How to disassemble Station Sounds SuperLiner Diner 6-29168

I have had one of the coaches and the lounge car apart, not the diner, but I noticed that the frame on the diner is assembled differently from the other cars. However it appears that the frame is secured to the body by basically the same means described below.

You’ve probably already seen the Lionel exploded parts diagram, which is the same for all the models issued in the same run:



At each end of all the Superliner cars there are pairs of 7/16” screws (part 26 in the diagram), one at each corner. They screw through the frame and in the diner the end step and insulator (parts 4 and 10) and up through the end caps (part 2). From memory those are the only 4 body mount fasteners and they do have a tendency to cross-thread if taken out.

What I can’t recall is whether the frame itself has to slide out of channels in bottom of the aluminum body. This is where the diner appears to be different from the other cars in that the frame (part 6) is a separate part from the metal truck mounts (part 35). If the frame is mounted in channels - as was the case with most Lionel aluminum cars of this generation - it will have to slide out one end of the car, and for that purpose the lighting wiring will have to be detached. If it just drops down once unscrewed, the lighting still has to be detached. However, looking at the metal frame you have pictured, it does not appear to me that it is made to fit in channels (frame sides have an upstand and are not flat) but you will already know one way or the other from taking it out.

Sorry I can’t be more specific but it’s an exercise in reverse engineering how the cars were assembled in the first place.

If this is like other Lionel and K-Line assemblies of the same period, the trucks were probably the last things put on at the factory and will have to be detached to avoid catching on the car body when the frame slides. From the parts diagram it appears that you have to detach the plates from the rest of the frame so that the trucks will lower. I can't see that you can get to the C-clip that holds them to the plate without detaching the plate. 

Unless I am thinking of a different repair job, I remember that with the other cars I was able to get at the C-clips once the end caps were taken off. Getting them back on was a struggle.

Don't mean to turn this into a private conversation but that last photo doesn't show the sort of U-channels in the car body I am thinking of. The upturn on each edge of the frame would not fit in something like that. Also I can't see how in that car you could even get a small screwdriver on to the C-clip on top of the trucks.

All that seems to indicate that the frame should drop rather than slide. It or (maybe more likely) the interior assembly fixed to it might be binding on something inside. Do you detect any play/give in the frame when you try to move it? With Lionel aluminum cars, I would generally not detach the interior assembly from the frame in order to free the frame from the body; but as there are usually only a few small screws attaching them it might be worth trying.

I'll shut up now! 

(Uh, except I might be reminding you of something? ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/help-with-lionel-superliner-diner)