Kato N Scale Truss Bridge - Disassembly?


C&OMtnMan

C&OMtnMan

Well-Known Member
I have the Kato 9-3/4” truss bridge, Kato part #20-434. I want to remove the rail assembly from it for weathering the ties & rails.

It has a screw on the underside in the center, like so:

IMG_3299.jpeg


but that only releases the center. The ends are securely held down by heavier tabs that close around the ends of the rails:

IMG_3300.jpeg



Has anyone successfully (and nondestructively) taken the rails out of the truss, and reinstalled them?

I guess I could break those tabs off, and upon reinstallation, clamp the ends and put some epoxy over the lower rail flange where the tabs used to be, but I hate to be so ham-fisted.
 
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I have not taken one apart (or ever owned one), It looks like to me that you only would need to get one end unsnapped then the other side would pull out. That is if I'm looking at it right,

Could you try to take a couple of very fine dental picks or similar tool on each side of the rail to spread those tabs out some. Then gently pry it out from the bottom with a small flat blade screwdriver? Maybe a shot of lube would help overcome those tabs.
 
Havent done this either but id set your oven to its lowest temp and stick it in for a minute. The heat will help make the plastic more pliable. May end up sticking jt in longer if a min or two isnt enough. A couple small dental picks or pocket screw drivers to gently release the lock tabs once warmed.
 
What I'm wondering is if those heavier tabs aren't dual purpose electrical "rail joiners" which are inserted into some sort of horizontal slot from each end as the bridge is assembled. The sequence being: 1) put the rail and tie assembly in place from one end, fasten it down with the screw and then: 2) slide those joiners in from each end using a press machine of some sort. The purpose of the screw simply to locate the rail assembly such that it's centered in the press and held down tight in place before inserting the rail joiners.

In which case, see if you can grab the joiners in some way and pull them back out from the ends. I suspect you would need to remove some material, the idea being to grab the flat joiner with needle nose pliers or similar strongly enough that you could pull it back out.

Your last photo shows the edge of the metal tab/joiner to be a bit exposed. I see nothing in that photo which would prevent you from pulling it back out except the challenge of getting enough of a hold of it. I doubt you'll get enough of a purchase on that thin edge--you'll need to go in deeper, somewhere around the middle or closer to where it clamps down on the rail.

As with most things, I would take it slow. I suspect the clamped end where it closes down on the rail will be the sticking point, so if you can get hold of that part, the rest of it toward the outside would have less "grip"--it's probably just slid into place from the end. Friction on the rail is your biggest problem. Overcome that and I think it should come apart so you can do what you want to do.

Alternative: If you are trying to do something like blacken or darken the webs of the rails, you might also consider standing the whole thing on one end and simply dripping ink or whatever vertically down from the top--eyedropper, or fine brush, etc. Thereby bypassing the need to disassemble it at all.
 
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Snowman said:
What I'm wondering is if those heavier tabs aren't dual purpose electrical "rail joiners" which are inserted into some sort of horizontal slot from each end as the bridge is assembled. The sequence being: 1) put the rail and tie assembly in place from one end, fasten it down with the screw and then: 2) slide those joiners in from each end using a press machine of some sort. The purpose of the screw simply to locate the rail assembly such that it's centered in the press and held down tight in place before inserting the rail joiners.

In which case, see if you can grab the joiners in some way and pull them back out from the ends. I suspect you would need to remove some material, the idea being to grab the flat joiner with needle nose pliers or similar strongly enough that you could pull it back out.

Your last photo shows the edge of the metal tab/joiner to be a bit exposed. I see nothing in that photo which would prevent you from pulling it back out except the challenge of getting enough of a hold of it. I doubt you'll get enough of a purchase on that thin edge--you'll need to go in deeper, somewhere around the middle or closer to where it clamps down on the rail.

As with most things, I would take it slow. I suspect the clamped end where it closes down on the rail will be the sticking point, so if you can get hold of that part, the rest of it toward the outside would have less "grip"--it's probably just slid into place from the end. Friction on the rail is your biggest problem. Overcome that and I think it should come apart so you can do what you want to do.

Alternative: If you are trying to do something like blacken or darken the webs of the rails, you might also consider standing the whole thing on one end and simply dripping ink or whatever vertically down from the top--eyedropper, or fine brush, etc. Thereby bypassing the need to disassemble it at all.
Click to expand...

