Has anyone disassembled the Kato Pocket Line Steeple cab chassis?

[Maurice]

Having trouble with the Kato Pocket Line Steeple Cab chassis. I need to get inside one to figure out why it stopped running. The body comes off easily but not so the chassis. There are two screws but removing them didn't seem to do anything. Frustrating. Also looking to disassemble the Kato Pocket Line passenger cars for painting.
Maurice
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[Rook]

Looks a lot like the older Pocket Line steam train power car. The white plastic part spanning the contacts strips has a barb underneath going down into the frame to hold the capacitor(?) and the strips in place.

[Pencil]

Thank you for this thread - I need to take mine apart, as well. Mine will intermittently stall when running; it almost seems like a loose connection somewhere...

Curtis

[MRLdave]

I'm also interested...........so far mine has been perfect. I run it on our NTRAK layout on a small loop of track on a corner that runs in and out of a tunnel. I've been running it on 2 rechargeable AA batteries. It runs slow enough that it isn't overly obvious that it's running on a loop.........it stays in the tunnel for about 10 seconds........and one set of batteries will last all weekend. So I'd guess mine has over 100 hrs on it, so some sort of issue is probably on the horizon.

[Rook]

It's the most reliable equipment I own.

The motor tabs should be under the white piece in contact with the wheel wiper strips. Bent the motor tabs up thinking I'd add a decoder but have not been brave enough to solder it.

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Before disassembly.

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[Pencil]

Not to derail (ha!) the conversation, but I wonder if mine is a newer mechanism?



Curtis

[Maurice]

Not to derail (ha!) the conversation, but I wonder if mine is a newer mechanism?
Curtis

I had not gotten around to taking my second one apart but I guess they updated the chassis. Question: Once you removed the body, how did you remove the coupler pockets? I need to change mine.
Maurice

[Pencil]

Question: Once you removed the body, how did you remove the coupler pockets? I need to change mine.
Maurice

They just sort of fell off as I was fumbling with the shell and the chassis - I hadn't actually intended to remove them
They are just held on by little barbs at the top of the pockets; I suspect if you get a little screwdriver in there, they will pop right off.

Curtis

[bobo1160]

@Pencil , yes you have the newer style mechanism with the 5 pole coreless motor. the wheels on the axles can be turned to adjust the wheel contact on the side frame . mine needed slight adjustment as it would make intermittent contact sometimes . now it runs perfect . I don't know if the older versions have this ability or not .

[Maurice]

Well, now it has gotten worse. I managed to get one of the white clips off and then the capacitor and copper-colored metal that appears to contact the wheels. One came out one only came out at one end. That was far as I could progress. Do the screws actually do anything? I took them off but no change. Re-assembling it was tough. There is no way to tell if the wipers are actually in contact with the wheels. Took it back to the layout and now it not only doesn't move but produces a buzz. I am going to try to change the couplers on the newer one next. Wish me luck.

[donzi]

What is the overall frame length and width on this Steeple Cab?

[ChicagoNW]

Wow! Kato has seriously reengineered those locos.

On the new design the motor is fed power from the wheels through the copper strips. The connection point is the needle bearing in the cone. Because the connection is literally the point of a needle, it does take much gook to loose contact. If you don’t want to disassemble the loco. But want to clean it, buy the spray motor cleaner used by Electric Remote Controlled Vehicles.

The older design uses paddles that contact the back of the wheels. Bending these outward can improve power transfer. But first make them clean.

The electric motor cleaner is vicious so only use in an extremely well ventilated area. The spray is designed to keep dirt racing motors clean. It dissolves grime, oil, dirt and corrosion. I’ve used it to rehabilitate 30 year old Lima locos that hardly ran from the factory in 1969. With all the stuff it removes, it won’t damage plastic and most paint. If too much is sprayed, the Tampo printing may fade.

Because the R/C Electric Motor cleaner does such a good job, you’ll need to oil the motor bearings and add a tiny bit of grease to the gears.

In general the weak point of either design is that the power is transferred by mechanical contact. No permanent connections. It is always possible for oil, corrosion or gunk to interfere with the transfer of electricity.

By the way, the capacitor doesn’t affect motor performance. It is there to reduce TV/radio signal interference. The older motors were very sparky so they would disrupt reception.

If swapping the Kato knuckles for MTs buy ones for T shank conversion.

For the ultimate realism, dump the plastic pantograph for a metal trolley pole or pantograph and wire for overhead running.

If you really are adventurous, swap the 4-wheel chassis for one of the 8-wheelers.


Here’s some specs…
* Full length: About 66mm
* Underframe length: About 54mm
* Underframe width: About 18mm
* Wheelbase: About 28mm

These were designed to work with the BanDai B-Train Shorty series. All the equipment has a body length of 35 scale feet.