Operating turnouts electrically
Benjamin | TrackDrawer.com · published 12 November 2026
You operate a turnout electrically with a point motor that moves the blades: a solenoid that snaps over with a short pulse of current, or a slow-action motor that moves the blades gradually. On analogue you drive that motor from a control panel with push buttons or switches; on digital an accessory decoder delivers the current on a command from the command station. Some track systems have the motor built into the turnout, with others you add it yourself.
Solenoid or motor
The two kinds of point motor work differently, and that decides how you wire them.
| Solenoid | Slow-action motor | |
|---|---|---|
| How it throws | two coils; a short pulse through one or the other pulls the blades across | a small motor pushes the blades over slowly |
| Movement | fast, with an audible snap | slow, closer to the prototype |
| Current | short and strong, only at the moment of throwing | small, often for as long as the motor is powered |
| Analogue control | a push button per direction, never continuous | a switch that reverses or changes over the voltage |
| Extra contacts | sometimes a cut-off at the end of travel | often switch contacts for a frog or an indication |
| Position | in or beside the turnout, or under the baseboard | usually under the baseboard |
A solenoid coil is made for a short pulse. If the current stays on, it gets hot. Many solenoids therefore have an end-of-travel cut-off that switches the coil off as soon as the blades reach their end position. A slow-action motor tolerates a constant voltage and uses it to hold the blades against the stock rail with light pressure.
What to do when a point motor does not throw, or only throws halfway, is covered in turnout will not switch. This article is about the choice and the set-up.
What each track system comes with
Whether you need to buy a point motor depends on your track system and sometimes on the version of the turnout. This is what our catalogue says about the standard turnouts:
| System | Standard turnouts | Point motor per catalogue |
|---|---|---|
| Märklin C track | 24611, 24612 | hand-operated; electric motor 74491 fits inside the roadbed, built-in decoder 74461 possible |
| Märklin K track | 2262, 2263 | solenoid included; 2265 and 2266 are the hand-operated version |
| Märklin M track | 5203, 5204 | solenoid built in; 5222 and 5223 are hand-operated |
| Märklin Z | 8562, 8563 | solenoid built in; 8565 and 8566 are hand-operated |
| Piko A track | 55220, 55221 | point motor 55271 |
| Fleischmann Profi | 6170, 6171 | electric version with built-in motor: 6172, 6173 |
| Fleischmann piccolo | 9170, 9171 | electric version with built-in motor: 9172, 9173 |
| Kato Unitrack N | 20-220, 20-221 | built in |
| Kato Unitrack H0 | 2-840, 2-841 | point motor optional: 2-503 and 2-504 |
| Hornby | R8072, R8073 | hand-operated as standard; point motor R8243 optional |
| LGB | 12050, 12150 | electric, point motor 12010 |
Two special cases with C track: the three-way turnout 24630 needs two motors, one for each diverging route, and the double slip 24624 already has one built in. An electric and a hand-operated version of the same turnout have the same geometry in the catalogue: in a plan you can swap one for the other without changes.
Analogue: the control panel
On analogue you drive each point motor from a control panel, with a wire from the panel to each turnout.
- Solenoid. Two push buttons per turnout, one for straight and one for diverging, and a common wire to the supply. A short press is enough. Use buttons that spring back, not switches that stay where you put them.
- Slow-action motor. One switch per turnout that reverses or changes over the voltage, depending on how the motor works. The switch stays in position and so shows at once how the turnout is set.
- A separate supply. Preferably do not power the turnouts from the same output as the track. Otherwise the voltage dips for a moment when you throw a turnout, and the train jerks.
- Indication on the panel. A track diagram on the panel with a lamp for each position keeps things clear. With solenoids you need a motor with extra contacts or a small circuit for that, because the push button itself remembers nothing.
How to wire the rest of an analogue layout, and which sections you switch, is covered in analogue or digital control.
Digital: the accessory decoder
On digital you connect the point motor to an accessory decoder. It gets an address, listens to the command station and gives the motor its current. There are two forms:
- A decoder for several turnouts, usually under or beside the layout, with an address of its own for each output.
- A built-in decoder that belongs to one turnout and disappears in or under it, like the 74461 for C track.
With a decoder for several turnouts, watch the length of the wires. Place it centrally between the turnouts it drives so the wires stay short. Also check whether the decoder drives solenoids or slow-action motors: a decoder for solenoids gives short pulses, while a slow-action motor needs an output that stays switched.
With a command station you can throw several turnouts at once as a route: one key sets all the turnouts in the station for an arriving train. The command station usually switches them one shortly after another, so the supply does not have to deliver all the pulses at once.
Switching the frog with the turnout
On two-rail with a live frog, the polarity of the frog has to change with the position of the turnout. A point motor with a built-in switch contact does that most reliably. Why it is needed and where to put the insulated joiners behind the frog is explained in loco stalls on the frog. On Märklin three-rail this does not apply: both outer rails are the return there.
Where the point motor goes
- In the roadbed or beside the turnout. Quick to fit and easy to reach, but visible, or with a small box beside the track.
- Under the baseboard. Invisible, with an operating rod through a hole in the baseboard. You do need to be able to get to it: plan an open-frame baseboard or a hatch under each group of turnouts.
- Access. Turnouts in a tunnel or a fiddle yard are the most awkward. A point motor you cannot reach is a point motor you cannot replace.
Turnouts and point motors in TrackDrawer
Your plan's parts list counts the turnouts by item number, so you know how many point motors you need. With the digital layer (Pro) for Märklin C track, TrackDrawer assigns a 74491 motor from your collection to each turnout, two to a three-way turnout and none to the double slip with its built-in motor. Each turnout then gets an output on an accessory decoder with a rising address. The wiring diagram numbers the turnouts W1, W2 and so on and shows the turnout, the address and the wire colours yellow, blue, blue for each output. Anything missing is listed under shortages.
Lay out your track in the app and see straight away in the parts list how many turnouts and point motors your plan needs.
