Terminal blocks
After the last two parts of the wiring, I was not very satisfied with my terminal blocks and decided to try out another type of terminal blocks. Here are the links:
- Terminal blocks of various sizes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08135QF67
- Crimping tool: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q4MG4BW
The main advantages of this terminal compared to the one I've been using so far is the ability to connect wires from very different gauges and the simplicity of connecting in parallel.
We can compare those two versions:
Tortoise switch motors
Once I wired the 3 sections on each side of the switches, I took on the installation of the Tortoise switch motor. I glued some leftover trackbed between the plywood and the motor to prevent vibrations.
I then mounted the motor with the provided spring (I advise against using anything else: I have one switch with some other wire and I think it is not flexible enough and might damage the switch over time).
I then started the easy wiring of the motors, that's to say without any power to the frog (green wire).
Time for a quick test:
Peco switches
At this stage, I decided to glue these two switches in place on the trackbed with the Woodland Scenics glue:
Temporary wiring
I was ready to see some machines running and omitted to wire the section detection; so based on the diagram I connected all the red wires together:
What we were waiting for!
And finally: