USAT Wood-sided Caboose

 120xx Woodsided Caboose

Details:

There are some fragile details. I've broken the front and rear handrails several times. Styrene glue doesn't work. If anyone finds what works, let me know. Next time epoxy. The window visors and windows themselves also come off/out pretty easily. I wicked styrene glue around the windows from the inside. That fixed that. Styrene does not hold the visors on, since they are painted.

Electrical:

The contacts between the roof and the body should be bent out a bit for better contact, and put a dab of conductive grease on them.
The electrical pickups are the carbon brushes that have a lot of drag, and get dirty, so the lights flicker a lot. Replace them with LGB 67403 dual ball bearing pickups, and the non-pickup wheels with LGB 67419 metal sets, otherwise the difference in wheel diameter will throw your coupler height off, and can cause the trucks to rub on the body.

Scale:

I believe that this may not be 1:29, will have to measure.

Dissassembly

remove the ladders from the roof, by unscrewing the small screw on the underside of the roof. This loosens the small piece of roof walk the ladder is inserted into.

You might find it easier to pull each leg up carefully, pull out to clear the roof.

Now remove the 2 screws at each end of the caboose walls, up near the roof, and lift the roof off.

to reassemble, I put the small roof walk pieces back on the roof first. Then attach the roof. Put a drop of plastic safe oil on the ladder ends, and you can take them out easily next time.

suggested mods/tips:

run a bead of silicon glue around the windows to keep them from popping out. Using styrene glue might frost up the windows if it wicks too much

a touch of LGB conductive lube on the contacts between the roof and the body is a good idea

tighten the 4 cupola screws if they are loose, but not too tight

use conductive lube/cleaners to clean the backsides of the wheels where the carbon brushes contact the wheels, it gets gummy.

I understand older versions of this caboose have steel brushes, not carbon, and they had a lot more drag, replace with newer style carbon brushes.