There are no joiners on the bridge. The grey things that look like joiners in that photo are the bridge feet, one at each end of the bridge, they span the entire width of the truss, and are glued to the underside of the truss. They get no closer to the rails than a 3/16” or so gap underneath.

Here:

image.jpg

After removal of the center screw, the heavy black tabs that capture the lower flange of the rail are the sole feature that retain the rail with the bridge. And those rails really don’t want to slide
 
DJ (N-scaler from this forum) might have something here that would help. It should at least help you get the truss off so you can get at the rails and ties to weather them, even if you can't get them off.

 
C&OMtnMan said:
There are no joiners on the bridge. The grey things that look like joiners in that photo are the bridge feet, one at each end of the bridge, they span the entire width of the truss, and are glued to the underside of the truss. They get no closer to the rails than a 3/16” or so gap underneath.

Here:

View attachment 175280
After removal of the center screw, the heavy black tabs that capture the lower flange of the rail are the sole feature that retain the rail with the bridge. And those rails really don’t want to slide
Click to expand...
DJ's video shows a double-track truss bridge, which is considerably different from the single-track bridge.

I pulled out an old Kato single-track truss bridge that came in a box of parts I obtained several year's back at a train show. Still usable, although a little worse for the wear.

Looks to me like your best bet would be simply to slice down thru those heavy flanges at one end of the bridge with a single edge razor blade or similar, and expose the metal rail bases. At which point in time you could easily lift the track section off (after removing the center screw, of course) and slide the track w/rails out from the other end and free of the truss structure.

To reinstall, you could simply replace the center screw after sliding the track back in and let it go at that. Or, to secure the loose end tight, bend a piece of soft wire into a square-bottomed "U" shape, and drop the wire ends down over the first center walkway tie space (visible in your picture). Then from the underneath side of the bridge, bend the wire ends back up over the plastic plate girders directly under the rails. The wire has then formed a "W", so to speak, securing the end of the track down tight to the base structure, and you'll be good to go. Paint the wire flat black, and it will virtually disappear.
 
Mixed Freight said:
DJ's video shows a double-track truss bridge, which is considerably different from the single-track bridge.

I pulled out an old Kato single-track truss bridge that came in a box of parts I obtained several year's back at a train show. Still usable, although a little worse for the wear.

Looks to me like your best bet would be simply to slice down thru those heavy flanges at one end of the bridge with a single edge razor blade or similar, and expose the metal rail bases. At which point in time you could easily lift the track section off (after removing the center screw, of course) and slide the track w/rails out from the other end and free of the truss structure.

To reinstall, you could simply replace the center screw after sliding the track back in and let it go at that. Or, to secure the loose end tight, bend a piece of soft wire into a square-bottomed "U" shape, and drop the wire ends down over the first center walkway tie space (visible in your picture). Then from the underneath side of the bridge, bend the wire ends back up over the plastic plate girders directly under the rails. The wire has then formed a "W", so to speak, securing the end of the track down tight to the base structure, and you'll be good to go. Paint the wire flat black, and it will virtually disappear.
Click to expand...
In the OP's first photograph, looking at the bottom of the bridge I see what I think are similar tabs, and probably there for the same purpose. To allow removal of the truss structure in order to convert the through truss into a deck truss. If it can be removed, I'm sure it would allow the same access to the rails and ties.

But otherwise, from what I can see, you are right--gotta cut through those heavy tabs as well as remove the bottom-center screw.
 
Thanks, everyone,

…after thinking about it, I believe I am going to go a different route, and get a Central Valley Model Works (CVMW) span instead.

I’m modeling a three-truss span, with the center being an Atlas arched Pratt truss bridge kit (approx.14”), and one end to be a CVMW 1810 truss bridge, both of which I already have on-hand. The Kato was going to be the other end, furthest away from viewing, and I considered it good enough.

However, in retrospect, I don't like the the wide tie spacing on the Kato bridge, and it’s built-in raised base for mounting the track puts me in a box for matching track height and truss base to the Atlas center span - if it needs to be cut down, the potential hacking of the Kato could warrant chucking it, and getting a fresh start with a kit of a better-detailed and more authentic bridge, too boot. Plus, having one CVMW bridge already, I can learn on it, and perhaps do an even better job on the second; either way, I can pick the best, and put it on the closest end of the bridge.

And I’ve found a source for Micro Engineering’s bridge track, in 36” length, which will be just right for my complete span length, and give me uniform appearance through the complete length.

Thank you all.
 
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