MERCHANT NAVY CLASS
LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER
Operating and Maintenance Instructions
Hornby Hobbies Limited, Westwood, Margate, Kent CT9 4JX
4/970F 0202
Printed in China
• This locomotive is for indoor use only and not
suitable for children under 14 years of age.
•
Handle with care.
• 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
recommended transformers.
• The transformer should be examined regularly for
damage to the casing, plug pins and output cable.
In the event of such damage, the locomotive
should not be used until the transformer is
replaced by an identical unit.
Before cleaning any part of the set, remove the
transformer from the power socket.
Do not use any liquid for cleaning.
• This locomotive must not be connected to more
than the recommended number of power supplies.
The output terminals of the transformer must not
be connected directly, or indirectly, to the output
of any other AC circuit which is derived from a
transformer or mains power supply.
• Please retain these details for future
reference.
Safety Notes
1
4
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.
Spare Parts and Service
Spare parts packs can be obtained from Hornby Service Dealers who are also able to offer a repair service.
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. The
Hornby Merchant Navy Class locomotive and tender
are produced to super detail standard and therefore
incorporate delicate, protruding detail and many small
parts. Care should be taken to avoid damage when
handling the model especially the Walschaerts valve gear,
coupling rods and the small detail parts of the locomotive
and tender bodies.
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 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 connecting clip is correctly inserted into
a suitable section of 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 tender drawbar pin is making contact with the
contacts on the locomotive drawbar and the upper
contacts of the drawbar are making contact with
the drawbar pin plate of the tender.
• 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.
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. However, instructions for
motor replacement are given in Section 3 on page 3,
only for owners who are fully experienced in such tasks
and who have soldering facilities. Do not attempt this
work unless you are absolutely confident in being able
to successfully complete it.
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 page 2.
Locomotive Bodywork – The locomotive and tender
bodies are overall spray painted and the rest of the
decoration is applied by a printed process, not
transfers.
IMPORTANT
• Only remove the locomotive and tender from the packaging by carefully
lifting them from the finger holes provided.
• 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.
12V
