What's the best way to remove factory installed handrails and grab irons without breaking them. Are they glued in? If so what do you use to weaken the glue? I always find myself snapping the little nubs of the stanchions that connect them to the body of the locomotive. Also the grab irons on the ends of hoods and noses.

Most handrail stanchions & grab irons are just press fitted in their respective holes. The trick is to pry them out w/ an X-acto blade. But the real trick is doing that w/o cutting them.

I love Kato for a very gentle press fit. But most old Lifelike are melted from he inside with a tool like a solder iron. You need to cleanup the inside with a very sharp knife.
Bachmann's assembly process looks like a random process to me. Some run out of glue and do a press fit only others got a full load of glue.