Three Way Switch and Tortoises
I have received quite a bit of Feedback about this circuit. I found an error in the circuit and have corrected it. Please see the images and pdf document below with the corrected circuits
Recently a Peco three-way turnout was added to the layout. This turnout was designed to be thrown with a twin-coil type switch machine but I wanted to use a set of Tortoise switch machines to throw it. This poses a problem because the points of the switch overlap. This means that each tortoise needs to operated independently. I wanted to have a single toggle switch on my control panel to operate both tortoises and indicate on the panel which route was set.
I was able to develop a circuit to do exactly that. It uses a single toggle switch (a Double throw - single pole switch with a center off position). The upper position of the toggle switch is for the right leg, the center position for the center leg and lower position for the left leg of the turnout. A set of LED's are used to show which track is aligned.
Peco/Tortoise Setup Diagram
Peco Three Way Turnout with Tortoises Wiring Diagram (Left Setting)
Peco Three Way Turnout with Tortoises Wiring Diagram (Center Setting)
Peco Three Way Turnout with Tortoises Wiring Diagram (Right Setting)
The diagram above shows the Peco three way turnout set to the center leg. The diagram below shows all three switch positions and how they drive the LED indicators.
Tortoise Switch Positions and LED Indication
The circuit cost about 13 dollars to build as it is drawn. Money can be save if screw terminals are not used. I use them because I had to flip the motor leads to make the tortoise throw the correct direction. Below is the bill of materials.
A PDF with full size diagrams can be found below.