Removing factory handrails and grab irons

[Rscott417]

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.

[lajry]

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.

[faraway]

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.