Atlas kato engines

[kgreen]

 Hello      i have atlas kato rs 3 and a rs11 engines that I want to see If I can get to run better.  whats the process of removing shell?  tks. kirk

[glakedylan]

Removing the shell requires a bit of patience and a gentle hand (IE, leave the elbow grease at home). I use a small screwdriver to pry the shell away from the chassis a little bit at a time (starting at one end and working my way around). Eventually it'll slide up and off.

from http://www.spookshow.net/loco/kators3.html

[nickelplate759]

It's tricky to figure out.
 1. to release the handrails from the cab (they just pull out towards the front and rear).
 2. work the cab off of everything else.  It has a tab at the top centered at the short-hood end and two tabs (right and left) at the top of the cab on the long hood end.  I kind of rock the cab right and left to work it off.
3. gently work the hood (without the cab now) over the two latches that were INSIDE the cab space.  This will allow you to raise the short hood.  The
 plastic frame+handrails piece can come with the long hood, but the they aren't attach to the hood.  Just work the hood over the latches and lift the short end only - not the long hood end.
4. there's a LOOP at the bottom of the end of the long hood that snaps over a prong on the metal chassis.   Continue lifting the short hood end until you can work that loop over the prong,  You may break the loop anyway - if so, don't fret, it doesn't really do much.

[Mark5]

For getting the shell off the RS3 some tips are here:

http://download.atlasrr.com/pdf/N%20ALCO%20RS3%20DIESEL%20LOCO.pdf

RS-11 is similar.

Mark

[dem34]

You can also do this with pretty much any shell thats press fit.

Removing handrails, and disassembling the cab and frame parts is only a factor if you plan on painting the shell.

[bdennis]

If the loco has had microtrains coupler installed and a new pilot to fill the gap, make sure you remove the coupler box before trying to remove the body.