Lionel F3 A-Unit Diesel Locomotive User manual

Lionel
F3 A-Unit
Die el Locomotive
Owner’ Manual
Lionel
F3 A-Unit
Die el Locomotive
Owner’ Manual
73-4521-250
11/06

2
You purchased a tough, durable locomotive—the F3 A-Unit locomotive built by Lionel. From the crisp detail and expert decoration on the outside to the brute power under the hood, the
Lionel F3 A-Unit is ready for duty on your model railroad. Experience the superiority of today’s
Lionel.
Congratulation !
Features of this locomotive
• Transformer controlled forward, neutral and reverse operation
• Operating diesel horn
• Directional lighting including LED headlights
• Operating marker lights
• Operating coupler
• Dual powerful maintenance-free motors with momentum flywheels
• Traction tires
• Fan-driven smoke unit
• Lighted number boards
• Lighted cab interior
• Operating MAR light
• Engineer figures
• Minimum Curve: 0-31
The following Lionel marks may be used throughout this instruction manual and are protected under
law. All rights reserved.
Lione ®, TrainMaster®, Odyssey®, Rai Sounds®, CrewTa k™, TowerCom™, DynaChuff™,
StationSounds™, Pu mor®, E ectroCoup er™, Magne-Traction®, CAB-1®Remote Contro er,
PowerMaster®, Lione ZW®, ZW®, PowerHouse®, TMCC®, Lione vi e™, Lockon®, Wire ess Tether™,
LionMaster®, FatBoy™, American F yer®, TrainSounds™
The name FasTrack®is used with permission from Pitsco, Inc.

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Table of content
Tran former operation
Running your locomotive with a Lionel transformer 4
Locking your locomotive into a single operational state 5
Sounding your locomotive’s horn 6
Using your locomotive’s magnetic coupler 7
Maintaining and ervicing your locomotive
Adding fluid to your locomotive’s smoke generator 8
Lubricating your locomotive 9
Replacing your locomotive’s LEDs and lamps 10
Replacing the traction tires 10
Notes 11
Limited Warranty/Lionel Service 12

4
3
3Move ‘em out!
Get our locomotive moving. Press the DIRECTION button on your Lionel
transformer. This sequences the reverse unit to the next operating state in the
repeating sequence: forward, neutral, reverse, and neutral.
Adjust track voltage until your locomotive moves at your desired speed. To
increase speed, increase track voltage. To decrease speed, reduce voltage. To stop the
locomotive, turn-off track power.
See page 5 for information on locking our locomotive into a single
operational state.
Place your locomotive on Lionel or Lionel-compatible
O gauge track.
2
2Power 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.
Do not power our locomotive with direct current (DC). Damage to
sensitive electronic components may occur.
1
1
Running your locomotive with a Lionel transformer
Tran former operation
Caution!

To select a single operational state for your Lionel locomotive (for example, forward only), you can deactivate the reverse unit’s sequencing function with the reverse unit switch.
Get your locomotive moving in the desired direction, then s ow it down without stopping.
Set the reverse unit switch to LOCK. Refer to Figure 1 for the location of the switch. The
locomotive is now “locked” into your chosen direction.
When you no longer want single-direction operation, just slide the switch back to RUN.
Your locomotive’s reverse unit will “reset” to forward after any power interruption
lasting five seconds or longer, regardless of the original locked-out direction.
Locking your locomotive into a single operational state
Tran former operation
5
Note!
RUN
LOCK
NO SMK
SMK
SND
NO SND
Figure 1. Switch locations
Smo e unit switch
(see page 8 for details)
Command reverse
unit switch
FRONT
Powered A-unit

