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The Kid has a newer release Atlas U25B w/Lenz decoder. It quit running, but the lights still power on. From what I've read, it sounds like the decoder isn't making contact to the motor.
So the question is, how do I remove the shell on this little loco? (Darn N scale stuff is too small for my old eyes!)
This way works really well for locos that don't have any tabs holding the shell on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJw8lU4zN9k For ones with tabs, often times you can spread them open and place toothpicks to hold the body away from the tabs while you work the shell off.
I recently got a couple of these and the shells are a mongrel!! The system Bob linked to above is what I used. They basically have 4 large tabs, one at each corner, holding the shell on. The tabs are even larger and more stubborn than what Kato use on their E & F units! If you try to pull the frame off by hand the hood will just unclip from the walkway and you will very likely bend the handrails.
A quick modification you might like to do once you have it off is to file down the tabs at each corner. Doesn't need to be perfectly smooth (mine aren't!), you just want to take enough off that the shell doesn't stick so badly. Without filing the tabs down I couldn't even get the shell back on the mechanism.
The shell came off undamaged using the method shown in the video. By wiggling the board a little to the left, the loco ran fine. But wiggling the board to the right, and the loco stopped. I split the frame and looked the board over, and I noticed that the trace for the upper motor contact didn't go all the way across the board, and the witness marks from the motor contact was on the edge of the trace. I bent the motor contact a little differently than the factory did, and now it makes much better contact to the board. Moving the board left or right no longer has an effect on the contact.
So the loco is now back together and running fine, thanks to you guys.
If you try to pull the frame off by hand the hood will just unclip from the walkway and you will very likely bend the handrails.
