How To Install SEEP/Solenoid Point Motors - Model Railway Tutorial

[@simonp1970]

At last, a video on youtube about point motors that I can actually understand!! Great job... thank you..

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you found it useful Simon! I do try to make the videos as easy as possible to digest. Thanks for watching 😃

[@Benji_transport_vids]

Thanks for this video - notes taken! Once I get round to installing some, I'll probably attempt making a control panel. First I have to find a way to drill holes into already laid track...!

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you found it useful. Yeah that's generally why I recommend drilling the holes before laying the track. You may have to do it manually with a pin drill to avoid destroying the point mechanism. Thanks for watching 😃

[@SilverGear_]

Another great video and topical for what my brother and I are about to do for our own little shelf layout! It is also worth noting that the kind of switch you want for this is a single pole double throw (SPDT) toggle switch with *momentary contact*, ie it'll only stay in the chosen state for as long as it's held there. These kinds of switches are noted this: (On)-Off-(On). This is important because if you had a latching switch, where you set the state and it remains so until it's changed again, you will likely burn out the motor. I don't know if the CDU protects against this somehow as part of the product, but as it's an optional item, using these switches also help prevent burning the solenoids out as providing a constant electrical supply just kills them.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it Tommy and that it's relevant for your own project! Yes I thought I had mentioned needing a SPDT switch in the video but looking back now evidently I didn't which is annoying. You can have latching switches if you use the CDU (which I would highly recommend using too) as that will protect against burning out the motor. Bearing in mind that a toggle switch is just one way of controlling the motors, push buttons and "probe and stud" to name a couple. Thanks for watching 😃

[@briancollins6543]

Just found your channel. I'm just starting out on my model train layout building story. I have spent 22 years building and flying RC planes so thought I'd keep busy during the winter months. I have chosen 009 as a start and just purchased the 009 Peco track set. I'm paralysed (Paraplegic) so have to build everything from a seating position but see no problems. After all I've built some pretty big planes over the years! Thank you for the links in your videos. It makes buying the right product a lot easier. Keep up the super work! Brian

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

That's great to hear Brian! I wish you the best of luck with your own 009 layout, you couldn't have picked a better time to start really as there have been some fantastic narrow gauge releases recently with even more on the way. Let us know how you get on and thanks for watching 😃

[@loispadgett6306]

This one has been the easier one for me to learn from. Some get to complicated and I get lost thank you for this one. GOD BLESS 🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I completely agree Lois, you can get really complicated with this stuff but I definitely think there’s a place for more simple tutorials like this one were we just cover the basics. Thanks for watching 😃

[@adam_fordham]

That was a really helpful video, I always buy pre wired point motors but I've always wanted to wire them up myself but didn't know how, so this I found very helpful, thank you 😀

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Awesome, glad that you found it helpful Adam. I have to admit I've never used pre-wired motors but it's definitely not too tricky to wire them up. The hardest bit is definitely fitting any motor to the underside of the baseboard in the correct position to interface with the point. Thanks for watching 😃

[@MichaelBarkey-h2v]

was thinking about buying the PM2 (they are a very reasonable price) as I have dead frogs. Wasn't sure about them but your vid has just given me the reassurance that they are the ones for me! great video!!!!

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad I could help! The PM2 definitely seems to be the easiest, no nonsense point motor out there in my opinion. Thanks for watching 😃

[@laszlokaestner5766]

Your timing is impeccable. I've just bought some of these exact PM2's!

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Fantastic, glad to be of service! Thanks for watching 😃

[@laszlokaestner5766]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy 👍 I've actually started collecting all the bits I need in this exact order starting with the points because, as you say here positioning of the points is critical because you need to put the hole in the board. My layout is only small so I have three sets of points but the issue is that they are all quite close to the centre line where ideally I'd put a cross brace. Therefore I actually need to lay the track out first and locate where the points need to go before I put the bracing on the board in order to make sure I avoid a conflict. To some it may seem like complicated over planning but I'd rather avoid problems than have to work around them later!

