Point motors for Peco EMGS points?

[Fiacra]

Hi folks,

Following on from a post I made last year regarding the possibility of modelling Irish railways in EM gauge, I decided to build a small test track consisting of a single, branching line (i.e. three lengths of track connected to a turnout) on which to test run some re-gauged rolling stock - dip my toes in the world of gauge conversion before committing to a full layout. I’m using an EM Gauge Society Peco turnout and I purchased a Gaugemaster PM-4 Seep point motor to control the switch rails and the polarity of the frog. Alas, I’ve already hit a bump in the road. It looks like the throw of the switch rails in the Peco turnout is considerably less than that of the point motor (and, presumably, of regular 00 gauge Peco turnouts). As a consequence, the contact at the base of the switch rod that would change the polarity of the frog can not move a sufficient distance to complete its job (i.e. it remains in contact with one of the polarity strips on the circuit board of the point motor, rather than disconnecting from one and then connecting to the other).

So, either I am doing something very wrong (which is very possible) or these Seep point motors are not suitable for finescale turnouts. As there are a number of finescale modellers on this forum, I would be very interested to hear what point motors they use, and whether or not they have to make any modifications to get them working properly.

Many thanks!

[murrayec]

@FiacraA few photo of the motor mounting would help?

If the motor is mounted directly under the points this could restrict movement as the actuation rod is short and cannot bend for short point movement! So if the motor is mounted with, say a 20mm thick mdf spacer between the motor and point, this would allow the actuating rod to bend a bit and allow the switch to operate correctly??

Eoin.

[Andy Cundick]

Its simple i used that setup for Lochty The trick with the SEEPs  is to convert the fixing holes into slots(file or burr)and don't tighten the screws just leave them slightly floating that way you have enough movement for the switch,Andy

[Fiacra]

1 hour ago, murrayec said:

@FiacraA few photo of the motor mounting would help?

If the motor is mounted directly under the points this could restrict movement as the actuation rod is short and cannot bend for short point movement! So if the motor is mounted with, say a 20mm thick mdf spacer between the motor and point, this would allow the actuating rod to bend a bit and allow the switch to operate correctly??

Eoin.

Thanks Eoin - this seems to be the most common solution to this problem. However, the actuating rod on these seep motors is fairly strong stuff - even cutting them takes a fair bit of effort. I'm not so sure it would bend even slightly, given the extra distance if mounted as suggested. I'll certainly give it a try though!

27 minutes ago, Andy Cundick said:

Its simple i used that setup for Lochty The trick with the SEEPs  is to convert the fixing holes into slots(file or burr)and don't tighten the screws just leave them slightly floating that way you have enough movement for the switch,Andy

Ah, indeed - that sounds like just trick! Thanks Andy.

[FinnieK]

More expensive but I use these guys:

 

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product-category/the-cobalt-collection/cobalt-point-motors/cobalt-ss/

 

v gentle compared to seeps and easy to adjust the throw

 

Finnie

[David Holman]

Or even more expensive, the original Tortoise point motor. Very good though...