Point motors are used to remotely control model railway points. They are ideally used for points which are difficult to reach and thus control manually. Many modellers only motorise the points which they cannot reach in an effort to save money.

There are at least three makes of point motors, Hornby, SEEP, and Peco. As far as I know all of the motors are simple linear motors (meaning they have a side to side motion instead of rotational motion). Hornby and Peco Point motors are very similar but do require modification to allow them to be used on each others points. Click here to read more. SEEP point motor were recommended to me as apparently they are more reliable on large display layouts.

Hornby standard point motors (R8014) do not have the option of a built in switch, but they do come with fitted coloured wires and they can be mounted in three different ways. They are above the board in a point motor housing (R8015) (Illustrated below),

Hornby Point Motor Housing (R8015) Hornby Point Motor Housing R8015

fixed directly to the bottom of the points (recommended) by means of fixing holes on the bottom of modern Hornby points (you do need to cut a hole in the base board 40mm X 25mm to accommodate the motor), or fixed underneath the base board by screws (by bending the mounting prongs over, (screws are not supplied). You can also glue the point motor to the bottom of the board and use the extension arm that comes with every Hornby point (not recommended).

Hornby Point Motor (R8014) Hornby Point Motor R8014

Peco Standard Point motors (pictured below) are very similar in look and performance to Hornby point motors. The only big difference is that Peco point motors come in either long pin (PL-10E) or standard pin (PL-10) length, so you have to decide at the store, were as all Hornby point motors come with an extension arm. You can also buy a switch (PL-13) which mounts on to the bottom of Peco Points which can be used to automatically change a signal or change electro frog polarity. Remember you cant use Peco point motors on Hornby Points without some minor adjustments. Click here to find out more.

Peco Point Motors - PL-10

Fixing point motors to your points is a bit hit and miss. It often takes many small minor adjustments to the point motor before it will work consistently, and with speed. If you rush it, you may find that they don't work first time every time resulting in derailments, often in the most inaccessible area of your layout. Remember it's important to test your layout before you ballast, as adjustments afterwards are very difficult.

SEEP point motors come with or without a built in switch which allows you for example to operate a signal from the point motor (It does not control the points), and can only be placed below the base board either by screws (not supplied) or by glue (see picture). It also does not come with fitted wires, so will require soldering.

SEEP Point Motor

Powering Point Motors (DC)

Point motors can not be powered from the track. They need an external power source. Hornby controllers (HM2000 and R965) come with an accessory outlet 16V AC. This is the correct voltage for Hornby, Peco, and SEEP point motors, as well as other accessories eg signals. In my experience the amp output of older versions of the R965 controller is insufficient to power the SEEP point motors and is only just powerful enough to power the Hornby point motors (even when fitted perfectly). The newer version is better but I would recommend that you use a Gaugemaster or HM2000 controller which not only gives you more amps to the point motors (allowing them to work all the time every time), but it also puts more amps into the track resulting in less stalling and more pulling power. If you buy a Gaugemaster controller you will need to buy a set of leads (£1) which will link it to the Hornby style power clips. Gaugemaster Controllers come with a lifetime guarantee and are only a little bit more in price.

If you decide to use point motors please click on the related links below which will advise you further on the options you have for positioning and different methods of switching.

Point motor Positioning / mounting

Point motor switching

Fitting Point Motors directly beneath you points.