MTHTrains PREMIER DC-3 User manual

PREMIER DC-3 RAIL
INSPECTION CAR
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
This Union Pacific DC-3 Track Inspection Car features a detailed ABS body, die-cast
trucks and runs on O-72 curves. This Premier Diesel Engine contains state-of-the-art
electronics with many built-in automatic features for incredibly realistic operation.
Despite these advanced features, the locomotive is easy to operate with any compatible
standard AC transformer that is equipped with whistle and bell buttons (see the
compatibility chart on page 19), and is compatible with most other 3-rail locomotives,
rolling stock, and accessories.
This locomotive is equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0 with Digital Command System
(DCS). This new system will allow you to operate your locomotive in Command mode
(when used with the DCS Remote Control System, sold separately) or Conventional
mode. Conventional operating features are described in the following pages, while the
DCS operating features are covered in the set of operating instructions that
accompanies the DCS equipment. Conventional Mode operation of this locomotive is
much simpler than operation of original Proto-Sound engines. For your own safety and
that of your equipment, please read the instructions before you operate this engine.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Table of Contents
Set Up 3
Basic Operation 4
Operation Buttons 4
Throttle 4
Volume Control 4
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operation 5
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features 5
Track Inspection Sounds (TIS) 6
Tips on Using TIS 7
Proto-Coupler®Operation 8
Speed Control 8
Lock into a Direction State 9
Reset to Factory Defaults 9
Automatic Sounds 9
Maintenance 10
ProtoSmoke Unit Operation 10
Lubrication and Greasing Instructions 12
Locomotive Traction Tire Replacement 13
Locomotive Light Bulb Replacement 14
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up 15
Troubleshooting 16
Compatibility 18
TransformerCompatibilityChart 19
Additional Features with DCS Remote Control System 20
SafetyPrecautions 22
Service and Warranty Information 24

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Set Up
There are a couple of simple steps you must take before operating this Premier
diesel.
1. Although the engine was lubricated at the factory, it is important that you
lubricate the chassis before operation. Lightly grease the outside idler and
drive gears (marked “G” in Fig. 7 on pg. 13) with lithium-based grease to
prevent them from squeaking. Use light household oil and follow the
lubrication points (marked “L” in Fig. 5 on pg. 12). Do not over-oil. Use only
a drop or two on each pivot point.
2. Prime the operating smoke unit with smoke fluid before operating. Add
15-20 drops of smoke fluid through the smokestack (see Fig. 2 on pg. 10), then
gently blow into the stack to eliminate any air bubbles in the fluid.
3. If you choose not to prime the unit with fluid, turn the smoke unit switch
located under the engine to the OFF position (see Fig. 3 on pg. 10). Running
the engine without a primed smoke unit may cause damage. See the
“ProtoSmoke Unit Operation” section of this book for more information on
smoke unit maintenance.
At this point, you are ready to put your engine on the track and begin running
it.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Basic Operation
Throttle –Throttle up the power to your track. Give about 10-12 volts or
enough power so that the engine’s headlight shines brightly. Then put the
engine into motion by either firmly pressing the Direction button on your
transformer or remote once or dropping and advancing the throttle to put the
engine in forward.
Operation Buttons
Use the operation buttons on your transformer or remote as described below.
Horn/Whistle - To sound the horn, firmly press the Horn/Whistle button. The
horn will sound for as long as you continue to depress the button. It will stop
when you release the button.
Bell - To sound the bell, firmly press and release the Bell button. To turn the
bell off, press and release the Bell button again. The bell will continue to ring
from the time your turn it on until you press and release the button again to turn
it off.
Direction– Your train is programmed to start in neutral. To put the engine
into forward and then to change the direction of the train or to put it into
neutral, firmly press and release the Direction button on your transformer. Just
as you must stop your car between forward and reverse, this engine will not go
directly from forward to reverse; it goes into neutral between directions. If the
train has been moving forward, the first press of the Direction button will put
the train from forward into neutral, the second press into reverse, the third press
back into neutral, and the fourth back into forward. To prevent accidental
high-speed start-ups, this engine is programmed to restart in neutral each time
the track voltage is turned off for 10 seconds or more.
Volume Control – To adjust the volume of all sounds made by this engine,
turn the master volume control knob located under the engine clockwise to
increase the volume and counter-clockwise to decrease the volume (see Fig. 1).
Proto-Sound 2.0
VolumeAdjustmentKnob
Figure 1. Adjusting the Proto-Sound 2.0 Volume

