Dodding's Farm watercress railway locomotives
introduction and instructions

Parts

• Black: 4 wheels, motor pulley, 2 axle pulleys on axles, grill, exhaust (Sylvasprings only)
• Black or white: chassis, 2 frame sides, 2 frame ends
• Green or white: main body, 2 body sides, 2 window frames, bonnet top, 2 filler caps (Sylvasprings only)
• White: roof
• Beige: seat
• Silver: door handles(2 for Vitacress, 1 for Sylvasprings), 4 bonnet handles (Sylvasprings only)
• Red: wheel spacer

• Loco Remote Mini B
• Combined motor and gearbox
• White power connector and cable for Mini B
• White flat connector and cable for lipo battery
• 2 wire (yellow/orange) motor cable with Dupont connectors
• On/off slide switch
• Heat shrink tubing
• 2 axles 42mm long
• 2 O rings (21mm OD, 17mm ID, 2mm)
• 40g tyre weights
• 2 No.4 self tapping screws
• Rivet for coupling
• 4 windows
• Water-slide decals (optional)

• Ruler
• Needle files
• Hammer
• Drill bits with mini finger drill
• Sharp knife
• Tweezers
• Side cutters
• Small snipe nose pliers
• Wet and dry paper
• Rubber bands
• Polystyrene cement (used for Airfix kits)
• Glue 'n' Glaze for fixing windows
• Soldering iron, solder and "helping hands" (not shown) if you do not have the prewired kit

Wiring

• Locate the on/off switch, power cables and thicker heat shrink tubing
• Cut one outer tab off the switch - the tab holes are small and you may wish to widen these with a 1mm drill bit in a finger drill to allow the wires to fit more easily
• Cut the red wires attached to the white Mini B power connector and to the white flat lipo connector to 40mm and strip the ends
• Cut the black wires attached to the white Mini B power connector and to the white flat lipo connector to 30mm and strip the ends
• Cut 2 pieces of thicker heat shrink tubing to approx 7mm and 1 piece to approx 12mm
• Slip a shorter piece of heat shrink tubing on the red wire attached to the white Mini B power connector
• Solder this red wire onto the middle switch tab
• Slip a shorter piece of heat shrink tubing on the red wire attached to the white flat lipo connector
• Solder this red wire onto one outer switch tab
• Push each heat shrink tubing on both the red wires so they fully cover the soldered tabs and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink these in place
• Slip the longer piece of heat shrink tubing on the black wire attached to the white flat lipo connector
• Solder the two black wires together
• Push the heat shrink tubing on the black wire so it fully covers the soldered join and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink this in place
• IMPORTANT - make absolutely sure the soldered tabs and black wire join are fully covered by the tubing and there is no possibility of any tabs or exposed wires touching and causing a short
• Make sure the completed switch wiring is the same as the photo

• Locate the motor, yellow and orange wires and thinner clear heat shrink tubing
• Cut the yellow wire to 70mm
• Cut the orange wire to 60mm
• Cut 2 pieces of thinner heat shrink tubing to approx 8mm
• Slip a piece of heat shrink tubing on each wire and strip the ends by 2-3mm
• Orient the motor as shown
• Solder the yellow wire to the tab closer to the spindle - the tab is very small so do this carefully and make sure the solder or wire do not touch the metal case of the motor
• Solder the orange wire to the other tab - the tab is very small so do this carefully and make sure the solder or wire do not touch the metal case of the motor
• Push each heat shrink tubing so they fully cover the soldered tabs and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink these in place
• These connections can be fragile so don't bend them until you are ready to put the motor in the frame later
• If you accidentally attach the yellow and orange wires the wrong way round don't worry - it just means you will need to connect them to the motor output pins of the Mini B the other way round so that the loco runs forwards correctly
• IMPORTANT - make absolutely sure the soldered tabs are fully covered by the tubing and there is no possibility of any tabs or exposed wires touching and causing a short
• Make sure the completed motor wiring is the same as the photo

Connecting and checking the electronics

• Lay the Mini B upside down
• Make sure the switch is set to off - the black handle should be pushed so that it does not go over the 2 red wires
• Connect the 2 yellow and orange wires from the motor to the 2 pins under the board with the orange wire plugged onto the outer pin further from the white socket so that loco goes in the correct direction - if you get this wrong you can always swap the wires round later
• Connect the white power plug into the white socket on the Mini B - it is keyed and should only go one way with the red wire on the outer side
• Connect the charged lipo battery - do this carefully as the pins are small so do not try to force it

• Check everything works by turning the switch on
• The blue LED on the top side of Mini B board should do a brief flash
• Connect your smartphone to the Mini B as described in the Mini B setup guide
• Run the controller from your screen
• When going Forward, the motor shaft should be rotating clockwise as you look directly at it - if it is rotating anti-clockwise reverse the yellow and orange motor wires
• You can change the name on the screen (for example to Sylvasprings or Vitacress) and password if you wish as described in the Wi-Fi connection and controller operation guide
• Once you are happy everything is working correctly, turn the switch off and disconnect the components
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the battery does not fully drain

