Removing the Shell
The Atlas Parts Catalog provides very good instructions for how to remove the body shell from the frame. After popping out the handrails from the cab, remove the cab which is held with latches to the rest of the shell. Once the cab has been removed, you will see two small tabs on either side of the body shell. Grab these with a small pair of pliers and gently pull on the them to spread the shell out a little. This will disengage the tabs on the frame from the shell. The running board can now be moved out of the way. Note that it, too, has some tabs that may get caught in the frame. Again, gently spread the running boards out and away from the frame.

Separating the Frames
There are two screws that hold the two frame halves together. Note that there is a insulating bushing between the frames. The nut that the screw goes into, can easily fall out of the frame, so keep an eye on that. Remove the fuel tank shell, if you haven't done that already. Once the frame halves have been separated, the motor, flywheels, and worm gears can easily be removed. The two trucks will also fall out.

Are We Done Yet?
Usually this will be all the disassembling that you need to do for cleaning and lubrication, and also for basic DCC installation. However, if you want to upgrade the couplers and/or improve electrical pick-up, you will need to disassemble the trucks also.

Disassembling the Trucks
At first disassembling the trucks may seem like a daunting task with all those gears in there. It is actually quite simple, and not that difficult to re-assemble.


Look at the truck on the side that doesn't have the coupler installation. You will clearly see the metal frame of the truck under the lip of the plastic body. Use a small screwdriver and wedge it in between the two parts. To make it easier on yourself, start with the frame half that doesn't have the gears.

The frame half will almost pop loose. Carefully remove it.

Do the same thing with the other frame half. The gears can fall off, so keep an eye on them. All the gears go on in one direction, so don't worry if they do fall off.

1. Pop the metal frame half away from the plastic body.	2. Carefully remove the metal frame half.
3. Frame half removed.	4. Do the same with the other metal frame half.

The next photo shows the disassembled parts of a truck.


To re-assemble the trucks, just go backwards. Make sure that the wheel wipers are in between the wheels and the metal frame half. The metal parts should snap into place. It takes a bit of patience, but it should go fairly smoothly.