DCC POINT MOTOR for Hardyard

[Gizzy]

Now that I've gone to the 'Dark Side' of MTS operation, I decided it would be a good idea to fit a point motor to the (one) point on my portable layout, Hardyard.

A while ago, I was at my local model shop, and Keith, the proprietor, was having difficulty with a DCC point motor that he was evaluating. He couldn't get it to work, and asked me to double check his wiring.

Having read the manual and checked Keith's wiring was sound, it later transpired that this sample motor was faulty. He didn't order any more in as a result.

I thought it would be fun to operate the point on Hardyard with MTS, so I asked Keith to get me one of the motors to try. For £22.50, (I got discount so paid £20), you get a slow motion motor that is DDC or DC ready, which has auxilary switches for a live frog and signalling. The motor throw will operate points up to G1.

I thought that this was good value for a decoder fitted point, albeit one not suitable for outdoor use like the LGB ones I used on my garden railway. But ideal for under-board mounting for an indoor layout.

A week ago I installed and wired up the point at the MRC where I keep Hardyard, and last night, I connected it to my MTS2 and commenced testing.

The default address is 1, which is fine for me as there is only 1 point on Hardyard.
The motor worked okay, although I had to take it off the board and open up the slot for the drive pin, which I located through the rectangular hole on one end of the tie bar. With a bit of work with the needle files, I had the motor working reliably after an hour.

As mentioned, these are only suitable for an indoor layout, but it could be used for motors in a storge yard located in a shed.

At £22.50 each with a decoder included, this compares well with the LGB 12010 Switch drive (£21.25) and the 55024 single decoder (£43.25), or a 4 channel decoder 55025 (£74.50), and effectively each motor has the equivalent of the Type 2 Supplementary Switch 12070 (£21.30) built in too!

So you could motor 4 points for £90! I know at least one GSC member who is interested in these motors for his own shed storage yard, and I will be demonstrating mine for him fairly shortly....

 

[Zerogee]

'At £22.50 each with a decoder included, this compares well with the LGB 12010 Switch drive (£21.25) and the 55024 single decoder (£43.25)'

Given that the first sample motor was faulty and the second required an hours fettling to work correctly, and bearing in mind the LGB will give many years service OUTSIDE, and not just indoors, a price comparison is not quite fair, a bit like saying shin beef is cheaper than fillet steak, they are both from beef cattle but two different products (just try eating grilled shin beef).

Actually, Gizzy's comparison is perfectly valid, because he's comparing costs for the job that HE needs that point motor to do - which is to switch (slowly and realistically) a single point on a small INDOOR layout. For this job his new motor has several advantages over the LGB setup on top of the simple price difference - it is slow-motion, which the LGB point motors are not; it is an invisible under-baseboard mounting, which the LGB motor/switch setup most definitely is not. He's not saying that this budget motor is technically equivalent to LGB - just that for this particular application, it is both cheaper AND actually better.
To give a counter-analogy to the beefy one: few people would disagree that a £100,000 Ferrari was a better car than a £5000 second-hand Fiesta. BUT if all you had to do with your car was a 10-mile commute through heavy urban traffic, and then had to leave it all day in a public car park, I would argue that the £5000 Ford was actually the more practical vehicle for that particular application, and therefore much better value for money IN THIS CASE.....

 

[Gizzy]

'At £22.50 each with a decoder included, this compares well with the LGB 12010 Switch drive (£21.25) and the 55024 single decoder (£43.25)'

Given that the first sample motor was faulty and the second required an hours fettling to work correctly, and bearing in mind the LGB will give many years service OUTSIDE, and not just indoors, a price comparison is not quite fair, a bit like saying shin beef is cheaper than fillet steak, they are both from beef cattle but two different products (just try eating grilled shin beef).

I need to correct you here.

I had to fettle the hole in the board and not the motor, which worked fine straight out of the package.

Keith's first trail sample from the manufacturer did fail I admit, but I've now reported to him that mine is fine. He will stock these henceforth.

I will also point out I'm not critising the LGB motor, and I have several myself on my outdoor layout.

I will point out though, that I have myself repaired several of the more recent ones where the screws in the terminal block have rusted. The motor part is very reliable though and has stood the test of time on my railway.

I was just trying to show others on the forum an alternative for indoor layouts. You can either take them or leave them, but I stick with my view that, for Hardyard, it's a good buy. This motor £20 against the cost of £54.50 for an EPL drive and single decoder, for an INDOOR layout? It really is a 'no brainer'....

 

[Woderwick]

Jon, point well made, but as it's not LGB it will inevitably attract some negativity from certain quarters. It happens with monotonous regularity unfortunatley.

