There have been several posts on the new Lionel 21 inch passenger cars. I picked mine up from my good friends at Eastside Trains on Saturday. While at the shop, we did a quick inspection of the 2 car pack , they looked fine and took the four car and two car set home. I did find that a few of the windows on the dome passenger cars has dislodged. I thought it would be a quick fix to add some glue to re-secure them. That part was super easy, however I did have trouble removing the car body shell from the frame. While, there are just four screws attaching the body, the glue from the windows (John Rowlen in another thread said that it was double sided tape, which looks correct).
hopefully this tip will help you safely remove the car bodies. John;s threads on detailing the interiors has given me some inspiration to add some figures and do some painting as well. I suspect that many plan on doing that as well.
First, in order to break the bond from the tape, I inserted a thin spackle knife between the body and shell, as you move he knife along, this gives enough room to put a small piece of wood in between as a spacer. I used coffee stir sticks (this is the Dome car). I suggest not putting the knife down more than 1/4 inch. I used the plastic tray that the car came in and places a towel over it to help support and steady the car.
Here you can see the stir sticks put in place. I did both sides along the full length of the body.
After you get the wedges in and the glue separated, gently, using pliers, lift the frame out of the body at the screw hole putting using the metal frame.
This next shot shows where I grabbed the metal frame.
Work both sides and all four screws and you should have no trouble getting the shell separated from the frame.
The next slide shows the glue inside the car body (shown upside down). The tape was probably too wide. I tried to scrape it off, but that did not work. I probably will put some was paper between the car and body to make it easier to open next time. Also, since there are no brackets holding the windows in place at the top, glue needed to be applied. (note: These are the windows directly below the domes).
This next shot shows the brackets holding in the windows at the top which I think how all of the other windows are done.
Hopefully this guide will help you open your cars easier. I like the cars a lot and hope you do too!
