Plate 114:  Installing a Hornby Point Motor: where the wires go, Part 10
(This plate added OCT 2003)

This view is a close-up of the Hornby point motor. In this view, the horizontal plunger, shown schematically in Plate 113, can be seen between the two solenoids. In case you're not yet sure you can see the plunger, it is the thick gold-colored horizontal cylinder under the vertical rod. You can't actually see the solenoid coils; they are concealed inside the silver-colored metal housings on the left and right. You can see the green wire, connected to the solenoid on the left, as well as the red wire attached to the solenoid on the right. --more--

The black "common" wire is harder to see, because it is partially concealed by the green wire. The vertical connecting rod can be seen sticking up from the middle of the horizontal plunger, between the two solenoids. The lower part of the vertical connecting rod is out of sight beneath the plunger, where it engages a horizontal sliding arm in the R8015 base plate. Observe that the plunger has been previously "thrown" to the left, thereby moving the vertical connecting rod to the left. Accordingly, the vertical connecting rod has dragged the sliding arm in the base plate to the left (the "retracted" position). The sliding arm in the base plate has pulled the sliding element of the point to the left (the "straight track" side), thus moving the point rails so that a train will be guided to the right, onto the curved track. Note: the two movable rails of the point are called "switch points" in America. In Britain, the moving rails are sometimes called "point blades". In Britain, the entire assembly of straight and curved track, including the stationary rails as well as the moving rails, is called a "point", or sometimes "a set of points". In America, the entire assembly is called a "switch" or a "turnout". Hornby, a British company, follows the British usage. Go to top of page