Best point motor for 009

[Tim Parsonson]

Much of the discussion on the forum regarding the various point motors on the market today seems to date back a while.
Has much changed  and what would the recommendations be today for under board point motors with frog switchng contacts?

[andy1878]

Hi
1. I have more or less abandoned using any type of solenoid motor.

2. I have used  slow acting (tortoise type) motors and been very pleased with them, however I wince at the cost.

3. Latterly I have been using cheap servo motors. These I have been very pleased with, however much more faff.

Personally its a fun thing, I find servos much more entertaining because I enjoy the electronics that go with them.

HTH

Andy

[Julian Evison]

Hello Tim,

There is no right or wrong answer here, only personal preference.

The traditional solenoid motors are a bit fiddly for underboard mounting, but many of us really had no choice in the past and they work reliably once set up properly. I have recently installed a couple of the new Peco Twistlock point motors and, in comparison, they are really simple to install. If I was starting from scratch and wanted to use solenoids, I would choose Peco Twistlocks.

Tortoise motors are, in my experience, very good, but quite expensive and you need a lot of space under the baseboard as they are tall. I've found Fulgurex less relaiable and would steer clear of Conrad point motors, though Hoffmans seem to be OK for our gauge.

There is a new generation of point motors such as the MTB MB1 which friends are really pleased with and I would like to try https://www.dcctrainautomation.co.uk/mp1-point-switch.html

Julian

[Hugh Norwood]

As Julian says - it's a matter of personal preference.
I have SEEPs under my layout - I have had no issues with them. I use a separate system to ensure power goes to the frogs. (Probably because of that, it means there is more latitude in positioning the motors under the baseboard).

I am currently "playing" with the new PL-1000 (Twistlock) motors from PECO.
(just a personal observation - if PECO wanted users to switch to the new motors, perhaps they could have priced them competitively with their own old PL-10 types?)

[Tim Parsonson]

That's all useful.
Unfortunately I don't have room to install the new Peco ones with switch contacrt added, or Tortoise for that matter.

I think I wiil give the MTB MP1 a go. At this stage I'm more concerned about ease of use and I'll just have to see how many I can afford and when, they certainly look the part!

[Hobby]

I'd also ask the question if you need them at all. My new layout has nine points all worked by rail set into the baseboard with a DPDT switch at the end. Often it can be done with some planning.

I'm rather old fashioned and tight fisted when I've had to use them, just using good old Peco PM10s with their accessory switch without any issues.

[B.Meldon]

I use peco PL-10's with accesory switches and/or peco micro switches.
I also have another layout with rail as rods and spdt switches , much like Blair.

However the main thing is to know what type you are going to use and plan the layout with this in mind.
As you have perhaps found out it is no good building a layout and then finding you have not left the space for the point motors, rods etc. that you want to use!

[Tim Parsonson]

I use peco PL-10's with accesory switches and/or peco micro switches.
I also have another layout with rail as rods and spdt switches , much like Blair.

However the main thing is to know what type you are going to use and plan the layout with this in mind.
As you have perhaps found out it is no good building a layout and then finding you have not left the space for the point motors, rods etc. that you want to use!

Brian
I have to some extent been pushed down a certain route regarding my layout. I'm currently in ehat is known as the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable category so absolutely everything has to be sourced from the internet. I have long admired Stuart Hughess Norfolk mini boards and as I have not the capacity at present to build a baseboard my self I have gone down this route. However I am enjoying exploring the many and varied ideas and opinions that the forum throws up. Maybe when I'm further down the build I'll write up my experience for the mag!

Thank for all the advice as always

[Hugh Norwood]

We'd all appreciate you keeping us up to date with your layout as it progresses.

(I'm also in the CEV category and am under house arrest for the time being. I am looking forward to being let out to buy some materials that I'd prefer not to trust to deliveries)

[Peter Boulter]

(I'm also in the CEV category and am under house arrest for the time being. I am looking forward to being let out to buy some materials that I'd prefer not to trust to deliveries)

I'm not in the CEV category, but I know exactly what you mean about going to the shop in person to buy things.
For the MVR I'm looking for the little 'finishing touches' things and somehow looking at that sort of stuff in an on-line catalogue doesn't quite work, so I'm looking forward to when I can go to a model shop and rummage through their stock to see what takes my eye.  As I've no model shops near me, that usually means raiding the shop during a visit to a heritage railway as some of them have excellent stocks of interesting items. 

[Stephen Rainsbury]

Not directly related but are you a member of MERG?  They have PCBs and kits which are very competitively priced for controlling point motors.
https://www.merg.org.uk/

[Tim Parsonson]

Not directly related but are you a member of MERG?  They have PCBs and kits which are very competitively priced for controlling point motors.
https://www.merg.org.uk/

Thanks Stephen, Duly joined

[Crichworkshop2000]

On Avyn-A-Llyin I have used SEEP motor on the front which are now over 30 years old and reliable. However when I had a new fiddle yard built 7 years ago I found the new SEEP motors I fitted unreliable and replaced them with Cobalt iP analogue motors which also have a built in change over switch for the frog polarity and have been fault free in 32 shows including the one at the Great Central in 2017 where it was boiling hot in the tent where the layouts were based.

[Hobby]

Blimey, they're great hunks of things!

[Stephen Rainsbury]

3. Latterly I have been using cheap servo motors. These I have been very pleased with, however much more faff.

Personally its a fun thing, I find servos much more entertaining because I enjoy the electronics that go with them.

Me too, I have been experimenting with using Arduinos with them. I am still trying to come up with a method for calibrating the throw without using a computer, but you are right that can be fun in its own right.