Installing Batteries on Rapido Cars not so "Easy Peasy"!

[Nato]

    I thought I would install the lighting batteries on all the Rapido Passenger Cars I have recieved so far eventhough I'am only taking the Via Rail ones up to Evanston, Wyoming this weekend for the annual Round House Festival to run on the Wasatch N Scale layout. So the directions that come with the cars do make it sound Easy Peasy to install the batteries. Grasp the roof near the center of the car with one hand, and the car sides just below with the other hand. Wiggle back and forth till the roof starts to come off. Then you should be able to lift the roof off.                                                                             The batteries go in the holders flat side up (towards you). Grasping the roof and sides produces no results, and my slightly oily finger tips start to print up the sides and roof. Doing the same grasping near the ends loosens up one end just a bit so that there is a crack between the car end top and the roof. Taking a very fine flat screwdriver blade and carefully prying up the roof being careful not to break the edge loosens up a bit more of the roof.                                                                                         Finally with my fingers I can continue to pry the roof off it takes alot of force to seperate it from the body, there are quite a few interlocking tabs. When the roof is off you get flakes of black paint (on the Via Cars) coming off probably from the area where the roof and sides are joined. Also I bend one of the free standing brass grabs on the roof and paint came off.                                                                 The battery holders are easy to locate only my advice is to run the magnetic wand over the removed roof after battery install to see if it lights up . My dyslexic (spell check) brain somehow had me one battery backwards on the firstcar. After snapping the roof back on and finding no lights I had to go through the process all over again to get the roof off to correct my mistake. The end result. Two cars converted, used a small pair of tweezers to straighten bent roof grab, and a black Sharpie Marker to touch up paint. Finall decission I won't be doing any of the other cars any time soon. They should have installed the batteries in China or Canada like Intermountain Centraillia cars. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[wm3798]

Anything worth doing is worth doing twice!

Lee

[Ian MacMillan]

Seems to be no different than the HO ones and I've had no issues since I figured out the first one...

[wm3798]

They ought to send you a free one to practice on...

Lee

[Walkercolt]

Nate, it's much like removing some body shells from engines. You've got to figure out those "catches" and the "tricks" to getting them off. Usually, after breaking something, I learn how to do it for customers successfully. : Why on some engine body shells do you need to remove the couplers, while on others they can stay on???? ???

[mmyers]

Thanks for the heads up Nate.
I managed to get the batteries in my four cars. The guy at the shop had a tough time just getting a car back in the box.  Your post let me know that I wasn't pulling hard enough. I hate to have to pry that hard on what I consider a delicate piece of equipment. Checked the lights before reassembling too. After the first, the next three were easier but not peasier.

Martin Myers