Links	How to Wire the Points
Home CDU Contact Me Point Wiring Converting Track Plan to Diagram Signal Motorising		A lot of people think that wiring points is very difficult but this is not true. A point motor is basically a metal bar that is pulled to the right or left by two electromagnets. When the metal bar is placed inside the small hole on the point the point will move with the motor.
	Which point motors should you buy. There are at least three makes of point motors, Hornby, SEEP, and Peco. Hornby and Peco. Point motors are very similar but do require modification to allow them to be used on each others points. I use Peco as they are very easy to pick up cheaply at model railway shows (<£2). SEEP point motors come with or without a built in switch which allows you 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. It also does not come with fitted wires, so will require soldering. Fitting Point Motors You can fix the motor directly to the bottom of the points (recommended) by means of the 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) which would save you making big holes in the baseboard. Peco Point motors are very similar in look and performance to Hornby point motors. You can also buy a switches which mounts on to the bottom of Peco Points which can be used to automatically change a signal or change electro frog polarity although with some simple wiring this is not necessary. Remember you can’t use Peco point motors on Hornby Points without some minor adjustments. Fixing point motors to your points is often very fiddly. 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.  Powering Point motors Point motors can't be powered from the track as they need an external power source. Hornby controllers come with an accessory outlet, 16V AC. This is the correct voltage for Hornby, Peco, and SEEP point motors. I would recommend, however, that you buy a suitable transformer (I sell them at www.kitlectric.co.uk) because I have often found that the output currect of older versions of this 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). This can usually be solved by adding a CDU.