Lionel F3 A-A DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE SET Parts list manual

The F3 A-A twin diesels are Postwar-era replicas of General Motors’ F3. Used for both
passenger and freight service, the F3 diesels were a common site on many railroads.
The magnificent Lionel F3 A-A set includes one powered and one non-powered unit. The
powered F3 is equipped with two Pullmor motors, Magne-Traction, and features a wealth of
realistic detail. These A-A diesel engines are built to run on either “O” or “O27” track.
LIONEL “MAGNE-TRACTION”
This locomotive is equipped with “Magne-Traction” which means that its driving wheels
are magnetized by powerful Alnico magnets inserted in the driving axles in order to grip
the track and enable the locomotive to pull heavier loads and climb steeper grades without
slipping on the track. Be careful not to let pins, paperclips, carpet tacks or other small iron
objects come in contact with the locomotive or they will be attracted to the wheels, gears, or
axles and interfere with the action of the locomotive. NOTE: “Magne-Traction” is not effective
on aluminum, brass or other non-magnetic rails. The locomotive also includes four traction
tires, which will improve traction on both magnetic and non-magnetic rails.
Instructions for Operating
LIONEL F3 A-A DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE SET
73-8368-250 3/12

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LOCOMOTIVE FEATURES:
Powered F3 A-unit
• ElectronicE-UnitwithDirectionLock
• Transformercontrolledforward,neutralandreverseoperation
• Electronicdieselhornandbellwithvolumecontrol
• Operatingcoupler
• DualpowerfulPullmormotors
• Magne-Tractiontrackgrippingsystem
• Tractiontires
• Lightednumberboards
• Lightedcabinterior
• MinimumCurve:0-31
Non-powered F3 A-unit
• Operatingcoupler
• Lightedcabinterior
• Operatingheadlight
The following Lionel marks are used throughout this Owner’s Manual and are protected under
law. All rights reserved.
Lionel®, LEGACY™, FasTrack™,TrainMaster®, Odyssey®, RailSounds®, CrewTalk™, TowerCom™,
DynaChuff™, StationSounds™, Pullmor®, ElectroCoupler™, Magne-Traction®, CAB-1®Remote
Controller, American Flyer®, Lionel ZW®, ZW®, MagniVision®, TMCC®, Lionelville®, Wireless
Tether™, Powerhouse™, LionMaster®, Conventional Classics™, Postwar Celebration Series™,
TruRail™, PH-1 Powerhouse®, Powermaster®, Powerstation-Powerhouse®, Accessory Motor
Controller™, AMC™, Accessory Switch Controller™, ASC™, Action Recorder Controller™, ARC™, Track
Power Controller 300™, TPC 300™, Track Power Controller 400™, TPC 400™, Block Power
Controller™, BPC™, Operating Track Controller™, OTC™, FatBoy™, Lionel Lines®, Joshua Lionel
Cowen Series™, Lockon®, TrainSounds™, MultiHorn™, MultiWhistle™, Choo-Choo™

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RUNNING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE WITH A LIONEL TRANSFORMER
Transformer operations
Caution! Do not power your locomotive with direct current (DC).
Damagetosensitiveelectroniccomponentsmayoccur.
PLACE YOUR TRAIN SET ON LIONEL OR LIONEL-COMPATIBLE O
GAUGE TRACK.
THROTTLE UP YOUR LOCOMOTIVE WITH YOUR
TRANSFORMER.
Your locomotive is designed to operate on 8-18 volts
alternating current. Virtually all Lionel and Lionel-compatible
alternating current transformers are suitable.
Throttle up your locomotive and it will begin to move in the forward
direction. Adjust track voltage until your locomotive moves at your desired
speed. To increase speed, increase track voltage. To decrease speed, decrease
voltage.
PressingtheDIRECTIONbuttononyourtransformerwillsequencethe
Electronic E-unit to the next operating state in the repeating sequence of:
forward, neutral, reverse, neutral, and so on.
To stop the locomotive, cycle the Electronic E-unit to neutral or turn-off
track power.

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Transformer operations
LOCKING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE INTO FORWARD DIRECTION ONLY OPERATION
WhentheElectronicE-unitDirectionLockswitchisintheRUNposition,yourlocomotive
sequences through a repeating pattern of operations: forward, neutral, reverse, neutral, and so
on.
To lock your locomotive into forward direction only operation, you can deactivate the
ElectronicE-unit’ssequencingfunction.FollowthestepsbelowandrefertoFigure1forthe
locationoftheElectronicE-unitDirectionLockswitch.
Always turn off track power before removing the locomotive from the track.
1. Turnofftrackpower,waitthreeseconds,andremovethelocomotivefromthetrack.Now
slidetheElectronicE-unitDirectionLockswitchtotheLOCKposition.Yourlocomotiveis
now locked into forward direction only operation.
2. Place your locomotive back on the track. Power up the track and press the direction button
on your transformer to confirm that the locomotive is now locked into forward direction
only operation.
To restore the forward-neutral-reverse sequence, turn off power and remove your locomotive
fromthetrack.SlidetheElectronicE-unitDirectionLockswitchbacktotheRUNposition.
Place the locomotive back on the track and restore track power.
Note!
Figure1.Switchlocations
SND NO SND
LOCKRUN
LOCK
RUN
SND NO SND
FRONT Horn/Bell switch
Electronic E-Unit
Direction Lock switch

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Transformer operations
Both F3 A-unit locomotives are equipped with operating magnetic knuckle couplers, a
revolutionarydesignfirstintroducedbyLionelin1945.
LionelmagneticcouplersreacttothemagneticfieldgeneratedbyaLionelRemote-Control
Tracksection(availableseparately,6-65149or6-12746forO-27gauge;6-65530forOgauge;
or6-12020and6-12054forFasTracklayouts).
Placeyourlocomotive’scouplertriggerdiscoverthecentralcoilofaRemote-Control
TracksectionandpressUNCOUPLEonthecontroller.Themagneticfieldpullsthedisc
downward, and the knuckle opens.
One operating technique favored by Lionel railroaders is the “moving uncouple.” Press
theUNCOUPLEbuttonasthelocomotivepassesoveraRemote-ControlTracksection.The
magneticfieldwillopenthecoupler;theconsistremainsbehindasthelocomotivemoves
on. But be careful—the speed of a newly uncoupled and moving locomotive can increase
dramatically.
USING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE’S MAGNETIC COUPLERS
Figure 2. Magnetic coupler operation
Remote-Control
Track Section