Model Railroad Club Makes Own Switches

November 20, 2005

Like many model train clubs, members of the Black Diamond Lines Model Railroad Club build their own switch machines. This gives them flexibility that a purchased switch will not always be able to provide….and it keeps the cost down.

On the club website they go through the construction and installation process of a machine . The switch machines consist of the base, motor, threaded rod, three (3) cherry switches, two (2) diodes, flat head machine screws with nuts, 3/4″ x 3/4″ alum angle 1/16″ thick, and a square piece of plastic with an eyelet in it. Off the green wire are the diodes that direct power to the motor.

The base is plexiglass, 1/4″ thick, 5″ by 3″. Plexiglass is easy to work with, non-magnetic, but is pricey. Luckily the club was given a bunch of it. Here the base has the motor siliconed to it and the threaded rod has been pressed onto the motor shaft. The end of the screw is supported by the alum angle.

Before securing the motor the base, remember to put the plastic on the threaded rod.

For full directions and more interesting photos visit the club website http://www.blackdiamondlines.org/switchmachine.html

The site also shows how to wire the switch. The cherry switch has three connectors on it. The connector on the side is connected to one of the diodes. The other end is connected to the green wire. This is the power wire from the control panel. The other diode attaches to the green wire and to the outside connector on the bottom of the other cherry switch.

The black wire from the motor is connected to the left connector. A jumper wire is attached to the right connector on the bottom cherry switch. The right connector on the single cherry switch is not used.