Lowering the buffer height of the Hornby short clerestory coaches.

[brian777999]

I have a number of Hornby short clerestory roof coaches in crimson lake livery (R384 and R385). I wish to lower the buffer height because they are currently far too high. The bogies should be closer to the coach floor. I remember trying this a few years ago but gave up without success. I would like to have another go but I cannot remember how to get the roofs off.

 

I know the large screw underneath the coach should be removed and then I think the two clips at each end should be pushed in with a screwdriver thus releasing the roof. But the clips on each end do not seem to be moving at all. Am I going about this the wrong way ? I don't want to force anything until I know for sure.

 

I am initially going to try to modify the coach or the bogies by removing some plastic.

[Grovenor]

Why do you want to take the roof off? Just remove the bogies, New ones will pull or lever off, if they are the old ones with hollow rivets holding them on you have to get the rivet out somehow. You might be lucky drilling the flange off, but usually they just go round with the drill.

another option is to slip a razor saw between bogie and body and cut far enough through the rivet to be able to twist it off, but you do need to be careful not to damage the solebars.

Keith

[brian777999]

Why do you want to take the roof off? Just remove the bogies, New ones will pull or lever off,

 

They are the new ones but they do not seem to want to pull off. I am probably not pulling hard enough but I remember that once I had the roof off then I could just close the two plastic prongs on the bogie from the inside and remove them that way.

I will have to get the roof off anyway if I decide to replace the bogies with something from 247 Developments. I may also opt to modify the existing bogies and I will have to fix them back to the coach with a nut and bolt after this is done. Either way, the roof must come off.