Assembling the loco

• Locate the wheels, axles and wheel spacer
• Drive pulleys have already been prealigned on the axles - note they are correctly in slightly different places on the axles

• Use a small hammer to tap an axle through a wheel resting on the red wheel spacer
• Repeat for the other wheels
• Back to back wheel spacing should be 28mm for 32mm gauge which will be set automatically by the wheel spacer
• If you do need to move the pulleys for any reason then the easiest way is to push down on them with your fingers with the end of the axle on a hard surface

• Locate the chassis, frame sides and frame ends

• Position (but do not glue) the frame sides in the chassis
• Fit the axles in the frames and check they rotate freely without binding - if necessary use a 3.2mm drill bit in a finger drill to open the holes slightly
• You now have an option - you can either leave the axles in the frames (checking the pulleys are aligned as in Drive - 2 below) or remove the axles - they are easier to fit when inserted now, but can be fitted later with care
• Glue the frame sides to the chassis making sure they are square to the floor and sides

• Glue the frame ends to the chassis making sure they are square and the rivet coupling pin will pass through freely

• Locate the chassis, wheels with axles, motor, motor pulley and O rings

• Push the keyed motor pulley onto the shaft - don't push it all the way but leave a 1mm gap on the spindle near the gear box
• Place an O ring over each axle and align the axle pulleys as shown so they are both on the hole in the floor side of the chassis
• Carefully push the axles into the side frames - they will go with a little bending but be careful that the frame does not come unglued from the chassis - if it does then glue it back
• Make sure the axles rotate freely without binding

• Push the motor into the chassis from above so that it is held firmly in place
• Slip the O rings over the axle and motor pulleys - tweezers can help

• Locate the main body and grill - note the Sylvasprings body shown has an extra space at the front which Vitacress does not have - see Body Differences below

• The easiest way to fit the grill is to attach a cocktail stick to the back with Blu-Tack, smear glue on either side of the front and then manoeuvre it in place

• Use one of the weights to hold the grill in place while the glue dries - don't remove the backing strip from the weight as you don't want it to get stuck there!

• Locate the main body and body sides

• Glue one side in place making sure it is square and aligned with the floor and ends - leave it to dry
• Glue the other side in place

• Locate the window frames - note that the top has an angled edge

• Glue one window frame in place with the angled top facing out - make sure that all the edges align with nothing protruding
• Repeat for the other window frame

• Feed the motor wires through the floor of the body so that they come out in the engine compartment

• The motor should fit snugly in the body
• Be careful not to damage the wire joints to the motor lug as they are fragile

• Locate the switch with wiring and the self tapping screws

• Push the switch into the compartment in the bonnet with the handle poking through the chassis - the side with the cut off tab should be on the right when viewed from below as in this photo which has the switch set to off
• Use the self tapping screws to secure the chassis to the body to the switch - do them up tightly after checking everything is aligned

• The switch and motor wires should look like this in the body

• Lay the Mini B upside down
• Make sure the switch is set to off - the black handle should be pushed so that it does not go over the 2 red wires
• Connect the 2 yellow and orange wires from the motor to the 2 pins under the board with the orange wire plugged onto the outer pin further from the white socket so that loco goes in the correct direction - if you get this wrong you can always swap the wires round later
• Connect the white power plug into the white socket on the Mini B - it is keyed and should only go one way with the red wire on the outer side

• Push the Mini B into the slot in the body
• It is important that the Mini B is in evenly - use a small screwdriver to carefully bend and guide the yellow and orange motor wires round the Mini B (against the left side in this photo) so they are not under it preventing it from being pushed all the way in the slot
• Connect the charged lipo battery and put it in the battery compartment as shown - do this carefully as the pins are small so do not try to force it
• Repeat all the steps in the Electronics Check above to ensure that everything works and the loco goes in the correct direction forwards - note that the front of the loco is actually the cab end and not the bonnet, so forwards means cab first!
• Once you are happy everything is working correctly, turn the switch off and disconnect and remove the battery

• Locate the 4 windows
• The longer rectangular windows are for the front and back
• The shorter rectangular windows (1 for Sylvasprings and 2 for Vitacress) are for the sides
• The trapezoidal window is for a side for Sylvasprings only
• Use Glue 'n' Glaze or similar to fix the windows - polystyrene (e.g. Revell) or super glues will fog the clear windows so don't use them

• Start with the front and back windows (the longer rectangles)
• Before removing the protective film check they fit correctly
• Use a fingernail and tweezers to carefully peel away a corner of the protective film on both sides

