[PAPPA.B]

Hi It may be a little time before I get to this point on a layout, but I am planning ahead. In that plan the storage yard will have 10 tracks off scene for which I have a lot of Peco code 75 . So i'm looking at point motors and I like the look of the surface mounted point motors though I'm not sure how well these will fit on curved points . I'm specifically looking at the Gaugemaster PM20 or the Rails of Sheffield /DCC Concepts which looks the same are they? Peco's also looks similar I guess this a generic design I recall having a few Hornby ones back in the seventies . The reasons for my interest is the simplicity of installing and the relative low cost I have also read they are in general reliable. Controlling them would be for another post . Any thoughts and experiences would be most welcome. Jim

 

[34C]

Unless there's an absolute need for remote operation, I would use simple pushrod control, it's cheap, and there's no need for cosmetic concealment of the rods in a storage yard. Set the baseboard top 3 or 4mm lower than the rest of the layout, lay the track on cork or carton board that's easily cut, to make up the height difference: then you can easilycut slots for the pushrods under the tracks.

 

[Andrew Rolland]

I went for the cheapest option.

Seep PM1, because, they have the inbuilt switch for frog polarity switching and can be hidden beneath the board but they are not the simplest to install that's for sure. With a drop of Electrolube on the switch contacts they have proved to be reliable

I also have the surface mounted Peco PM11(where I can't install a Seep under the board) but these also require a Gaugemaster GM500 wired in parallel to control the frog polarity.

I've got an issue with one of my PL11, there appears to be too much slop in the mechanism and it jumps off the vertical spigot at the end of the points tie-bar. I've yet to fully investigate the issue but have bought a Gaugemaster PM20 to replace it as its on the most critical and highly operated point on my layout.

Make sure you use a CDU to operate any solenoid coil type motors and 16/0.2 wire as a minimum to avoid power losses.

If you are not using live frogs then a Peco PL10 can be cheaply surface mounted

 

[PAPPA.B]

Thanks for the replies I will need some point motors as the storage yard will be hidden . I will also be using eletrofrogs so polarity switching is needed and with the PM20 the motor just fits over the pins on the tie bar simple no hole required in the board though I may put one there should a change be needed. It is good to here that you find them reliable I do have a CDU though there are some other ways to control these points that have built in CDU's and I may take a look at those. Cheers Jim

 

[kristopher1805]

I have a lot of curved points and use the standard Peco point motors and they are fine, minimise the electrics, work and are quite cheap, all these seep motors and the like are a problem looking for a complicated solution and especially in a backscene fiddle yard

 

[jamesed]

Buy Cobalt IP Digital motors. They are the best investment you can make. No decoders required or you can simply run them using manual pushbuttons if you prefer, frog switching built in, no need to modify the Electrofrog point wiring, no CDUs required. Just remember to remove the springs from the points first. They may seem more expensive at a first glance but when you factor in the fact that you don't need to buy anything else, other than a bit of wire, to make them work the overall cost is competitive.

 

[butler-henderson]

Agree on the Cobalt - added advantage is that as the motor is stall type it holds the point in place and you do not need the overcentre spring Peco fit to their points which is a pain to have to change and even more so on newer Peco points where it is fitted on the underside.

 

[Sir Topham Hatt]

I may be old school but I remain a fan of the Tortoise.........

 

[hoonsou]

Me too.

 

[PAPPA.B]

Hind site is a wonderful thing I bought some Gaugemaster PM 20's for the storage area because they would fit quite neatly on the top of the baseboard as this is non scenic. My intention for the rest of the layout is to use bullhead track using some 18 Cobalt Classic's that I already have. I believe they will also need de-coders for possible computer use. Originally I was going to just have Analog control for the points but have now changed my mind. Going down the IP Digital route would I think cost less in the long run I still need more motors for the other end of the storage area so I may decide to use IP Cobalt for these. As for the Tortoise they are a little larger than the Cobalt's but they are reliable and have been around a long time do they need a de-coder for DCC/Computer control? Jim

 

[Prescotian]

When it comes to wiring, I can recommend from Gaugemaster, their three strand point wire.
GMC-PM51 Gaugemaster All Scale Point Motor Wire (Red/Green/Black) 10m Tripled

I found it so much easier to keep point wiring a lot tidie!