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operating Instructions
This manual contains the operating instructions for Proto-Sound 2.0 in
conventional mode only. Instructions for accessing DCS command mode
features accompany the DCS Remote Control System equipment.
Because Proto-Sound 2.0 is an all-new system developed by M.T.H.’s own
research and development team, it operates differently from original
Proto-Sound. Most Proto-Sound 2.0 features are automatically enabled, and the
reset state has been eliminated, so there is no need to program features as with
original Proto-Sound. Although the new system is easier to operate than
original Proto-Sound, you should read these instructions thoroughly before
using Proto-Sound 2.0 features in order to prevent harm to yourself or your
equipment.
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features:
Proto-Sound 2.0 features are activated by sequences of Bell and Whistle button
pushes described below. Please read the full descriptions of each feature
before using it. To use these buttons to activate features rather than to blow
the whistle or ring the bell, you should press the buttons for a shorter time (1/2
second); you may need to practice your timing to make this work smoothly.
Feature to Be Activated:
Track Inspection Sounds
FiretheRearCoupler
Fire the Front Coupler
Speed Control On/Off
Lock into a Directional State/Unlock
Reset to Factory Defaults
Button Code:
1 Bell, 2 Whistles
1 Bell, 3 Whistles
1 Bell, 4 Whistles
1 Whistle, 2 Bells
1 Whistle, 3 Bells
1 Whistle, 5 Bells (From Neutral Only)
(From Neutral Only)

