7mm Using Tortoise motors with Peco turnouts

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
I have installed some brand-new Tortoise motors with Peco 7mm turnouts as per the details in the instruction leaflet. When I apply power to the motor I can hear the motor turning and see the black projection moving side to side. From above I can see the operating wire twitching and circling as the motor moves from end to end of the travel... without the stretcher bar moving at all.

Suggestions please.

Thank you, Graham
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
I have installed some brand-new Tortoise motors with Peco 7mm turnouts as per the details in the instruction leaflet. When I apply power to the motor I can hear the motor turning and see the black projection moving side to side. From above I can see the operating wire twitching and circling as the motor moves from end to end of the travel... without the stretcher bar moving at all.

Suggestions please.

Thank you, Graham
Option 1 : Replace operating wire with heavier piano wire. (Will need to drill the hole in the tortoise larger but it works fine)
Option 2 : Remove omega loop spring from Peco turnout.

I didn't realise Peco did Scale7 turnouts now.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Graham,

It’s possible that the over-centre spring fitted to the Peco points is too stiff to allow the Tortoise to operate it.

Assuming you’ve tried sliding the fulcrum thingy up & down, and it doesn’t help, two options:

1 remove over centre spring or reduce preload. Depending on the era of your points, it will be a little hairpin under the weird box thingy at the tie-bar end, or it will be a moulded lump on the tiebar which has to “pop” over a similar lump on the adjacent timber. The wire ones are easily removed, the moulded ones need to be judiciously customised with a scalpel. But beware, it is possible for the switchblade heels to come out of the closure rail fishplates if you’re over-ambitious! This can be remedied by addition of some plasticard, without the lump.

2 fit heavier gauge wire in place of that supplied. This won’t overload the tortoise, but you will likely have to enlarge the hole in the black thingy that goes from side to side, and in the fulcrum. It does have the disadvantage of reducing the travel of the black thingy. This means that the inbuilt switches may not fully switch, and they may then be subject to early failure. Microswitches, or a relay & diode, can be fitted if this is an issue.

Atb
Simon
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I bought thick piano wire from a piano shop and it solved my problems. I had already removed the over centre spring.
 
Top