decoder socket. On some Rebuilt Scots and Patriots the socket PCB is just too wide for a sensible fit into the body. You can push it in but the fit is so tight it won't pull out once it is fitted. Unfortunately if this is the case you sadly just have to use brute force and just make sure you don't hold onto to anything that will easily break.

[atom3624]

Hi Colin,

I've 4x streamlined, 3x 'rebuilt' Coronations, of various later (lamp brackets included) vintages, up to cab window deflectors and moving roof vents.

The majority have 2 pegs at the BACK of the chassis, a long screw into the front.

A couple have 2 pegs at the front and a screw under the cab.

Whichever way, it's pegs one end, one screw the other end.

Al.

[ColinB]

Sorry atom3624 you are right, I forgot that the streamlined ones are different. The ones I build are normally non streamlined. I do know that Hornby have changed the rear screw several times.