TIPS & TECHNIQUES

LGB Turnout Motors

    LGB turnouts have no brushes and only two moving parts so they are

pretty reliable.  They can fill with water in our Florida climate, which

can make them pretty dirty inside.  The cover is designed to prevent

water from entering from the top, but it still finds a way of getting

inside the case.  Most of this can be prevented by using clear silicone

on the four screw heads on top, and over the hole where the wires enter

the cover.  This can be peeled off when you need to access the motor for

maintenence.  These covers need to be removed and the motors cleaned at

least once of year if left outside to promote reliable operation.

    Many times these motors will stall and not properly complete their

cycle.  When this happens you get a buzzing sound as the motor stalls.

If it is allowed to remain in this condidtion, it will easily burn out.

There are several causes for stalling which can be corrected,

    1-If you use an LGB 1203 accessory contact or a lantern, the

mechanical load on the motor may be too high.  You may need to increase

the voltage.  If you run your turnouts from the typical power pack at 16

VAC,  you probably do not have enough power to operate the turnout

motor.  Radio Shack sells a 25 VAC transformer which should work fine

for this application.

    2-Check all your turnout wiring.  You should only drop a couple of

volts from the power source to the turnout motor.  Make sure the gauge

of your wire is large enough, and check for bad connections.

    3-Make sure you don't have any ballast in the points or throwbar.

Ballast around turnouts causes a lot of trouble with moving parts.

    4-The metal strips that the points slide on get dirty and add to

drag as the points move.  Scrape this off manually.

    5-Take the cover off and pull out the throwbar.  Clean out the

channel where the throwbar slides with a small brush.  Do not lubricate,

as this will cause dirt to accumulate.