How to open Lionel PS-2CD Covered Hoppers to add weight?

Bumping this to increase visibility and see if anybody has any ideas.

Instead of opening them could you put lead fishing weights into the small hatches? My first thought was uncooked lentils, but I can see long term issues with that.

I would certainly consider that, but I cannot figure out how to even open the hatches. They seem to be secured somehow near where the handles are, but the handles don't want to move either/I'm worried they'll break.

@bigboy25 posted:

Bumping this to increase visibility and see if anybody has any ideas.

No bumping your own thread!

Okay, so I have figured out how to open these cars. You need to use a flat head screwdriver to get the tabs to pop out. From there, you can access the four screws that hold the roof in place. Be sure to pull out the two tabs on the end of the body to prevent them from scratching the paint as the roof comes off. From there, you can add anything inside that you’d like!

@bigboy25,

Thanks for completing the post with your solution.  Often a question will be posted, and I suspect a solution may have been discovered, but nothing gets posted.  So when you do a search on that topic, and find a useful thread, and then get to the end it is a bummer.

@texgeekboy, thank you for your reply. I have certainly experienced the same from time to time. I try to share knowledge when I can as I have gained a lot from this forum over the years.

Not sure what I’m seeing in the uncovered, open photo. Did you screw weights into the drop chutes? Or is that how it’s produced, and you will be adding more weight?

@Mark V. Spadaro,

I thought the same thing, but since I'm still getting my feet wet I thought it would be a dumb question!

@texgeekboy posted:

@Mark V. Spadaro,

I thought the same thing, but since I'm still getting my feet wet I thought it would be a dumb question!

Not a dumb question. Those are the factory weights in the bottom of the bays and they're similar to how Atlas does their PS4427 covered hoppers. With the Atlas cars, you have to carefully pry off the entire roof using a knife blade along the car sides. I had one where one of the weights came loose and was flopping around in the car. I actually like Lionel's approach better.

@bigboy25,

Mark and Matt have a point.  Are the weights in your picture from Lionel or are they something you did?  If it was you, did you drill little holes in the body to attach the weights?  If not, I'm guessing that the Lionel stuff wasn't heavy enough so you added more weight, maybe?  If so, a pic of the added weight would be appreciated.

@Mark V. Spadaro In the bottom of the car, those are the weights that Lionel installed at the factory. @AGHRMatt has it right.

@texgeekboy, to add weight, I just use self adhesive wheel weights usually. I’ve 2-railed this car and others and what initially led to this was that one of trucks would derail on curves. After weighing it, it is at or above the NMRA spec weight, so didn’t add any weight so far. Instead,  I’ve loosened the truck mounting screw to give it more play and hopefully resolve that issue.

The original description for these PS-2-CD 4427 covered hoppers claimed that the roof hatch would open, but never said how careful a person needs to be with a screwdriver to actually open the hatch.

Andrew