General Discussion

IMPORTANT ERRATA TO THE HORNBY LIVE STEAM OPERATOR'S MANUAL

It is likely that you will crash your Hornby Live Steam locomotive if you follow the Operator's Manual instructions and be confused about some of the locomotive's characteristics which are not fully explained.

Please amend the Manual as follows, not just for your use but the next owner if ever your Live Steam models get passed on.

Copy paste the following into a word processing programme and reformat to fit the destination.

On page 6 under 1.3 replace paragraph 4 which begins "Of course.."

Be patient whilst learning. Follow this manual very carefully or, better still, see an authoritative demonstration at an OO Live Steam Club Roadshow or a video demonstration on their website www.OOLiveSteam.com Your reward will be immense satisfaction driving a model that behaves so like the real thing. OO Live Steam is far more than just a gimmick.

HORNBY LIVE STEAM... Making Models Real

On page 10 under 2.2 add after the heading How LIVE STEAM works

For full operating instructions see page 26

Replace Stage One and Stage Two paragraphs

Stage One: At 0 minutes

After fuelling and oiling, place on the Rolling Road or if you are proficient place on a circuit of track . Switch on and start heating up. An electric immersion heater in the boiler in the tender starts to heat the water. You may hear a high pitched whistle (not to be confused with the much louder steam whistle) and the cab indicator lamp glows red to show that the steam valve is closed.

Stage Two: 0-7 minutes

If the cab indicator lamp glows green it means the steam valve was left open after the last run. Close it immediately using the Speed Regulator so the lamp shows red. Add a big load of coaches for restraint until you become proficient. If after a few minutes you begin to hear the steam whistle adjust the Speed Regulator so the whistle stops. (The purpose and significance of the whistle will be described later).

Replace “SETUP” at the top of page 11

SETUP - IMPORTANT - 'Run-in' and start learning the control system over 5 or 6 half hour steamings on a rolling road and only then continue to learn on a track circuit.

If you don't have a rolling road you can create a temporary one using the terminal track supplied in the set. Set the tender on the track, support the front and allow the driving wheels to dangle. (We do not advise long term operation like this).

Replace after “3.1.5 Expanding the circuit” on page 13

After using a Rolling Road for 'Running-in' and learning the control system you can continue to learn on the simple oval of track supplied in the set.

On page 14 replace the paragraph PLEASE NOTE

Commands are sent to the loco by momentarily cutting the power supply (you see this as the voltmeter drops to zero) so if the loco reaches a section of track with poor power supply it may receive a spurious signal and do something uncommanded. Locos have even been known to reverse at full speed!

You cannot rely on fishplates and point blades to pass the 5 amps of power permanently needed to keep a head of steam. For reliable operation every piece of track should be hard wired to an under-baseboard buss

On page 24 paragraph 3 change

“0.5ml of oil every 4 to 5 steamings” to “a drop of oil every steaming"

Place at the top of page 27 above and to replace paragraph 3.

You are now going to operate the speed regulator (Fig 1) which opens and closes the steam valve. Individual flicks open (or close) it incrementally. Holding the handle against the end stop opens (or closes) the valve continuously. Be VERY cautious when in continuous mode - it is all too easy to open the valve too quickly and accelerate to a crash.

3. Setting the locomotive in motion on a Rolling Road

When enough steam pressure is available you can incrementally open the steam valve and set the locomotive in motion by moving the spring loaded handle of the Speed Regulator (Fig 1) with a series of short sideways flicks around one second apart (time for the voltmeter to drop to zero and return) making sure you hit the end stop each time. After a few flicks one of 2 things will happen; either the the light in the cab will change from red to green OR the steam whistle will start to sound. The steam whistle ONLY sounds if you are changing direction eg from forwards to reverse.

If the cab light changed to green without the whistle sounding then the loco direction was already set in the direction you are flicking. Keep flicking and count the flicks from when the cab light goes green. The locomotive should start to move after about 5 flicks and it will go faster with each flick. SEE NOTE BELOW

If instead you hear the steam whistle start to sound then hold the spring loaded handle against the end stop in the direction you are flicking but LET GO THE INSTANT THAT THE WHISTLE STOPS. The steam whistle indicates that you have just changed the direction of the locomotive and is designed to end just before the cab light changes.

Continue individual flicks until the light in the cab changes from red to green. This tells you the steam valve is starting to open. If you were bit slow letting go when the whistle stopped red might already have changed to green. If you were VERY slow you might even have set the loco in motion. This why so many crash in the early stages of learning but on a Rolling Road that fate is avoided.

Place after the “PLEASE NOTE” at the foot of page 27

IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO ACCELERATE AND CRASH A NEW LOCOMOTIVE.

That is why the best advice is to ‘run-in’ on a rolling road and only take the loco onto a circuit of track when you have learned how to accelerate slowly and learned how the reversing system works. Even then, make sure the loco is heavily loaded with coaches - as many as 10 if you have them. You can always reduce the train size as you gain experience. An 8 coach train is an optimum load.