[@jeffreysutcliffe1139]

Excellent tutorial , easy to follow. Thanks

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Thanks Jeffrey, really glad to hear you found it useful and accessible. Thanks for watching 😃

[@TONY_FEZ]

So glad i watched this video before buying these point motors. Now I know that this is def not something I'd be able to do! :)

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

A few years ago I would have felt the same so I can definitely feel where you're coming from. It does look daunting and maybe it's not the sort of thing to jump straight in on if you're not feeling confident but it's actually not too bad once you've got some basic soldering skills. At least in the short term you can save a bit of money though! Thanks for watching 😃

[@ianhughes-zf1ll]

Thanks a lot mate just come across this video and helped me out hell of a lot can’t thank you enough cheers

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching 😃

[@andrewharrison5983]

Another great video, and some good recycling of track going by the solder on it 😉

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Thanks Andrew! I actually like to solder the feed wires to the underside of the rail before laying track so that’s why you can see some solder. There’s nothing to stop me from using this track again in the future though should I ever want to dismantle the layout. Thanks for watching 😃

[@patlib2009]

You made this so easy even I can understand it. Now I can move ahead with my first layout

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I love getting comments like this! Really glad to hear it's allowed you to continue with your layout Edmund. Best of luck with it and thanks for watching 😃

[@alastairwilson457]

What an excellent video, really clear. Thanks

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Thanks Alastair, glad you found it useful! Thanks for watching 😃

[@_RandomPea]

Very interesting side of the hobby, not yet a need to learn this all but doesn't stop me watching and learning a little more. Thanks 👍

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

The electrical side is definitely a whole world of its own. I can definitely see why some people choose to keep it as simple as possible on their layout. Thanks for watching 😃

[@_RandomPea]

​@@ThatModelRailwayGuycan't believe this was a year ago! At least I now have the basics of my layout in place and now I'm considering whether to use point motors or not. Do you have any experience using Servos to control the points and/or what's your preference?

[@_RandomPea]

​@@ThatModelRailwayGuyif you've seen any of my vids you will see I'm using insulation board under the track, I'm thinking I can dig out a square for a clip below motor? Any idea?

[@ianjones6568]

Top video Pal So easy to follow You seem to know what your talking about Nice one

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it! Funnily enough if you found this one interesting you may also enjoy the video I have coming out tomorrow morning 😉 Thanks for watching 👍

[@vexxxiang]

Great video, question though, I’m going to be doing this with tt120 hm7000 could I wire the cdu into the track bus for simplicity or would that be a no no?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I would not do that personally - the CDU probably wouldn't work properly and it could potentially damage your DCC stuff as well. However you could get point motors designed to work on DCC power, some of which allow you to control each motor as a digital accessory. Thanks for watching 😃

[@willbreckinridge8010]

Nice tutorial! Very helpful for anyone like myself planning out a 009 layout :)

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Awesome, yeah it’s definitely a good way of controlling points for any gauge including 009. Thanks for watching 😃

[@Rowdale_Railway]

Very helpful thanks! Love how easy your vids are to follow

[@Rowdale_Railway]

Is there a way you know if to have a led light come on for which way the point is set using this method? On a control panel.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

My pleasure, glad you found it helpful. To have an LED light up on an indicator panel I think you'd have to use the SEEP PM1 motors instead. They use the extra tabs that I didn't hook up in this video to allow the switching of a relay, either for frog polarity or for control panel LEDs. I think Gaugemaster have some wiring diagrams on this but I will also be filming a similar video that covers this method in the next few months as part of a new layout build. Thanks for watching 😃

[@Rowdale_Railway]

Hello again, I’ve a question to bug you with if you don’t mind, just wondering about the radius of points, a larger radius does this mean the point is longer which then would mean the train and coaches would flow more elegantly so to speak through the point?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

@@Rowdale_Railway Yes that's exactly right. The large radius points are also more realistic too since most model points are quite significantly compressed from their real life counterparts. That said, I used small radius points as a space saving measure on both this layout and Pitley Steam Railway and they work perfectly fine 🤩

[@Rowdale_Railway]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy thanks for clarifying this for me, I’m getting to the stage where I’m going to need to buy some points, but I want it to run smoothly through them😀

[@MrGrahamcooper]

Could I use a bus wire for power on the points? Many thanks please keep up the good work with videos

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Hi Graham, there isn't really a simple answer other than to give you a safe no. While I think it technically would be possible using rectifiers or other converters generally it's best to have a separate power source for your points. The exception to this would be if you're using point motors specifically designed for use with DCC. Hope this helps and thanks for watching 😃

[@Fluff3H]

great video, about to do this myself! was struggling to find out if I could run motors off the controller alone, but thankfully with a CDU I can. I wont be using such a complex setup as yourself, Just 5 peco PL-10 point motors.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Awesome, really glad you found this useful Chris and best of luck with setting up your point motors. Thanks for watching 😃

