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Checking your APT-E:
• Remove both Power Cars and both Trailer Cars from the packaging. Check for any loose
bits, especially the HK brake hoses on the bogies. Some of these may have come loose
in transit. If little brake pipe-shaped thingies are floating around the packaging, then they
have come loose. They can be press fitted into the bogies. Look at one that is still attached
to discover where they go. If no HK brake hose is attached, or if one or both of the APT-E
noses has popped loose, then congratulations. Your courier company has probably used
your APT-E for its weekly “Distribution Centre Aussie Rules Football Competition.” We hope
your model will actually work. Bruce from the Chorley receiving department got a free kick
and managed to lodge it into the ceiling rafters. They had to fish it down with a bargepole
and it fell 24 feet to the concrete floor. Good luck!
• Check to see that all wheelsets are correctly in gauge using a OO wheel gauge. “What
is that?” you ask. Well, it’s a tool for measuring the back-to-back wheel spacing on your
models. The actual spacing should be 14.4mm. DCC Concepts makes one (part number
DCG-BB145). It’s set to 14.5mm but that is close enough for most layouts.
• If you want to be a real OO gauge professional, do a Google search for “NMRA RP-2
Standards Gauge.” This handy tool will check if your wheels are the correct distance apart
and it will also check all the bits on your points to make sure they are the correct gauge.
Having wheelsets the correct gauge ensures reliable operation and will avoid short circuits
on tight or wide points.
• If a wheelset is out of gauge, remove the affected wheelset from the bogie by removing the
bottom lid of the bogie with a small Phillips screwdriver. The wheelset can be regauged by
grabbing each wheel and giving it a bit of a twist. Keep going until you have managed to
make the wheelset fit the gauge. Reverse the steps to replace the wheelset, and ensure the
bogie cover is properly fitted in position before placing the train on the track.
Assembling your APT-E:
• It is strongly advised that you do this in a well-lit area. Use a work lamp if your layout room
does not have bright lighting. This will make things much easier.
• Put PC-1 on the track. Next rest TC-1 on the track, with the seating compartment end
oriented towards the rear of the train (assuming PC-1 is the front). If the joint module (the
gangway connection) is installed on the bogie, remove it by spreading the bottom apart
and popping it off. When your APT-E is first unpacked the joint module can be found in a
polybag with each car.
• Look at the bogie-less end of TC-1. You will see a 10-pin plug, a straight beige-coloured
floor, and a grey curved floor below that. (We’ve provided some nifty diagrams on the
next page.) Now look at the bogie on PC-1. There is a 10-pin socket, and below that is
what we call the pancake – an oval-shaped piece of plastic that allows the train to negoti-
ate model railway curves. When the APT-E is joined up, the pancake slides between the
two floors, and the plug and socket connect.
• Here’s the tricky part. With PC-1 on the track, slide TC-1 over the pancake but don’t join
up the plug and socket. Now tilt TC-1 up at the rear a bit (about 10 degrees) and gently
push it towards PC-1. The plug pins should slide into the socket without any resistance. If
there is the slightest bit of resistance – STOP! You will risk bending the pins out of shape.
Once the pins are in the socket, you can keep pushing and the plastic connectors will snap
in place.
Summary of Contents for british rail APT-E
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