Tran former operation
ounding your locomotive’s horn
12
POWER
SUPPLY
Existing wire
Blac wire
Red wire
Lionel no. 610-5906-001
Sound Activation Button for
activating the horn
The no. 610-5906-001 button works with any Lionel AC transformer except
no. 6-4690 Type W.
Note!
Press the HORN/WHISTLE button on your controller to sound the locomotive's horn. Be sure that the horn switch is in the SND position. Refer to Figure 1 on page 5 for the
location of that switch.
If your controller does not have a HORN/WHISTLE button, install a Lionel Sound Activation
Button (available separately, part no. 610-5906-001). Connect the button as shown in Figure 2.
If you would like to disable the horn sounds, throw the horn switch to the NO SND position.
All track power must feed through the Sound Activation Button. Do not bypass the
button.
Note!
Common/Ground/U
Power/A
6
Figure 2. Sound Activation Button wiring

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Tran former operation
Your Lionel locomotive is equipped with an operating magnetic knuckle coupler, 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 for FasTrack layouts).
As illustrated in Figure 3, 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.
Figure 3. Coupler operation
Using your locomotive’s magnetic coupler

8
Maintaining and ervicing your locomotive
Adding fluid to your locomotive’s smoke generator
Your locomotive is equipped with a smoke generator that produces safe, clean, white smoke during operation.
The smoke generator requires the periodic addition of Lionel smoke fluid in order to
function. A small bottle of smoke fluid is included with your locomotive. Press down and rotate
the cap counter-clockwise, then pierce the end of the nozzle with a pin. Add 10-15 drops of fluid
into the stack as illustrated in Figure 4. Smoke production will commence momentarily, faster if
you run your locomotive at speed. When smoke production decreases, add more fluid (four to
eight drops).
If you prefer to operate the locomotive without smoke, locate the switch on the bottom of
the engine under the cab marked S K/NO S K (see Figure 1 on page 5 for the location).
ove the switch to NO S K and your locomotive will stop smoking.
When the smoke unit is on, a ways keep a small amount of smoke fluid in the locomo-
tive’s smoke generator; the generator’s element can become damaged if operated without fluid.
Smoke production is greater at higher voltages and when the locomotive is pulling a heavy
load or long consist.
Never operate the smoke unit when dry. This will cause the smoke unit to
overheat and may damage your engine.
Caution!
Add smo e to either
hole — not both
Front
Rear
Figure 4. Adding smoke fluid

9
Maintaining and ervicing your locomotive
Lubricating your locomotive
Help your Lionel locomotive lead a long and productive life on your railroad by maintaining it properly.
We recommend that you purchase a Lionel Lubrication and aintenance Kit
(6-62927), available from your Lionel dealer. Two basic rules to keep in mind: never over-
lubricate (a small amount will do), and avoid getting grease or oil on the locomotive’s wheels
or your track. You’ll know your locomotive requires lubrication when visual inspection reveals
dryness on the parts indicated in Figure 5. Remove accumulated dirt and dust before
lubricating and always lubricate any locomotive emerging from prolonged storage.
Lubriucate with Lionel
grease sparingly
Lubriucate with
Lionel oil
sparingly
Lubriucate with
Lionel oil
sparingly
Lubriucate with
Lionel oil
sparingly
Lubriucate
with Lionel
grease
sparingly
Body screws
Body
screws
Body
screws
FRONT
REAR
Figure 5. Lubricating the powered A-unit

10
Maintaining and ervicing your locomotive
Replacing the traction tires
Your locomotive is equipped with four traction tires. These rubber tires increase the tractive effort of your locomotive, allowing it to pull more cars at once. During the course of
normal operations, the traction tires may become worn out. Because you must remove the
trucks and the side frames to access the wheels, we recommend that you have the traction tires
replaced by your authorized Lionel Service Center. See the Lionel Service section on page 12
for more information.
Replacing your locomotive’s LEDs and lamps
Your locomotive is illuminated by several LED circuit boards and lamps. During the course of normal operations, the lamps may require replacement. The LEDs are expected to last for the
life of the locomotive.
Because of the delicate operations required, we recommend that you have the lamp
replacement done at an authorized Lionel Service Center. See the Lionel Service section on
page 12 for more information.