Help with MTH 0-27 Passenger Cars

try this page 44 & 45  and see if it matches your cars

http://mthtrains.com/sites/def...tion/30rtr12583i.pdf

Might help

JIM72VT,

I really appreciate your response and the link.  Unfortunately the cars I have appear to be a bit different.  These have only 2 screws on the chassis instead of the four.  When I tried removing those I did not feel a difference between the body and the chassis.  They may well be what's holding the body to the chassis, but I didn't want to apply any more force than I already have for fear of breaking something.  I'm sure it's something simple, but until I understand the correct process I didn't want to over tax anything.

But, thanks again for the effort.

Barry

Many thanks to Überstationmeister for the advice on the two under coupler recessed screws attaching the roof.  It still feels like I'm having to exert an undue amount of force to pop off the roof.  I'll keep trying, perhaps with some wood shims to work my way around the car.

Barry

Did you ever find a way to take them apart?

Dave,

Yes sir, what I found was that I was removing the wrong screws.  On the cars I have there are four screws ... one  under the coupler arms at each end of the car (which are the ones I was initially removing) and one closer to the trucks.  The pair to remove are the ones closer to each truck.  Once I removed the correct screws the top did pop right off and I was able to clean the cars and add passengers.

Hope this helps.

bd

Barry - would you mind taking a couple of pictures and posting how to open up these cars.  I'm a few weeks away from having to do the same thing (want to get my track down first).  I know I have a few burned out bulbs in my MTH O27 passenger cars that need replacing.

Perfect timing on this post. I just bought a few and was trying to figure out how to get the roofs off to put figures in them. Now to find the right size figures.

raising4daughters,

Attached are a few pictures, picture #2 shows which screws to remove at each end of the car (and which to not remove ... based on experience  ).  In picture #3 you can see the posts the two screws secure.  Once the two screws are removed the roof easily pops off. 

Michael,

Not sure if it works for you or not, but the passengers are a mix of the 1930's-1950's Little People by Golden Gate Depot and the MTH Passenger Car Figures (120 per bag, but undecorated) 30-11043.

Hope this helps.

bd

Thanks for posting. I'm sure I would've struggled like you and the others. Who'd have guessed those screws under the trucks have to be removed to take the roof off. Not intuitively obvious IMO.

Some of the cars need a twisting motion to pop the roof.  See attached Step 2

mort

Just got my Railking Rugged Rails Passenger Car set today from Mario's Trains and I can confirm that the method described above works.  Remove the two screws described and then twist the body as shown in Step 2 of that pdf and the roof pops right off.

John

Just taking a moment to thank all those who contributed to this thread.

This evening I could not figure out how to take the roof off of one of my MTH heavyweight Madison cars so I could get the lights to work again. This passenger car was an observation car so I really wanted to get access to the lights. I was befuddled until I did a Forum search and found this thread.

I simply followed the above advice, particularly that of barnum and his above photos, took out the correct screws, got the roof off and saw the the bulbs (I think they are Push In LEDs) had come out of their sockets. I put the bulbs, roof and screws back in place, and now the car and its lights work beautifully.

Thanks again, Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari

Arnold:

Make sure that you unscrew the 2 screws holding on the roof. They are NOT the ones at the ones that are easily visible at the under the coach vestibules. The roof screws are under the trucks and can be seen by turning the trucks to their extreme one way or the other. Once the screws are removed, try gently twisting the body of the coach the roof should pop loose at one end or the other.

@Randy Harrison posted:

@Arnold D. Cribari

Arnold:

Make sure that you unscrew the 2 screws holding on the roof. They are NOT the ones at the ones that are easily visible at the under the coach vestibules. The roof screws are under the trucks and can be seen by turning the trucks to their extreme one way or the other. Once the screws are removed, try gently twisting the body of the coach the roof should pop loose at one end or the other.

Yes, Randy,  I gathered that by looking at barnum's above photos and the bottom of my MTH passenger car.

@Randy Harrison posted:

@Arnold D. Cribari

Arnold:

Make sure that you unscrew the 2 screws holding on the roof. They are NOT the ones at the ones that are easily visible at the under the coach vestibules. The roof screws are under the trucks and can be seen by turning the trucks to their extreme one way or the other. Once the screws are removed, try gently twisting the body of the coach the roof should pop loose at one end or the other.

@Arnold D. Cribari

Arnold:

When I saw your question, I didn't realize that there was discussion ahead of the post with your question. My apologies.

Hi Guys: I picked up a used set of MTH Madison Cars from 1997 (set# 30-6240) with incandescent, "Christmas light" type bulbs. Only one of the cars has working lights. I checked checked the bulbs. Unlike Lionel PW, these plastic cars have brass Ground contactors that "rub" against the wheel axels of each of the two trucks. Does anyone have experience servicing these cars and getting the lights to work? Many thanks,

UPBOILERMAKER

Without seeing pictures, I believe the "brass ground contactors" that you are referring to are known as axle wipers and provide a ground connection through the wheels and outside rails for the lights to work properly.

First, check to make sure that neither of the wipers is broken or not in contact with the axle.

Second, check to make sure that there are no broken wires or wire connections anywhere in the vicinity of the wipers or at the bulbs. Because they rotate with the turning of the trucks, the wires get a lot of wear and stretching and the connections are easily broken.

Third, the wipers tend to get carbon, grease and dirt build-up where they contact the axles. Use some electrical contact cleaner to remove any discoloration and clean the axle and wiper thoroughly.

Finally, the wipers are easily bent and might not make contact with the axles. If so, they can be carefully bent back to make contact.

If all else fails and you are not satisfied with the lighting, you can always install LED lighting.

Thanks, Richie. Thinking that the wipers may be shot, I have emailed MYH parts to get a part number for replacement. The wipers, on the car that has working lights, extend below the plane of the axle. I'm thinking the others may be worn as they appear to be shorter.

I'd also clean the wheels thoroughly to make sure they're making good contact with the axle/wiper.

You can always make your own out of thin brass stock and some tin snips and a drill.

@UP Boilermaker posted:

Thanks, Richie. Thinking that the wipers may be shot, I have emailed MYH parts to get a part number for replacement. The wipers, on the car that has working lights, extend below the plane of the axle. I'm thinking the others may be worn as they appear to be shorter.

Lot's of dirt on the wheels. I'd start by cleaning the wheels and axles and wipers. You can remove the screw for the wiper and clean the fingers thoroughly. Finally check the wiper pressure against the axle, you can bend them slightly to increase tension and contact with the axle.

Clean the pick up rollers and lubricate everything well.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. Will do.

UPBOILERMAKER

Also a dab of electrically conductive grease where the axle wipe rides on the axle can be helpful.