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Track Inspection Sounds (TIS):
Your engine is equipped with a sound package of track inspection sounds that
you can play when you want to conduct an inspection.
Note: Unlike M.T.H.’s usual PFAs, the DC-3 Rail Inspection Car does not
stop while PFAs are running. To allow for more prototypical operation,
the track inspection sound sequence runs while the engine is in motion.
You will have speed control but no direction control once TIS is triggered.
Each sequence described below will play as long as it is left on, randomly
generating sounds, but be sure to allow the TIS sufficient time to run
through each sequence.
1. To cue the sound system to play the TIS, quickly but firmly press the Bell
button once followed by 2 quick presses of the Whistle button while the engine
is moving. You will know you have successfully triggered the TIS when you
hear, “We’re coming up on the switch at 38.”
2. Once the track inspectors stop speaking and you hear the clickety-clack
sounds, press the Direction button or drop and advance the throttle once to
trigger the second sequence of TIS. The reverse unit is temporarily disabled so
that the car will not stop or change direction as you use the Direction button to
trigger the sounds, and Proto-Sound 2.0 has disabled operator control over the
Whistle and Bell buttons until the full TIS sequence is complete.
3. After you hear “Maybe that’s what everybody’s complaining about,” press
the Direction button again to trigger the third sequence of TIS.
4. After you hear “Will do,” press the Direction button again to trigger the TIS
sequence to conclude and return you to normal operation. Once the TIS
sequence ends, the operator regains control of the transformer’s bell and
whistle buttons and can ring the bell or blow the whistle and stop the car as
usual.
Note: You will press the Direction button only three times to cycle
through the TIS sequence.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Tips on Using TIS
• You can terminate TIS at anytime by turning off power to the
track for 15 seconds.
• You do not have to be in Forward to use TIS. The DC-3 car will
continue to move in whatever direction is was moving when you
pressed the code to trigger TIS.
• Because the DC-3 car would not prototypically operate with
another engine, the TIS sequence operates differently from the
PFAs of other M.T.H. engines. Do not attempt to double-head the
DC-3 with another engine.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Proto-Coupler® Operation
This locomotive is equipped with two coil-wound Proto-Couplers for remote
uncoupling action. Because the Proto-Coupler is controlled through the
Proto-Sound 2.0 microprocessor, it does not require an uncoupling track
section or modification to your layout to function. Use the codes listed below
to fire the coupler.
Rear Coupler:
To fire the rear coupler, quickly press the Bell button once followed
immediately by three pushes of the Whistle button. The sound of the liftbar
and air line depletion will play, and the knuckle will be released.
Front Coupler:
To fire the front coupler, quickly press the Bell button once followed
immediately by four pushes of the Whistle button. The sound of the liftbar and
air line depletion will play, and the knuckle will be released.
Speed Control:
M.T.H. engines equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0 have speed control capabilities
that allow the engine to maintain a constant speed up and down grades and
around curves, much like an automobile cruise control. You can add or drop
cars on the run, and the engine will maintain the speed you set.
While the engine is programmed to start with the speed control feature
activated, you can opt to turn it off. This means the engine’s speed will fall as
it labors up a hill and increase as it travels downward. It is also affected by the
addition or releasing of cars while on the run.
To turn speed control on and off, put the engine in neutral, then press the
transformer’s Whistle button one time then immediately press the Bell button
two times. Two horn blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change.
Repeat the 1 whistle, 2 bells code to return it to the other state. You will want
to do this during the initial neutral upon start-up if you ever couple this
engine to another engine that is not equipped with speed control to avoid
damaging the motors in either engine. Each time you shut down the engine
completely, it will automatically turn speed control on. Note: When speed
control is turned off, the Proto-Sound 2.0 system will limit the volume in
order to operate more smoothly at lower voltages. Full volume is restored
upon reactivating speed control.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Lock into a Directional State:
You can lock your engine into a directional state (forward, neutral, or reverse)
to prevent it from changing directions. To do this, put the engine into the
direction you want or into neutral, to lock it into neutral, run it at a very slow
speed (< 10 scale mph), and quickly but firmly press your remote’s Whistle
button once followed immediately by three presses of the Bell button.Two
horn blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change. The engine will
not change direction (including going into neutral) until you repeat the 1
whistle, 3 bells code to return the engine to its normal state, even if the engine
is kept without power for extended periods of time.
Reset to Factory Defaults:
To override the settings you currently have assigned to the engine and reset it
to its factory defaults, while in Neutral press the Whistle button once, followed
immediately by five quick pushes of the Bell button. Two horn blasts will
indicate that the engine has made the change.
Automatic Sounds:
Certain Proto-Sound 2.0 sound effects automatically play in programmed
conventional mode conditions:
Squealing Brakesplay when the engine’s speed is decreased rapidly.
Cab Chatter plays when the engine idles in neutral.
Engine Start-up and Shut-downsounds play when the engine is initially
powered on or is powered off for five seconds or more.

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Premier DC-3 Rail Inspection Car
Maintenance
ProtoSmoke® UnitOperation
This Premier diesel locomotive contains a self-powered smoke unit that outputs
smoke through the smokestack on the roof of the engine. The smoke unit is
essentially a small heating element and wick that soaks up and then heats a
mineral oil-based fluid that emits a harmless smoke. The smoke is then forced
out of the stack by a small electric fan. Smoke volume is controlled by the
Proto-Sound 2.0 system.
With a few easy maintenance steps, you
should enjoy trouble-free smoke unit
operation for years.
When preparing to run this engine, add
15-20 drops of smoke fluid through the
smokestack (see Fig.2). We recommend
M.T.H. ProtoSmoke, Seuthe, LGB, or
LVTS fluids. Do not overfill the unit or
the fluid may leak out and coat the interior
engine components.
If you choose not to add the fluid (or have
already added the fluid but choose to run
smoke-free), turn off the smoke unit switch
located under the engine (see Fig. 3).
Failure either to add fluid to the unit or to
turn it off may damage the smoke unit
heating element and/or wicking material.
When the smoke output while running the
engine begins to diminish, add another
10-15 drops of smoke fluid or turn the
smoke unit off.
When storing the unit for long periods of time, you may want to add about 15
drops of fluid to prevent the wick from drying out.
Add Smoke Fluid
Through Smokestack
Figure 2. Add Smoke through the
Smokestack
Smoke Unit
ON/OFF Switch
Figure 3. Smoke Unit ON/OFF
Switch