What was your worst engine disassembly experience?

I took apart a Legacy U-30C to replace a bad board - the body shell was warped inward in the middle and would not go back on - it was just too, too tight.  I cracked it into two parts trying to pry it far enough apart fit.

Once, I bought an old 1997 Lionel TMCC NYC Hudson, but it didn't work, so I assumed it had a short in it abd took it apart. Well, I couldn't find anything wrong, so I tried to put it back together, but there was practically a million pieces and screws, and I had to return it, but I couldn't get it back together! Long story short, it took quite a few very frustrating hours to get it back together again. It was the worst experience I've ever had, in fact, I still get uneasy when I have to take any of my trains apart.

I bought the Lionel Legacy Southern Crescent from 2012. I wanted to follow Lionel's advice of adding the 9-Volt battery back up for the sound system. So, I did. Next thing I know the board shorted out in a cloud of smoke.

Fortunately, I had the board fixed under warranty, and nothing else inside was damaged.

Atlas RS-1. MTH S-2 (dummy!). Couldn't get them apart to paint. Masked the trucks,

windows - painted them assembled. Cursed and cussed them both during the entire

process. Still do. Refuse to take on another one - and will not buy such unless they are in the desired road name. I had 6 screws in my hand from one of them - and it would

still not come apart without damage. Is this REALLY necessary?

Doesn't matter, really - give me O-gauge steam any day for ease of disassembly/assembly.

Took a Legacy 2-6-6-2 all to pieces for repair (damaged loco); put it back together.

No problem.

Usually 3 or 4 boiler screws - no cute "tabs". As usual, the Lionel Niagara - a lovely,

cursed locomotive - is an exception and is a pain in this way, too. Hidden screws and too many of them in general. But they are STILL easier than a dinky little MTH Alco diesel

switcher dummy.

Grrr...

got a post war 671 turbine that's been tempermental since Ive had it.

new motor, motor mounts, drive gear, brushes, oil, lube, she just doesnt

want to cooperate. every time I fix it something else goes wrong

use to be a great runner at shows. Its been on the bench for over a year now and I

hesitate to touch it.

MTH BiPolar. Couldn't get it back together without damage.

The legacy Atlantic and the F12e 4-6-0. There is 10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag!...

When I removed the screws from the shell it nothing was moving. then as I started to slowly pull and pry the shell almost shot across the room...

Send this one back to Lionel if it needs service... just no fun.

The Lionel S-3 is a fun one too. you remove the screws then lift off the boiler, but then you realize the guys in the cab have to be removed, and the boiler side walks hit the cab, while the smoke unit stack hits the boiler, and you fight back and forth...

a horrible conundrum... then putting it back together you have to fight with the handrails popping out of the pilot... then you put it on the track and sure enough one of the firemen or engineer is sitting on the train room floor... 

The F units some other diesels have a small room for error between the fly wheel and cab close out wall, making stuttering moves and scratchy sounds.

And the last one is the JLC GG1, Last time I remember if you over tighten the screws or misalign the shell you ground out the TMCC signal. Plus those pesky pantograph actuators work great when the shell is removed, but put it back together and...

I saw one at a swap meet for 250.00! Then the guy said it did not work. I just kept walking.

Interesting topic!

For the most part they all go quite smoothly.

Even the legacy Atlantic that D500 mentioned was fairly straightforward. Mind you I probably had it apart 15 times in the space of a few days trying to get it to respond in command mode, only to find out that the problem was my Cab1 command base!

The worst one for me was a CN 2-6-0 Mogul TMCC from about 2005. Just simply too much stuff crammed into too small a space. It is almost impossible to get it all back in without something catching or wires getting pinched. Very time consuming. Next time it's smoke unit needs servicing I am just going to shut it off and leave it off!

Rod

Maybe it's just me but I love to read this stuff. Some good lessons learned and the stories are truly funny when told with hindsight. I have been a forum member for just under two years and even my next door neighbor knows the Lee Willis Simple Green and Fastrack story.

I once took apart the conventional Thomas locomotive to do a quick minor repair and lubrication.  It came apart easily, but took forever to stuff everything back in there again. 

Lets just say, I don't recommend taking Thomas apart.

We all have to remember that the folks that assemble the modern toys must have smaller fingers..LMAO! Just think the folks in those far away lands more than likely put two-dozen or more an hour together.

On a serious note. Is there one under this topic?? Now I know why I've stayed with my prewar trains all these years.

Atlas O diesels! Definitely NOT your average Screws/Body lift off assembly!

The second hardest things to reassemble are K-Line six motor A-B-A F7 sets.

The only loco I could not put together again was a K-Line porter. Had to buy a new one.

I'll second the Atlas RS-1.  In the operator's manual it talks about gently spreading the rear long hood bottom outward to clear the smoke generator.

Page 11 of the manual

"To remove the long hood, the plastic bosses that house the screw holes must be flexed apart so they can slip past the smoke unit.  These bosses are at the cab end, and you can lift the hood enough to gently spread them apart"   

Mike CT

I had to remove four screws to pop the top of a WBB EP-5!  Can you believe it?

Pete

Some of the Atlas diesels have no space, and they're a PITA to cram everything back in and get them closed.

OTOH, one of the biggest PITA disassembles was the old Lionel 2400 passenger cars!  Push on the window tabs and remove the top?  SURE, if you have six hands!

My Lionel Scout, Parts of it are still in the basement of  my former  house .

Yep, several years ago I was taking apart a Premier Alco S-2.  It was a PITA to take apart.

Here's another vote for the Alco S-2, except mine was Lionel's model. Same frustrating screws up front and tabs in the back design. Couldn't get out of that one unscathed and ended up breaking most of the tabs.