If your model locomotive has been unused for a long time - maybe never used since it was made between 2003 and 2008 - the whole mechanism may be very stiff. If you have gone beyond 5 flicks from when the green light came on, to 10 flicks say, then carefully use a small screwdriver in the spokes of a driving wheel to tease it into

motion. 15 clicks or so is maximum speed!

IT MAY TAKE 5 OR 6 HALF HOUR STEAMINGS - FAST, SLOW, FORWARD, REVERSE AND REPEAT - UNTIL THE LOCO IS FULLY RUN IN AND YOU WILL NOW BE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONTROLS.

It is a sad fact that many new owners started with the oval of track, crashed their locomotives on the first run, lost confidence and put the loco away to gather dust. They never discovered the life-like joy of driving these marvels of miniature engineering AFTER they have been ‘run-in’.

Place over “4. Accelerating/Decelerating” at the top of page 28

4. Accelerating/Decelerating Once moving, to accelerate the loco, keep flicking the Speed Regulator handle in the same direction. Maximum speed is reached around 15 flicks from when the red cab light changed to green but it is highly unlikely you will ever get this far on an open track without derailing unless you are pulling a heavy train. 10 or so flicks from green should reach a good speed.

To decelerate begin flicking in the opposite direction BUT THE FIRST 5 FLICKS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION DO NOTHING - they just take up the slack in the mechanism. Now start counting back and the loco will decelerate and eventually stop. Keep flicking until the red light comes on by which time you should have counted back to zero. Note which number flick she stopped at and this will help you stop accurately when out on the open track.

Place over “5. Reversing” half way down page 28

5. Reversing To reverse the locomotive continue to flick the Speed Regulator in the same direction (1) as was done to stop the locomotive but, because we know that the whistle WILL sound before the valve opens (because you are changing direction) then it is perfectly safe to save time and continuously advance the Speed Regulator by holding the handle against the end stop. The steam whistle will start to sound.

Keep holding the spring loaded handle against the end stop but LET GO THE INSTANT THAT THE WHISTLE STOPS. Continue with individual flicks, the red cab light will change to green and after around 5 flicks the locomotive will start to move in reverse and accelerate with each extra flick. As in forward motion a good speed will be reached after around 10 flicks and maximum after 15 or so.

Flick in the opposite direction to slow down but remember the first 5 flicks in the opposite direction do nothing.

On page 29

replace the 2 paragraphs after "Safety First" with

Always use the protective gloves whilst operating and never lean over a pressurised loco; the safety valves could go off into your face.

Also on page 29 replace the paragraph ending "Practice makes perfect" with

Setting the locomotive in motion on a track Look below the speed regulator and you will see Graphic Direction Indicator arrows. (See Page 15). When you first place the loco on the track decide which direction you want to go and push it a few inches making sure the wheels rotate. That resets the direction mechanism. When steamed up make sure you flick in the direction indicated by the Graphic Indicator Mechanism arrows.

Now follow the instructions on Page 27. The whistle will NOT sound because you are not changing direction. Use individual flicks only and eventually, a few flicks with the cab light on green, she will move off slowly.

On page 30 replace paragraphs 4 and 5 (from "When operating" to "MOVES OFF")

When operating the Speed Regulator to start the loco moving, speed it up or slow it down always use single sideways flicks, hitting the end stop each time and letting the voltmeter bounce back before doing another flick. Holding the handle against the end stop risks opening the steam valve quickly, rapid acceleration and a crash. The only times you should hold the handle on the end stop is 1) to travel through the steam whistle section to change direction and 2) to command an emergency stop.

The Emergency Stop. If you need to stop quickly hold the speed regulator handle on the end stop IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION to that which speeded the loco up. There will be an agonising 3 second wait as the mechanism first goes through the '5 flick lag' and then closes the valve. The train will slide to a halt.

On page 37 under "Please Note" replace the paragraph with

It WILL be necessary to add booster cables to eliminate the risk of uncommanded actions. Fishplates and point blades cannot be relied upon to pass 5 amps of current. Soldered droppers from EVERY piece of track to a buss cable under the track is essential for reliable running. Erratic running of a new locomotive is almost certainly the fault of the track but might be due to a poor electrical contact in a well used loco.

Driving a Hornby Live Steam locomotive is not hard but it is hard to teach it using words in print. It is much easier to demonstrate it face to face for example at the OO Live Steam Club Roadshow or through video clips on their website www.OOLiveSteam.com

What is certain is that once learned and when running in an environment that really suits live steam - big circuits with large sweeping curves and long realistic trains - the fun is just beginning.

These marvels of miniature engineering operate so like the real thing that the driver has to adjust his inputs just like a real train driver to account for such things as gradients, tightness of curve, the load being pulled and even the actual loco being driven because every model is different.

HORNBY LIVE STEAM... Making Models Real

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