Turnout control boards

First there is probably no commercial modular panel system available, you have to build your own.    There are lots of components available for that.  

Your controls depend what type of switch motor you use.    If you use stall motors like Tortoise or some of the other brands, you would probably want to use a toggle switch.    You could use an SPDT to throw the switch and the position of the toggle would indicate direction.    If you wanted to add lights (I use LEDs), you could use a DPDT and one side would control the switch motor and the other side the lights.     You could use a rotary switch with just 2 or 3 positions.   If you do this Rix-Rax makes nice plastic switch covers that look like the prototype electric ones.

If you are using twin-coil machines,  you need to use momentary contact switches.   The simplest is a momentary push button that you can get from radio shack.   It is single pole and you want normally open.   There are other suppliers.     You could combine this with a rotary to control the lights as I did.    You need two buttons for each switch if you use only  the buttons.   Or you can combine it with a rotary and use only one button.   

Recently many people have been doing track diagrams using computer software, including Excel, and printing them on photo paper.    then they cut them out and glue them to the panels.

Just some possibilities and thoughts.

We make our panels with CAD then print them out on adhesive paper then stick them to 3mm MDF. Some of the smaller panels we buy in an electronics store and just use the same method minus the MDF. We don't bother with fancy lights or names just straight forward panels as the layout is an operating layout with lots of switching and four operators so we don't want any distractions when using the panels. The layout is 2-Rail DC which is why there are so many isolating switches the silver switches.

Roo.

Here are some samples:

Sorry if I'm "hogging" the thread but here is what the panels look like in the aisle.

There are much better looking panels around than mine.

Roo

No Roo those pics are awesome!

Giving me some good ideas how to go about this.  

Absolutely nothing (IMNTHO) is as simple, quick, easy and professional as the Berrett Hill system.

www.berretthill.com

Somewhat plug and play.

Agree about Berrett Hill for the switchgear on boards or individual per turnout with Tortoise/servo etc. control for DC if you want to start that way. And now they added the Translator, you could easily add DCC turnout control later if you switch to DCC later, and keep all the DC panels you'd made and all the B-H gear would still work the same from the user's perspective. 

The actual B/H panel construction  is simplicity in itself.  Any shape any configuration, a one evening effort.

However conceptually one needs to look at the practical application in a layout of Dawg's proposed size.

How much of this will be a walk around layout?  Nothing, IMO beats hand control turnouts with a walk around layout as you run the train.

If this will be a roundy round display layout, most turnouts may be best motor driven.

As I work through my own point to point branch line layout installation there will only be a dozen or so Tortoise controled switches and that's to facilitate the circuitry of the double cross overs,  the other five dozen will be hand thrown.

Tom is spot on.  Before designing the control system first conceptualize how you want to operate the railroad.

Walk around with the train or sit down in a central place and let them rip

local freight switching (like Frank Ellison's) (the switch crew will want local control of the turnouts}

How large a crew do you envision participating in the operation

Command and Control or traditional DC

Radio control, plug in hamd throttles, , or central fixed throttles.

Here are pictures of mine:

Level 1 (Freight Staging Yard):

Level 2 (Passenger Yard and Crossover):

I have a third for my engine yard, but don't have a picture of it currently.

I always wanted to try the computer generated and printed method for the track diagram, but never got around to it. Plus, once we started with a certain "look", I wanted to keep things consistent for all the panels.

These were made with 1/4 inch thick masonite, painted, and 1/4 inch pin stripping tape from the local auto parts store.

Hello Allan, I like your setup with the Z Stuff push button switch's.

The way you set the push buttons up make sense to me as soon as I looked at.

This is an excellent way of doing this.

I use the same style push buttons, I may just rethink my push button layout on my control panel.

Thanks for sharing !!!!!!!

Thanks Mark.  I do find them easy to visualize that way.  

Here is a picture of my turntable controller made the same way:

Here are some photos of my Main panel and Connellsville Panel using Rix-Rax knobs.     You their knobs over rotary switches and push buttons.    They come as 2-packs with back plates.   One side of the back plate is for switches and the other for signals.

Here's my control panel, not as fancy as some but functions very well..

RD,

   I use to have a control panel for all my old 072 Lionel switches, not any more with the now FasTrack Command Control switches, I simply number the lighted switch controllers and place them track side, the Legacy Remote Control operates up to 99 FTCC switches, I have no further need of my old 072 Control panel.  Further the FTCC Switches all run from direct track power.  New technology is great!

PCRR/Dave