background image

1

4

4 VEP CLASS 423

Operating and Maintenance Instructions

DCC Ready/ DCC Fitted

Electric Locomotive

Routine Maintenance

Track Cleaning

 – In normal use, model railway layouts 

will eventually accumulate a blackish deposit on the 
running surfaces of the rails, and some of this will be 
transferred onto the locomotive’s pick-up wheels.

The 12 volt DC supply is collected from the track 
through the wheels on one side of the locomotive and 
returned through the wheels on the other side. If the 
deposit is allowed to build up, it will have the following 
adverse effects:

• The driving wheels will not be able to achieve

maximum traction

• There will be a reduction in the power reaching the 

locomotive motor

It is therefore essential that the track, 

and wheels

, are 

kept clean. This can be done by wiping the surfaces with 
a clean, non-fluffy cloth. More stubborn deposits can be 
removed by using the Hornby Track Cleaning Rubber, 
reference R8087, which can be obtained from Hornby 
Service Dealers.

Motor

 – The locomotive is fitted with a sealed, long-

life, 5-pole motor which requires no maintenance.
After a considerable amount of use the motor may
require replacement and this should be carried out by a 
Hornby Service Dealer.

Chassis

 – The locomotive chassis may, from time to 

time, pick up fluff, fabric fibres and pet hairs which can
become entangled in the gears and around axles. For 
this reason, it is not advisable to run the locomotive on 
track which is laid on a carpet. It is important to check 
regularly and remove any such debris with the aid of 
small tweezers.

Lubrication

 – Although the locomotive was lubricated 

during manufacture, the lubricant can sometimes dry 
out in storage. Lubrication should be carried out at
approximately 6-monthly intervals, or every 100 hours 
of running. Instructions for carrying out lubrication
procedures are given in section 1 on pages 2 and 3.

Locomotive Bodywork

 – The locomotive body is 

overall spray painted and the rest of the decoration is 
applied by a printed process, not transfers.

Spare Parts and Service

Spare parts packs can be obtained from Hornby Service Dealers who are also able to offer a repair service.

Waste electrical products should not 
be disposed of with household waste. 
Please recycle where facilities exist. 
Check with your Local Authority or 
retailer for advice

General

Please read right through these instructions,
particularly the Safety Notes on page 4.

Hornby locomotives are precision built and, if treated 
with care, will give many years of good service.
Care should be taken to avoid damage when handling 
the model.

This locomotive should not be operated on track
curves of less than 438mm radius, which is Hornby
2nd radius track.

The five-pole electric motor of the locomotive is
designed to be operated from a variable 12 volts,
DC power supply only. This should be obtained by using 
a suitable Power Controller operated from the normal 
domestic mains electricity supply. 

NEVER CONNECT A LOCOMOTIVE DIRECTLY
TO THE MAINS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY.

The locomotive will normally draw a current of between 
·2 and ·4 amp depending upon the track configuration
and whether or not gradients are included. There will
be a current surge on starting the locomotive.

Running Hints

If a locomotive ceases to respond normally to the power 

DCC Ready

Contact your specialist dealer for advice.

controller, or runs badly, check that the following are in 
order:

• All electrical connections are correctly made and the 

wall power socket is switched ‘ON’.

• The power lead is correctly fitted to the Power 

track.

• All track sections are correctly fitted together and

all fishplates (rail-joiners) are fitting tightly onto
adjoining metal rails.

• All locomotive wheels are correctly positioned on the 

track rails.

• The direction control switch on the train controller is 

set to operate in one direction or the other, and not 
in the central ‘OFF’ position.

Television Suppression

Your Hornby locomotive incorporates radio and television interference suppressors. Should interference be
experienced despite these precautions, it may be due to close proximity of the model railway layout to receivers, 
aerials, or their ‘downlines’. In this case, move the layout further away from aerials and receivers.

It is most important that track and wheels be kept absolutely clean. 

Hornby Hobbies Limited  Margate  Kent  CT9 4JX  UK    Tel: +44 (0)1843 233525    www.hornby.com

Printed in China

4/1402

A Hornby product

IMPORTANT

• Only remove the locomotive from the packaging by carefully pushing through 

the finger holes below and carefully lifting.

• This locomotive is made to exacting fine scale standards and therefore

necessarily incorporates small, delicate, protruding parts – handle with care.

• Before using the model, read through the Operating and Maintenance

Instructions in this leaflet.

Safety Notes

•This locomotive is not suitable for children under
14 years of age. Handle with care.
•This locomotive is intended for indoor use only.
•The transformer is not a toy. It is a ‘Transformer
for Toys’. Before use, check that the transformer is
the correct voltage for your mains electricity supply.  
This locomotive is only to be used with the 
recommended transformer. The transformer should
be examined regularly for damage to the casing, plug
pins and cables.

 

 
    

In the event of such damage, the set should not
be used until the transformer is replaced with
a new Hornby recommended unit. Never
attempt to open the transformer yourself.  

 

•This locomotive must not be connected to more 
than the recommended number of power supplies. 
The out-put terminals of the transformer must not 
be connected directly, or indirectly, to the output of 
any other AC circuit derived from a transformer or 
mains power supply.

•Before cleaning any part, disconnect the 
transformer from the mains electricity supply.

Do not use liquid for cleaning.

•Please retain these details and address for future 
reference.

Destination Code Instructions

6

Using the sticker sheet provided, remove 
your selected numbers and carefully 
apply to the front and rear of the 
train over the top of the LED’s as 
shown in Fig.9.

Fig.9

Reviews: