Bachmann Spectrum Tender Disassembly Instructions
This is a Bachmann Spectrum Tender. It is standard equipment on their Spectrum 4-4-0 American and 2-6-0 Mogul. Click the photo for a larger image.
Removing the portion of the tender above the floorboards is necessary if you wish to:
 |
Modify the load from coal to either wood or oil. |
|
Install a sound system in your tender. |
|
Install battery power in your tender. |
Fortunately you do not need to remove the trucks or disconnect any of the electrical connections to remove the top portion.
Removing the Top
First remove the brake wheel by pulling it straight up. Be careful here. The styrene part holding the top of the brake wheel rod to the tender is fragile and easily broken off, a fact I can speak to from experience. Then follow the steps along side of the photos that follow.
 |
The top portion of the tender is only held in place by two Phillips screws. They are located to the right and left at the front of the front tender trucks. The screwdriver in the photo is in one of the screws. Click photo for a larger image. |
 |
As the rear of the tender top is held in place by tabs that go through the floor, once the two screws are removed, the tender top can be rotated up from the front and detached from the bottom. Both halves are shown in this photo. |
Removing the Coal Load
The coal load is made up of two parts, both cast in white metal to add weight to the tender. Consider adding weight to the tender if you plan to remove this load. Before proceeding, consider removing the two tool boxes from the top of the tender. Both open and the hinges appear to be fragile. The tool boxes can be removed by opening the cover of each box and backing out the two Phillips screws that secure the tool box to the top portion of the tender. Then follow these steps.
 |
Invert the tender top and remove the two silver Phillips screws that hold the coal load to the recess at the top of the tender. Click photo for a larger image. |
 |
This photo shows the tender top disassembled. The smaller coal load at the bottom of the photo rides in the slots at the front of the tender. On one of my tenders, it dropped out when the tender halves were separated. On my other tender it had to be pried out. Click photo for a larger image. |