Switch Wiring

Iorkca

New Member
Alright again newbie here real newbie. I was given some old track and a train set from a friend of mine and he has some switches with it and a switch control panel. What i was wondering is how do you wire these to make them switch with a push of a button. Anyinfo needed i can provide i could even scan images and i guess attach them for people to look at. These are older tracks. One is a yugoslove and the other is a life-like they look identicle, i think they are #6 left switches.
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
You need a switch mahine for each turnout, plus an electrical switch for each. Atlas makes simple under the table machines that are thrown with a momentary contact switch. You can get Tortoise "slow-motion" machines, and there are other makes out there. I believe that most are recommended for use with "non-sprung" turnouts.

I would suggest you look for a basic model railroading book - Kalmbach offers several. You can get one of the ones that covers "everything", which will have an overview, or you can get specialized books dealing with track, wiring, etc...

Take a look here for ideas.

Andrew
 

60103

Pooh Bah
If your switch has a machine on it (you can tell: there are 3 brass screws off to the side) you can wire it up.
Start with the power pack: it should have 2 screws (terminals) labelled "AC for accessories". A wire from one of these goes to each switch. (Common wire) A wire from the other goes to the control panel. Or each button on the control panel -- depends what you have. From the other side of the control panel, you should have 2 more screws per switch. A wire from each of these to the switch.(Red and green wires)
Don't know which way the switch machines are wires. My first try would be common wire to the middle and red and green wire on the outside.
You might try plain wires from the AC terminals and just touch the switch terminals to see what happens.
Do not apply power longer than required to throw the switch.
 

Iorkca

New Member
thanks for the reply's. 60103 thanks alot i tested that out today and it worked great. thanks alot for that.
 
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