• Run a very thin line of Glue 'n' Glaze around the inside of a front or back window frame
• Remove the protective film from one side only of a window, making sure you do not touch this
• Very carefully sick the window in place - the bottom of the window should be right against the bottom of the frame and there should be a gap of around 1mm from the top of the window to top of the frame - study the photo to see this
• If you do not leave this gap above the top the window then the roof will not fit
• Wait for the glue to dry completely (around 15 minutes) and then peel the protective film from the inside of the window
• Repeat for the other front or back window

• Fit the side windows in a similar way
• The trapezoidal window of Sylvasprings should just fit in place inside the front and back windows
• The other rectangular side window(s) only have an overlap of just over 1mm on each side so take care
• As before wait until the glue is dry before removing the inside protective film

• Glue the door handles in the holes in the doors - just one for Sylvasprings, and one each side for Vitacress
• Glue the 4 bonnet handles in place (Sylvasprings only)

• Do NOT remove the sticky backing from the weights as this will make them hard to position
• Push two 10g weights vertically into the slot in the body next to the battery compartment
• Push two 10g weights into the slot next to the motor which will be covered by the seat

• Push the seat firmly into the cab above the weights making sure it is all the way towards the bonnet and flat on the floor - there is no need to glue it as it is a friction fit

• Driver Brad from Clavey Models has been custom designed to fit the cab

• Connect the charged lipo battery and put it in the battery compartment as shown - do this carefully as the pins are small so do not try to force it

• This photo shows Sylvasprings (left) and Vitacress (right) - note the position of the front weights

• Locate the filler caps and exhaust
• Examine the base of each carefully as they are angled so that when fitted the caps and exhaust will be vertical - the thicker parts should be at the cab end, on the left in the photo

• Glue the filler caps and exhaust pushing them through the holes from underneath the bonnet
• Note the previous comments on the angled bases so that the caps and exhaust are vertical as shown in the photo

• Clip the roof in place - glue it only after you have put the driver in the cab!
• Clip the bonnet top in place - do NOT glue this so that you can access the battery
• Cut the end off the rivet to your desired length (around 9mm) so that it can be uses as a coupling pin

• If you want to apply the decals, please read these instructions from Endon Valley Custom Decals
• Use a sharp knife to cut out each decal - the Sylvasprings logos go on each side of the bonnet between the bonnet handles - the Vitacress logo goes on the front of the cab
• Although the Endon Valley instructions recommend applying a gloss coat first, I found that the decals will adhere directly to the printed plastic sides of the battery box but should still be covered with a clear spray varnish
• The loco is capable of pulling a few lightly loaded wagons
• The axles rotate directly in the axle boxes without bearings
• Add a very small drop of thin oil to each axle box for lubrication
• Keep the oil off the O rings
• Power it up and enjoy
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the battery does not fully drain

Assembling the wagon

• Black: 4 wheels, chassis, 2 frame sides, 2 frame ends, 2 frame centre bars, 3 coupling bars

• 2 axles 42mm long
• 2 rivets for coupling

• Use a small hammer to tap an axle through a wheel resting on the red wheel spacer supplied with the loco
• Repeat for the other wheels
• Back to back wheel spacing should be 28mm for 32mm gauge which will be set automatically by the wheel spacer

• Position (but do not glue) the frame sides in the chassis
• Fit the axles in the frames and check they rotate freely without binding - if necessary use a 3.2mm drill bit in a finger drill to open the holes slightly, then remove the axles
• Glue the frame sides to the chassis making sure they are square to the floor and sides

• Glue the frame centre bars onto the 2 bars under the chassis - they should form a U channel angle iron when viewed from the side

• Locate the frame ends - note that one side has a slightly raised central part and the other side is smooth

• Glue the frame ends onto the bars at the end of the chassis - the raised part should be inside the U shape with the smooth part visible from the bottom
• Make sure that the ends are aligned so that a rivet pin can pass through the holes

• Carefully push the axles into the side frames - they will go with a little bending but be careful that the frame does not come unglued from the chassis - if it does then glue it back

• Cut the end off the rivets to your desired length (around 9mm) so that they can be uses as coupling pins
• 3 different length coupling bars are provided with each wagon - use the shortest that will allow the wagons to go round your tightest radius curves

• Black: 2 side supports
• Brown: main seat, 2 back rests, top rest

• Locate the holes on the inside of a support and the matching lugs on the side of the main seat

• Glue the main seat to a support as shown - the smooth side of the seat faces up
• Make sure the parts are perpendicular to each other and leave them to dry

• Once dry, repeat for the other support
• Make sure the parts are perpendicular to each other and leave them to dry

• Glue one back rest to the supports as shown - the smooth side of the back rest faces out and the notches fit in the support top bars
• Once dry, repeat for the other back rest

• Glue the top rest in place

• Glue the completed seat centrally on the top of a wagon

• Glue the 3 watercress tubs on the top of a wagon if desired