HE Express modifications

[chuck]

I usually set up the HE express around the tree. I've put in an ERR sound board in the tender to get a more appropriate whistle and some chuff sounds.

https://umich.edu/!chuck/HEWEW.MOV/

I've had the "dementors coach" but could not figure out how to get inside. Lionel instructions are worthless. You need to very carefully open a gap between the roof and the car body. I wound up using a Tamiya paint stirrer to get started and a 1 foot steel ruler to finish the job.



This is looking down into the car to show the three light bulbs that have been painted with red, green, and blue clear paint to make simulated wand flashes. Each bulb has one side coated with one color.



I've tested the colors with the roof off and I will re-assemble and take additional pictures showing the effect. I've left the roof off to take additional measurements to see if it's possible to make car interiors for the rest of the set. Right off the bat I will have to remove the bulb sockets and replace them with over head "streamline" surface mount LED's. I'll probably wind up using 3 ply model plane plywood and bass wood to make the carriage interiors.

[rogruth]

Seems that it may take quite a bit of modifying to the body to install an interior.
Looking forward to your posts on this.
Have Fun.

[Roy]

The two interior shots of the Royal Scotsman I posted look like lounge cars, which are open from side to side. They certainly look less cramped than compartment coaches. I don't know what equipment was used on the H.E. I only saw one of the Harry Potter films (my mother was the fan, in the family).

I think my H.E. may be the first Lionel version. I got a good price on it, at the time. I know the cars are selectively compressed. It'd be nice if they're just shortened. That way, you could restore them to scale size, just by splicing them together lengthwise.

[chuck]

In many respects it's worse than selective compression. The cars are short of true scale length BUT the railway did have cars that were the length of the ones in the set but they were only used for commuter runs. Main issue in "correcting" the cars are the windows and doors. I suspect the designers got "creative" with this when making the set to make it easier to use that inane method of assembly. I'm not going to worry over much about this as I can't easily do anything about it.

Another thing to consider is that most of the interior shots of the cars in the movies are actually sets, not the carriages themselves. The compartment details are taken from the prototypes but that's about all. Stuff moved around, the number of coaches in the set changed though it was usually five, two brake coaches (one at each end) and three composite coaches in between. In some films/shots it was as low as four cars and in some it was +6 (long distance/hello shots). After all, it's only a movie .

[chuck]

Real coach for modifying. This one took about 10 minutes to crack open as opposed to the one in the previous posts that took about 45 minutes (not counting several hours of previous unsuccessful attempts).



Modifications started. The black arrows indicate the location of the "door windows" that are supposed to be the locking points for the roof. I will be replacing all of the frosted cellophane inserts (green arrows) with a thin clear plastic (either clear styrene or petg vacuform canopy material). The blue arrows indicate where the bosses for the old lights were mounted. These were cut down with a cutting wheel and the rough stuff left removed with a grinding bur. I will route the wires under the new floor and install the rectifier/regulator in the new "bathroom" on the right end of the car. I'm going to use some heavy duty (grille) foil to make "templates" to work from for cutting the sheet styrene and 3 ply plywood to make up the new interiors.



This process is reminding me of the old cooking joke that the most difficult/time consuming part of the recipe was trying to figure out how to open the can.

BTW, this is the dementor car with the tinted lights. It looks better than the photo. I may replace the green tint with red and blue as they show up better. The green seems to be morphing into yellow. Cest le vie

[webenda]

This one took about 10 minutes to crack open as opposed to the one in the previous posts that took about 45 minutes (not counting several hours of previous unsuccessful attempts).

Everyone seems to have the same problem, including causing some kind of minor damage getting it off. I was no exception with my Baseball Observation Car.

The windows with tabs can be located by visual inspection.


I cannot disengage the tabs with my fingers because my fat fingers push the carsides in with the tabs.
I used a pencil to push one tab at a time and a letter opener to slide the window up enough to put something in the opened crack to keep it from closing when I removed the letter opener.


I expected the roof to slide off after disengaging all four tabs but noooo, It jamed. Do not use a screwdriver to pry the crack further open like I did, the edges are sharp enough to dig into the plastic. Next time I am going to try a wooden lever.

On my car the ends fit so tight there are scrape marks in the plastic from the roof being slid on and off.


Continue please, Chuck, this is already fascinating and you are just getting started.

[Big Jim]

And that, my friends, is why they make toothpicks.

[webenda]

And that, my friends, is why they make toothpicks.

Slide the toothpick into each tabbed window so you can slide the roof off?

[chuck]

The main issue is the car body is also plastic and it's flexing as well, usually in the same direction as the window tabs. I had to get the entire 1 foot steel ruler in between the car top and the roof bottom and then use that ruler as an extremely wide pry bar to get separation between the window "tabs" and the car body. Once you get one side to pop up/out about an 1/8", switch to the other side and do the same. Once BOTH sides are released you can work one end free and remove the roof/windows.

I've made up a new car floor and the shims to get it high enough to match the car end door frames. I've started tracing the car ends and I found images of the old PECO inserts to use as a guideline for making the compartments.

[rogruth]

I have a couple of older O-27 type passenger cars that are like this.
They were very light and I wanted to add some weight to the inside.
I had the same problems getting into the car. An old friend who had
been a Lionel repairman for over 50 years told me to just remove
the little tabs at the bottom of the "window" sides and they will
stay in but not be as hard to remove. He also said that I might
leave one on each side. It worked for me.

[chuck]

I'm removing that entire white plastic mess as part of the remodel. I've had enough of easy to assemble at the factory, almost impossible to replace in the field.

Here is a shot of the new floor with the shims and end caps. The shims are deliberately "short" on the sides to allow for the new wiring harness for the ceiling surface mount LED lights. BTW, that's the "magic ruler" used to get the roof off.



This is a "test fit" of the insert inside the car body. I will have to adjust the end caps to meet the car roof line. They are close, but not close enough. I can start laying out the compartments and the side passage on the floor and start fabricating the individual compartments (seats, door frames, etc). I like the look of the plywood and I may use more of that material for the walls than what I've seen in the screen grabs from the movie. The coaches have wood trim but also a lot material that is not wood. Browsing through photo's of prototype cars they seem to have more wood paneling. I'm wondering if this was covered or sub'd in the filming to get more reflected light? Anyway, I like the look of the wood

[Big Jim]

And that, my friends, is why they make toothpicks.

Slide the toothpick into each tabbed window so you can slide the roof off?

Yahtzee!

[Roy]

I'm removing that entire white plastic mess as part of the remodel. I've had enough of easy to assemble at the factory, almost impossible to replace in the field.

Good for you! But then, all your interior work would be a waste, with those damned translucent white windows in the way.

[chuck]

I could just remove the translucent material where it covers the windows. That would not be trivial but it it is possible. That stupid plastic does provide some structural integrity to the car which would be important if this was still a kid's toy that might need the help. The interior will be fragile enough that "rough handling" will be a no-no.

[Roy]

That stupid plastic does provide some structural integrity to the car...

Understood. But, now you can play Charlton Heston, and say "get your stinking paws off my train, you dirty damned ape!" You can also consider how much strength the clear plastic adds to the construction.

BTW, your interior insert is looking great. Your proposed "over head 'streamline' surface mount LED's" were first used by K-Line, weren't they?