[@mountainfish87]

Loved the tutorial! It really motivated me to add point motors to my train setup, which is now almost complete - something I was hesitant about before watching your video. Quick question: does anyone have tips on the best way or place to install or mount those switches?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Awesome, really glad top hear it helped you! For me, I mounted them in a small control box which I then connect to the layout during operation. If you check out the full series on building this 009 layout I'm pretty sure I covered it at some point in those videos. Thanks for watching 😃

[@gersonfer]

A helpful video, tks. What about reverse polarity ?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you found it useful. With reverse polarity do you mean switching the polarity of the frog or changing the polarity for a reverse loop? Thanks for watching 😃

[@gersonfer]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I mean switching the polarity of the frog.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

@@gersonfer So for that you would use the Seep PM1 instead and that's where the extra solder pads come into play. Alternatively some people prefer to use microswitches or frog juicers for switching the polarity so there isn't really a standard way of doing it, it's whatever works best for each individual ☺

[@Just_S.A.M.]

Very helpful video, Though I seem to have the opposite issue with the tall motor rods, my baseboard is about 10cm deep (5cm wood, 5cm foam board). Is it possible to extend or replace these motors rods to be the length I’d need? Or would I be better off just going with surface point motors?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

You could possibly extend the rods using stiff piano wire (or similar) attached to the existing rods but I would be worried it may start to flex and not throw the point properly. Some people in your situation embed the motors into the foam just under the point to avoid this situation but obviously it does make things more complicated if you ever need to get to the motor for repairs/maintenance. This is actually one of the reasons I personally don't tend to use foam on top of the baseboard surface. Hopefully that's given you a couple of options but best of luck and thanks for watching 😃

[@Just_S.A.M.]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy thanks for the reply, unfortunately the table has planks of wood glued to the sides to stop trains from falling off (from when I was a kid 😅), my grandfather was the one who built it, hence the compromise of using foam board to bring the surface of the table up to the top of the barriers, instead of pulling apart the table 😅. since the initial question I think I’ve found a sound solution, essentially I get a length of piano/hobby wire of the same diameter as the motor rod, and a piece of brass tubing that the rods/wires fit in tightly. I put glue on each rod, and put both rods into the brass tubing. Hopefully this keeps them tight and doesn’t allow for any flexing in the extension when switching. Thanks again for the help 🫡

[@jamesv8063]

Where did you get the multipin connector? Great video. Thank you.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Hi James, I found them on Amazon - they were pretty similar to these ones: amzn.to/3JcI6qw Thanks for watching 😃

[@tagsdm]

Terrific tutorial, That Model Railway Guy. Have you ever seen or heard of "Tortoise" switch machines? They, at least, were popular in the States for a time. They gave a slow movement effect to the points, similar to a real point arrangement. I think they used a motor rather than a solenoid to move the points.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Yes we have the Tortoise motors over here too, although they tend to be a more expensive "premium" product. You can get slow movement by using servos motors like I did on the modular layout just by removing the springs from the point. The servo motors are much cheaper but of course you need a way of controlling them. Thanks for watching 😃

[@davidharle952]

Thanks, that's just what I was looking for. But one question, I have 6 points across my layout, how many CDU's will I need?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Just one! CDUs can throw multiple points at the same time. Unless your intending to switch all 6 points simultaneously from one switch one CDU will be plenty 👍 Thanks for watching 😃

[@middleportjunction]

Very well explained, thank you

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

My pleasure, hope you found it useful and thanks for watching 😃

[@ianhughes-zf1ll]

Hi again I’m trying to find your video of that brightly coloured connector cable you said about on the fitting seep motors video if you could help thank you sorry for being a pain

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I believe it was Episode 2 of my 009 layout build series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKaWfJuoj9mJps0 Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃

[@massmike11]

Would you not want to use a momentary contact switch to keep from burning out the coil?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Hi Michael, these actually are momentary switches. They return to centre when released. However, with a CDU in the chain it doesn't matter whether you use a momentary or latching switch as that discharges a short burst of power to move the point and stops it from accidentally burning out. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃

[@sevensprings460]

They are momentary switches but not elaborated on in the video. Latching switches will short out the CDU and coil.

