Taking apart Rivarossi and IHC Passenger Cars

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I have one Rivarossi car, and mine have a tab in slot roof, once that came out everything else was simple.
 
All AHM/Rivarossi cars have the roof and window "glass" as one piece. Use a very thin screwdriver blade and pry up right at the seam line between the roof and the rest of the body. You'll eventually feel the roof pop up and then just work your way around until the whole roof and clear plastic "glass" panels come out. There are tabs that hold the roof in place that will sometimes bend and come out cleanly and sometimes break off. Don't worry if break a tab or two, the car will still go back together fine.
 


I have several of these cars. I have found that computer screws (the larger sort) work WONDERFULLY in place of the original Kingpins on the trucks. Also, do yourself a favor and add a bit of weight to the cars and add some 36 inch metal wheels. For couplers, I used Styrene to make an arm that holds a coupler box that extends out from the truck. Experiment a bit to find the right height.

These cars are a great starting point toward a fantastic passenger car.
 
I use th Kadee "swing box" on my passenger cars. I forget he item numbers, buy yhey do work well. I despise talgos.

As far as removing the bodies, I have been tempted to use a hammer and get the glue out afterward. But I just "twist" them off. Sometimes getting a paper clip to hold "open" the area I have already worked to get loose.

Bob
 
Swing Box

Bob.
You made reference to Kadee "swing box" in your post.
Swing box sounds like what I need, I have a few passenger cars that derail on tighter curves.
My question is. "What is a swing box?? and where would I find such a beast??"
Thanks in advance.
Mac
 
Natan, that's not the one I normally use. I haven't done any conversion for a number of years. I went to Kadees sight and couldn't find what I used. It's a long coupler and conversion box that is body mounted. I am not at my other house and don't have access to any of these parts. And I don't know that I have any left. But it allowed me to body mount the couplers.

I do use the #502's and the #508's. The bad thing about using talgo's, or truck mounted coupler,s is that it is sometimes hard to back the cars up without having them derail.

I will continue to look for some more info.

Bob
 
I agree, that doesnt seem right. Shoving truck-mounted-coupled pax cars around ANY curve or grade is nigh impossible.

Then again, it could be argued that pax cars were not usually shoved, but had a yard goat pull them into the terminal first the come back out via a strategically placed switch. Then the road power tied on the front of the train, then the steam lines (or HEP) would be cut out from station-supplied to Locomotive supplied. Come departure time about 2 minutes later, everybody would highball on out.

But thats just one way that the derailing problem could be averted...
 
Swing box

Bob, I was thinking along the lines that you were talking about and not the equipment that Nathan was referring to.
I need a body mounted "swing box"
If anyone knows anything about what Bob is referring to, I would love to here it.
Mac
 


Yes, I agree, a swing box coupler would be Way better on these cars. Also, In my experience they are a bit light, I am planning on adding about 50 cents worth of pennies embedded in Hot glue to each car...
 
Bullet shapped fishing weights fit perfectly in the depressions on each side of the car and can be secured with Goo or rubber cement. They bring the weight up to just about perfect.

I don't know of any Kadee couplers that are body mounted and in a swinging coupler box. What I've done with AHM cars is mount the standard coupler box with the long shank coupler to the body by drilling and tapping 2-56 hole. I then place a small spring between the coupler box and the car body and tighten the coupler box just enough so it slightly compresses the spring. The coupler box will swing about 20 degrees each way. The only issue is coupling to a standard mount car since the coupler will be low. Using an underslung coupler will even things up. I have an express reefer that I use as sort of a conversion car, with the underslung coupler on one end and a standard coupler on the other.
 
Jim, I bought those quite a number of years ago. Maybe it is a misnomer calling it a "swing coupler box". The couplers themselves are much longer than,say, #5 Kadees. They mount to the body and not the truck. I found them, 12 packs a I recall, at a train show in Muncie, Indiana, I believe, about 10-15 years ago. And, I remember I paid more than I wanted, though I can't remember the exact price. I am not at the new house or I would take some pictures of the cars. I've been looking, off and on, for some more but got beat on eBay for a batch about a year ago. I haven't seen any since.

I had problems installing them on the cars as the diaphragms proved problematic and some adjustments had to be made. I ended up placing two cars in a vise and installing the new couplers in that manner to ensure proper placement and spacing.

Bob
 
Swin Box

Jim and Bob.
How about using a regular box, place a thin washer between the box and the body, don't tighten the screw all the way but just enough to allow the box to pivot.
Some sort of stop either side of the box to prevent to much swing, I need about 5 degrees.
Somehow attach a spring either side to ensure the box always returns to center.
Perhaps some more thought is warranted ?? Let's have your thoughts.
Rube Goldberg would roll over in his grave.
Mac
 
If you can imagine a d-handle garden shovel with the "d" part bent over and exaggerated in width(that is a "guide" for the coupler and nearly the width of the car) and curved(convex to the end of the car), and LONG shank coupler, you'll have something similar to what they look like. I wish I could draw it up to explain better.

Yeh, Mac, where is ol' Rube when you need him?

Bob
 
Mac, I tried the washer idea but the washers always seemed to get crudded up and eventually the coupler box stopped moving freely, causing more derailments. The spring is self cleaning and I've never had a problem with the box swinging too far. You do have to align the boxes to couple sometimes as the springs have no return mechanism. If you have looked at a Bachmann Spectrum passenger car, they have the ideal solution, with the coupler box body mounted but it swings with the trucks so the coupler is always aligned with the trucks. I've looked at them long and hard but can't figure out an easy way to mass produce them for an AHM type car.
 
I've been thinkin' on this REAL hard. Not an easy thing for this old noggin'. I keep thinking the model number is in the 450's for some reason. I looked up the numbers on the Kadee site and didn't see those numbers that would relate. It could be that they were discontinued, but I can't understand why that would be. They work great.

I know that Kadee did do away with quite a few models some years back. I would hope that these were not in the group that has gone by the wayside.

Bob
 
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