Here's what the Davenport looks like with the top off the hood, and the Bachmann circuit board removed. There are three plugs on the circuit board; one for the headlight, one for the power IN from the track, and one for the power OUT to the motor. Removing these, and four screws, and we can see what's underneath.
The large silver object is actually a stack of eleven metal plates that are notched to allow space for the worm gear and the gear it drives on the gearbox, which is attached from underneath as part of the truck. The front of the plates have a roundish bite taken out of them, which corresponds with the round speaker mounting underneath; you could put a small speaker here, and half of it would have a grille to the outside, underneath the engine, between the frames.
Removing the weights we can finally see all the way to the bottom of the hood space. Note the gear oil all over the place, and the channels that the motor wires pass through to get to the motor. This gives you an idea of the space we're going to have to work with to install batteries, radio receiver, throttle, and sound equipment. Needless to say, some creativity is on the horizon ....
To properly arrange everything, though, the rest of the locomotive needs to come apart, so we can see what space there is to work with, and what other obstacles may present themselves. The cab is held on by two screws at the front, and an odd arrangement of two screws that hold tabs in place that mate with locking tabs on the back of the cab... removing the screws, one can remove the plastic "pins" and the locking tabs can slide upward. There are four screws that hold the hood in place. That leaves us with the bare frame of the locomotive.
Now you can see the "grey area" that appears as the cab floor and the surrounding black painted area that makes up the rest of the deck. While the sides of the "frame" are screwed on from underneath, the deck itself is a single massive cast piece that includes the "grey area" and the large domed "hump" that would presumably represent a huge transmission on a gas-mechanical loco like this one. The motor is actually accessed from underneath; removing the power truck (from the primary gears down, it comes away in one piece) exposes the plate through which one has access to the two brackets that hold the motor in place.
(I haven't removed the truck yet, so while you can see the motor access "hatch" you'll have to wait for the next installment to see inside!) So the plan is, now, to tackle the following laundry list:
1.) The battery/radio control/sound gear is in transit... when it arrives I will need to find a way to fit it all inside the locomotive.
2.) My new headlights have arrived, and are much more like what I had in mind for this locomotive. I will add the headlight, modify the hood to accomodate them, install one in the rear cab wall, modify and install the horns and locate a bell, and decal the locomotive all while it's apart. Oh, and I plan to move the grabiron standoffs from their unusual placement on the radiator to either side of the radiator as they should be ... and I may make a grille guard for the radiator itself.
3.) The seat in the cab bugs me. It appears to be too small for most of the 1:20 people I've met, though that tiny Sherman Pippin found in some of the earlier Bachmann locos might be comfortable. So, I'm going to rework the controls and seat along the lines of a "Big-n-Tall" accomodation ... anyone who thinks I may have a personal stake in that approach ... I have no comment at all as to whether I'm thinking of a 1:20.myself in that cab when I think this way!
4.) At that point it'll be time to reassemble and test. Stay tuned for that, and everything in between!
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