Have you installed a GHQ Ls1 kit?

[TVRR]

Hi, I have purchased a Kato Mikado with a nicely installed GHQ kit, L1s.  How do you remove the shells from the mechanism for service? Looks like you disconnect the front handrails and simply lift off the shell of the engine. There is no screw in top of boiler holding the shell on. Any words of wisdom out there?

[Mark W]

For an aftermarket kit like that, really the person who assembled it will be the only one to know for sure, if they even remember.  You never know if they deviated from the instructions or used glue somewhere unexpected.

I did a Burlington O-4 conversion on a Mikado years ago.  This one does not have a complete boiler replacement as it appears the L1s kit does, but I know several detail parts make boiler removal a very delicate/difficult multi-step process. It was so long ago, I don't have a clue on the order anymore.

Thankfully I installed a decoder during the build, and it still runs beautifully today!

[TVRR]

After a thorough perusal of the GHQ instruction sheet and an exam with a magnifier I found that the shells come off intact with the removal of one screw for the boiler shell and 2 located in the front of the tender base.  This was listed as the preferred method for the "advanced modeler".  Screw in boiler is so small I missed it entirely on 1st exam. Thanks for the  input Mark.

[CBQ Fan]

For an aftermarket kit like that, really the person who assembled it will be the only one to know for sure, if they even remember.  You never know if they deviated from the instructions or used glue somewhere unexpected.

I did a Burlington O-4 conversion on a Mikado years ago.  This one does not have a complete boiler replacement as it appears the L1s kit does, but I know several detail parts make boiler removal a very delicate/difficult multi-step process. It was so long ago, I don't have a clue on the order anymore.

Thankfully I installed a decoder during the build, and it still runs beautifully today!

That is a sharp looking engine!

[chicken45]

The shell is pressure fit, but @Lemosteam helped me out and tapped in a screw. I only attached those front pilot wires on one end so they were tight enough to be a pressure fit also.

[Lemosteam]

The shell is pressure fit, but @Lemosteam helped me out and tapped in a screw. I only attached those front pilot wires on one end so they were tight enough to be a pressure fit also.

The shell is not a press fit, until you put kapton tape on the chassis for DCC.  The instructions have a clear process. There is a plate in the kit that you install onto one side of the chassis with screws and then you drill down from the top of the shell into the plate, remove the shell and the plate, tap the plate with a 00-90 thread, reinstall the plate and the shell using a screw to hold the shell down.

Any L1s GHQ kit that does not have this, the instructions were not followed.

[chicken45]

The shell is not a press fit, until you put kapton tape on the chassis for DCC.  The instructions have a clear process. There is a plate in the kit that you install onto one side of the chassis with screws and then you drill down from the top of the shell into the plate, remove the shell and the plate, tap the plate with a 00-90 thread, reinstall the plate and the shell using a screw to hold the shell down.

Any L1s GHQ kit that does not have this, the instructions were not followed.

Ha! You're right! I forgot about that brass bit.
Here's a link to the directions that shows it.

http://www.ghqmodels.com/pdf/55004%20Instructions.pdf