A few months ago I asked about push button switches for my turnouts. I was told that if I wanted to change to a pushbutton switch it had to be a SPDT momentary switch. Yesterday I went and purchased a few from Radioshack and when I tried them they did not work right. When I push the button the frog switches over but when I release the button it goes back to its orginally position.
Do the switches need to be mommentary switches or can I use regular SPDT switches? Also, can I use Atlas switch to replace the turnout switch box that comes with the Bachman switches?
Quote from: Teamanglerx on December 09, 2007, 12:20:21 PM
A few months ago I asked about push button switches for my turnouts. I was told that if I wanted to change to a pushbutton switch it had to be a SPDT momentary switch.
That is not quite right. If you want to use a
toggle switch then it has to be SPDT-CO momentary contact both ways. (CO=centre off.) If you want to use
push buttons then you need
pairs (two for each switch motor) of NO push buttons. (NO=normally open,i.e. no contact unless you push it.) The whole point being that you cannot run current continuously through dual solenoid turnout motors, like Bachmann uses. Momentary currents, lasting for a few seconds, are fine.
If you were using another brand of turnout motors, the wiring may or may not be the same. Certain turnout motors can be operated with a regular SPDT switch. Tortoise motors come to mind. But Bachmann turnouts cannot. You can use the Atlas turnout controls in place of the Bachmann ones, but unless you have either a very small layout with very few turnouts or an exceptionally good memory, it is much easier to relate push buttons or other suitable switches mounted on a track plan of your layout to the turnout they control than it is to relate numbered controls to their turnouts. For an example, the photo of a control panel that operates six turnouts and an electromagnetic uncoupler in one of the towns on my home layout.
(http://members.shaw.ca/sask.rail/controlpanel.jpg)