Upside-down - a helpful tool for disassembling a G scale locomotive for repair or upgrades.

Upside Down - Disassembling a Locomotive

If you run G scale locomotives, the you will eventually need disassemble them to replace worn gears, burned out light bulbs, or failing motors. Disassembly is also required to for installing batteries, radio receivers, or a sound systems. Most manufacturers keep the fasteners holding the locomotive together hidden from view, so they don’t distract from the realistic appearance of the model. Many of my locomotives need to be inverted to access the hidden screws that secure the cab and hood, on a diesel, or the cab and boiler, on a steamer.

G scale details are generally robust, but they are not indestructible. The difficulty is supporting the inverted locomotive while not damaging the, bell, horn, or handrails. Unless you are an octopus, or exceptionally skilled with your tong, you will need help holding the locomotive during disassembly.

I found a scrap pieces of foam which I cut and pasted together to make a cradle to aid in the disassembly my USA trains S4. The general shape of the foam securely holds the locomotive inverted while cutouts in the foam provide a safe haven for details like bells and whistles. The cradle also worked well with my NW 2 locomotive which has a similar profile.

The general shape of the cradle worked well with other locomotives, but needed additional cut outs to accommodate these locomotive’s details. My foam cradle has gotten quite “holly” from lots of cut outs and nibbles, but it provides safe and stable inverted support for a surprising variety of steam and diesel locomotives from several different manufacturers. While it can't support every locomotive in the roster, it has been a great help for disassembly and repair of most of them.