[@ianhughes-zf1ll]

Hi watching this video again wired up that row of switches just one but it goes once and not back what do you think I’m doing wrong if you could help would be great thank you

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Without seeing your setup it's hard to diagnose the problem but my initial thought would be to confirm whether the issue is actually with the motor. Is this happening while attached to a point - if so, remove it and test in isolation to see if that make any difference as sometimes the way it's installed on a layout can restrict the movement in one direction. Thanks for watching 😃

[@ianhughes-zf1ll]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy not on a point just testing to see if it worked tried to find videos on it but even on there wed site there’s no information but thanks away cheers

[@paulrobinson-m6p]

after installing your first motor how do you connect up the wiring on future points

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Take the positive from the CDU and run that to each switch. The common from the CDU then connects to every point motor using the C solder pad. Then just hook up each switch to its corresponding motor using the A/B pads. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 👍

[@darkfrag83]

On the finished layout, did you wire the common to each switch? I have used the same switches and have just wired the common to the terminal on the side (I think) as the bank of switches are on a common feed on the pcb....

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I daisy chained all the sockets for the common together then ran one common wire to the layout which fanned out to each motor. A lightly more complicated way of doing it but achieves the same effect. Thanks for watching 😃

[@darkfrag83]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I thought you had when I watched the 009 video...... I went to try thr same method then realised there was no need to daisy chain the commons together as they are connected on the pcb

[@MyAttemptAtMusicals]

Please do a video on how to wire multiple points on a track

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

The process is the same regardless of how many points you want to motorise on a layout. The only difference would be you could daisy chain the positive from the CDU to all the switches and similarly the Common Return on all the motors to simplify the wiring slightly. Thanks for watching 👍

[@nigelcole1936]

Really great video and an excellent tutorial, I picked up some good points there - many thanks

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it Nigel... was the pun intentional? 😉 Thanks for watching 🤩

[@thesudricmerman3318]

Do you just need one Gaugemaster CDU Capacitor Discharge Unit for multiple set off points or would you need to by multiple off them

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

You only need a single CDU for the layout... unless you have a ridiculous amount of points. Thanks for watching 😃

[@thesudricmerman3318]

@That Model Railway Guy about 7 point I be using

[@railfanpolska]

Great job 🆗

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching 😃

[@davidsheriff8989]

Simple to follow...

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching 😃

[@WillSimpson-jq5qq]

If I was to use electro frog points on an analogue OO9 layout, would I just need to add a frog wire between the point motor and point?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Firstly you would need a solenoid motor capable of switching the frog polarity which these PM2's can't do. In addition to the wire from the frog to motor, I believe you also need a positive and common feed from your track power connected to the motor to actually supply power to the frog. This is all assuming you have the isolations setup correctly for electrofrog points as well to avoid any short circuits. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃

[@WillSimpson-jq5qq]

Is there any plans to make a video turning your suitcase layout to DCC or make a bigger layout that is DCC using the method you’ve just mentioned? My 009 layout is going to be 7FT x 4FT.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

@@WillSimpson-jq5qq This suitcase layout already runs on DCC (it can run as both really but all my 009 locos are digital). At the moment my focus is on finishing the 00 Gauge modular railway so if I did do a larger narrow gauge layout it wouldn’t be until after that is done at least.

[@rustyc521]

What brand is the track and points on your railway?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Generally I use PECO track and points 99% of the time. Thanks for watching 😃

[@neilbruce6132]

hi there,where did you get the switch bank from?

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

There's a link to it in the description 👍

[@neilbruce6132]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I don't see where sorry

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

@@neilbruce6132 Under the video where it shows the number of views there's a button that says "...more". Click that and it'll open up the full description which has a list of everything used in the video and links on where to get them.

[@neilbruce6132]

Found it 👍

[@gfydxfyh8890]

I would like to install the solenoid next to the point and not underneath the board (i don't have one due to lack of space), have you tried that before? thanks.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

I haven't tried it myself but it would be fairly simple. Obviously you'd need to use one of the surface mount point motors, some of which I believe have the wires already attached. Thanks for watching 😃

[@carllawton9520]

Shame the a&h video doesn’t work

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

The A&H video? You've lost me there... what's that?

[@carllawton9520]

@@ThatModelRailwayGuy the comment was for another video not yours I don’t know what happened there

[@NathanielKempson]

I bought a plastic 3d printed jig online to do my layouts with. Absolute breeze.

[@ThatModelRailwayGuy]

Nice, that sounds like a handy way of doing it. Thanks for watching 😃