Atlas EV caboose disassembly

Hah!  I just got two Atlas diesels from the museum with problems.  I have had them apart in the past, but cannot remember the trick.  Pulling the power trucks apart is trivial, sort of, but putting them back together requires special tools!  And if you think that is bad, try that coupler box.  These things are Rubic Cubes.

Four tabs should be visible from the bottom...gently pry these to remove the body from the underframe:

To remove the cupola, gently squeeze the highlighted area on both sides:

Matt

      Thanks Old Goat, that may be helpful. This caboose is a little different. It 

   doesn't have any roofwalks or ladders. I didn't even notice this until I got 

   it out of the box. It's an EV caboose but I think it is modeled after a newer

   caboose. I'm not sure if it comes apart differently or not. 

       Geoff

Did you look for the four tabs on your caboose??

If this is the caboose then the parts diagram should be identical.

Photos of your caboose would be helpful...or better yet, just call or email Atlas for help.

Thanks,

Matt

         Thanks Matt, that is the same style caboose alright. I finally managed to

    work the roof loose. There are eight barbed hooks on the roof section, four

    on each side.  The way they're situated there really aren't too many ways

    to push or pull on the body to make it come off any easier. I think it is easier

    if you completely remove the end pieces which are held on by 2 small screws.

    Other than that I just kept working the body and roof as gently as I could

    until one end finally popped up. I will definitely be taking a small file to 

    the barbs so it will be easier in case I ever have to do this again. I knew

    I was pushing my luck and am glad not to have broken anything. I found

    3 things that were loose inside that should be easy to fix with some super

    glue. I think these caboose's were made several years ago and maybe the

    caboose was stored somewhere too hot or cold and the glue gave out. Just

    a guess.  Thanks for the help, and you're right next time I should email

    Atlas.

             Geoff

Hi Geoff, Wow, it look's like your cabeese took some real hard slack action. I hope your brakie didn't suffer any serious injuries. Is that the bathroom that became un-attached? Yeah, Atlas stuff is really well built, but once you got it apart, things look to be easily re-attached. 

     Don't know if that is the bathroom or not, but I'd guess it is. I'm actually

   kind of glad I needed to get inside it now, although if I'd broken something

   that wouldn't have been the case! I've never been inside a real EV

   caboose so it's interesting to see the details inside this model. I think

   the raised door is interesting also. It must be so you can tell if someone

   is in there. There is a small vent on the roof on the other side of cupola

   from the stovepipe. It is directly over this so I'd bet it's a bathroom 

   vent. 

        Geoff

Watch out for the spring-loaded doors!  I lost a door spring when i took mine apart.  Just glued it shut.

      Thanks Jim, the doors were another surprise for me. I didn't realized 

   they opened at all. Luckily I got it all back together without damage. I

   really like the EV caboose and this is a nice model. It'll be a few months

   before I get my track built so I can actually run this caboose. 

        Geoff

        Here's a pic of the caboose back together.  Now all I need is to get

    busy and get the track finished so I can actually use it!

        Geoff