I'm also surprised no one has mentioned the Lionel Niagara yet. Apparently if the chuff switch needs to be replaced you basically have to strip the whole thing down to the bare chassis just to get at it. I recall Alex M posting about this and maybe even Mike Reagan commenting on the difficulty level.

Another one is the Lionel Allegheny. I forget why but I definitely remember Mike groaning about that one.

I was waiting for someone to mention the postwar Lionel Scout.

There's a lot of locomotives that have the chuff switch buried where it requires you to remove about every screw to get to them.  I've given up anguishing about that.

Mine wasn't the engine's fault, but mine!  When I was 12 I took apart my beloved Lionel GP7 to change a light bulb.  Before it was over, I damaged the socket, learned electrical cleaner is hard on paint, and a few new words!

Then I thought I knew more than the instructions about lubricating the motors. Wrong.  Long story short, it sat for 10 yrs before I got it running again.

Great learning experience though.

Scott I know exactly what you mean with the frustration and a few choice words! My toughest was taking apart a Lionel pre war Donald Duck hand car spring motor. Once those sides spread and the remnants if the spring flung out it was sweating bullets for two hours. I did get the spring properly repaired and the motor back together, so it was worth the risk and sweat. Cool item to see run and quack. 

Gandy

Here I am mentioning the Niagara.  The smoke lifters have been off for over a year.  I have the exploded parts diagram printed out, and I still haven't got the courage to tear into it and replace the cherry switch.  Too many screws.

Also, have a Lionel CB&Q U-boat that has had its shell off for about 6+ years.  I have a new molex connector to install.  But, to get at it, you have to remove the front truck and motor mount and disconnect a bunch of other stuff.  Just getting the shell off took some doing because the bell went through the frame and was glued into the bottom of the shell.

Fred

JLC Lionel Allegheny, finally gave up. Never did get the boiler off.

I'll second the porter. Ran fine when I pulled it apart. Nothing worked after I put it

back together.

Now I know why K-line went out of business.

All the people who had to assemble these things are in therapy.

I'll chime in with a couple of other posters that the Lionel S2 Switcher is a nightmare to attempt to disassemble.  I say attempt because I never was able to successfully take it apart.  I took it to two separate hobby shops in the South Jersey area and they wouldn't even attempt to do it.  I asked for some guidance on the forum but received very little and what I did receive was along the lines that I if I tried it I would probably break the rear tabs, which of course I did.  The cab wasn't much of a problem but the hood was hermetically sealed to the frame.  The thing runs but the Railsounds operate only intermittently.  Maddening. 

'

I not only took the Porter apart, I even converted it to command operation with chuffing smoke!   It was somewhat of a PITA, but I did get it back together.  I think I could do one a lot quicker now.

K Line? did somebody mention K Line? Not an engine, but I took apart a heavyweight passenger car to re-glue a loose figure.

I needed 5 hands to put it back together because all of the doors kept falling off. Theres no engine I own that was anywhere near as frustrating.

 Say what ?

 You must have put all the electronics in a boxcar behind the engine...

 John you are sadistic !!!!!

Close, I put them in my coal tender.

Lionel Mowhawk.You will need 3 people to put the boiler back together.2 screws holds the front 2 sets of steps,cow catcher and 2 side rails together at the same time.Frig. nightmare.

Those who posted on the Lionel S2/S4 switchers. I have one of the original ATSF and it was a nightmare BUT I soon figured it out. Start at the cab like most have already done. When trying to pry the hood off, take a few jewelers or similarly small drivers to hold each tab back (very carefully) while you work your way around. It was nerve wracking at first but I have since open it up about 4 times since and it has not been a problem.

Well I had a Sunset USRA 2-8-2 Light from 1976 77? and It was such a junker that I disassembled it with a quarter-stick and used it to model a boiler explosion on the layout.

Larry 

Atlas RS1s deserve an honorable mention as do Weaver chain drive RS3s but the worst so far are Lionel scale F3s. Removing couplers is usually pretty straight forward but when the truck and pilot screws are red loctitied in, forget about it. Why would the factory use red loctite  on these tiny screws is beyond me.

Pete

Just the other day I powered up a Delaware & Hudson loco on my newly ballast track and my worst fear came true as a piece of ballast got lodged in the gears causing the engine to come to a screeching halt. After many hrs I was able to replace all the gears in the proper order after locating and removing one small particle of ballast. As luck would have it......no damage to the engine. Lesson learned!

Dan

Lets just say, I don't recommend taking Thomas apart.

Wholly cow I thought I was the only one who had trouble with this.  Took it apart and had a devil of a time getting it back together.  When I did get it back together it wouldn't work at all.  Took it apart several more times to make sure I had it hooked up right.  I think I fried a board.  It's a dummy engine now because I was a dummy to take it apart in the first place.

Ron

Thanks everybody for giving me a good laugh!!

I too have felt the sheer terror of seeing an unexpected spark flash from an engine's innards when you try to "Just make this one other slight adjustment" to something or other and WHAMMO!! there goes another $200.00 down the drain.

I have sworn off attempting repair on expensive stuff. Rolling stock?...O.K. I can fix that minor stuff and such.

When my first tool of choice became a trashcan for disposal of my failures I finally saw the light. Found a good local fair-priced repairman and he gets all the hard repairs.

My hat is off to all you fearless repairmen...keep up the good work and try to use the trashcan as little as possible!

Mark

You know, after thinking about it for a while, with a few notable exceptions (the S2/S4), isn't the reassembly often the hardest part?

Fred