 

[pjti]

Thanks Gary, most interesting. I was in Uk this week and went to see Mark (my mate at your MRC) he has just got hold of "Loch Ayling" an OO exhibiton layout. And it gave me lots of ideas both OO and Large, your recommendation is well recieved and filed for future reference.
Have you given upon the NQD coach project that seemed abandoned under the bench last time I was there ? If you have a spare set of handrails I could use them ( mine were missing)

 

[jimmielx]

Fantastic value for money and a great tip. Shame I don't have an indoor section, I'd certainly look at using these...

 

[ntpntpntp]

Looks like an interesting and useful bit of kit.

At one time I was experimenting with using Conrad point motors combined with my usual NCE point decoders for possible indoor use: this worked out about the same £22 total price for the same functionality (DCC slow(ish) action point motor with built in polarity switch), but I do like the idea of the Traintronics integrated unit. I might have to get one to play with.

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[shropshire lad]

I use Digitrax Ds52 point decoders outside in a simple waterproof box to switch my LGB motors. Two outputs and track fed for under 20 quid. They operate slow speed drives too.

 

[yb281]

Very interesting and informative posting Gizzy, especially for those with open minds. Thanks. .

 

[whatlep]

I use Digitrax Ds52 point decoders outside in a simple waterproof box to switch my LGB motors. Two outputs and track fed for under 20 quid. They operate slow speed drives too.

Now that's of considerable interest bearing in mind G scale single turnout decoders are over £40! Where do you get 'em from?

 

[shropshire lad]

These boys are around the cheapest and their service is very good
http://www.digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/search/ds52-point-decoder < Link To http://www.digitrains.co....s52-point-decoder

 

[whatlep]

These boys are around the cheapest and their service is very good
http://www.digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/search/ds52-point-decoder < Link To http://www.digitrains.co....s52-point-decoder

Top man. Have 5 stars!

 

[ntpntpntp]

Yep, I'll second Digitrains. I get my NCE SwitchKat's from them too. Seal 'em with RTV silicone in a little box from Maplin and they sit nicely next to the LGB point motor.

 

[bunnyrabbit03]

I can recommend the TrainLine 45 combined analogue/DCC switch drives, which for a around £37 are very good value for money. They are quality (Made in Germany), also have a slow motion switch drive which is digitally adjustable and are weather proof.

 

[Gizzy]

Thanks Gary, most interesting. I was in Uk this week and went to see Mark (my mate at your MRC) he has just got hold of "Loch Ayling" an OO exhibiton layout. And it gave me lots of ideas both OO and Large, your recommendation is well recieved and filed for future reference.
Have you given upon the NQD coach project that seemed abandoned under the bench last time I was there ? If you have a spare set of handrails I could use them ( mine were missing)

Hi Patrick,

I finished the first coach, but then started the second one, which is the one you saw. This project was put on hold so that I could concentrate on getting Hardyard ready for the BSE exhibition, and work on the Logs, Gravel and Bricks to convert it to MTS operation.

I re-painted the first coach with a white band below the windows, to match the 2095 wizzy cranks, but made a bog of it so I need to remove it and start afresh.

The second coach which you saw is still a work in progress.

Next time you are over, give us a shout and I'll see if I can let you have those hand rails, as I don't think I'll be needing them....

 

[whatlep]

I can recommend the TrainLine 45 combined analogue/DCC switch drives, which for a around £37 are very good value for money. They are quality (Made in Germany), also have a slow motion switch drive which is digitally adjustable and are weather proof.

Another very helpful suggestion. I think you can have 5 stars too!

 

[whatlep]

OK, I give up. Where can you get TrainLine point motors? Only place I can find in the UK is Glendale, but they state their prices are for "guidance only" and there's no facility for ordering over the internet. Hopeless! :thumbdown:

Any advice on German or other sites I can order directly and pay via Paypal?

 

[shropshire lad]

I was looking for some of these recently, Brian at Glendale advised that he was lifting the ones he had on his outdoor railway and replacing them with LGB ones.
GRS could get them but they were not sure when. Train Li in the USA are directly linked with Trainline 45 and have them in stock if you can't find them anywhere else.
http://www.train-li-usa.com/store/bprodrivebsuptmsup-dcdcc-p-312.html < Link To http://www.train-li-usa.c...tmsup-dcdcc-p-312.html

 

[Zerogee]

I was looking for some of these recently, Brian at Glendale advised that he was lifting the ones he had on his outdoor railway and replacing them with LGB ones.
GRS could get them but they were not sure when. Train Li in the USA are directly linked with Trainline 45 and have them in stock if you can't find them anywhere else.
http://www.train-li-usa.com/store/bprodrivebsuptmsup-dcdcc-p-312.html < Link To http://www.train-li-usa.c...tmsup-dcdcc-p-312.html

Colin - did Brian say why he was doing this? Has he had any problems with the Trainline45 ones in use on his layout?

Whatlep - GRS do stock Trainline45 stuff, though they don't seem to list the separate point motors - might be worth phoning them however.

Jon.

 

[shropshire lad]

He said that they worked well but weren't as maintenace free as the LGB ones.
I'm not sure if he uses them regularly tho.