Quality of Hornby points/turnouts

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Is it just me, with my usual run of personal bad luck, or are Hornby points/turnouts rubbish? I've had no end of grief trying to find working examples of both the R8072 & 73 points recently. The springs seem so weak that they just don't operate correctly, never making a consistent electrical contact. That, or locos stall on them. I had one 8072 point that would choke a particular Bachmann shunter, or slow it down considerably, but a swap-out with a point that actually worked cured the issue. I have no idea why the original point gave so much grief -- it operated reasonably well, both mechanically and electrically, but the Bachmann just refused to play.

I'd love to use Peco SL-91/92 instead, but as I understand it they're longer than the Hornby versions, and having most of my points fitted with solenoids, ripping up chunks of track to retrofit the Peco versions just isn't an option for the core layout. I might try one in a siding though, if the opportunity presents itself.

Going forward for my next layout, I'll definitely be using Peco track, especially as it's British made, not churned out in some Chinese factory. I have my next layout already planned in my head, but wife insists that we finish the layout that I'm currently working on first. Sigh.

Clem

[Walkingthedog]

Peco setrack points ST240/241 are identical to the Hornby standard version R8072/73, 168mm long, and better in every way.

[Bandit Mick]

I agree with WTD - Peco are the way to go.

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Thanks for the replies. I wasn't aware of the ST240/241 turnouts, I completely missed those! Dammit. I've been too blinkered by the Hornby way of thing. They look like a direct replacement. One further question though. Will they work with Hornby surfaced-mounted R8243 point motors, or would it be better to use the Peco version? There's a change in colour coding of the wiring to manage, no biggie, but it does, at face value, seem more of a challenge to try and hide the wires from the Peco solenoids.

Cheers, Clem

[Steve M]

If you are set on surface mounted point motors, I would choose the Peco Pl11 every time. Run the wires through a small hole drilled in the baseboard at the end of the motor and pin the motor down with small track pins.
They are not difficult to disguise - I start by painting them the same colour I use on the track prior to ballasting. Then add some bushes or detritus as more camouflage. There are two motors in this photo as an example.

2022-03-11_11-57-14 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[Walkingthedog]

They are a direct replacement.

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Thanks for the reply. The Hornby point motors seem to work well enough with my Gaugemaster CDU, but I suppose that it does make sense to use the related manufacturer's motors with their turnouts. The wiring changes are easy enough to accommodate, as are baseboard holes for wiring. I do think that the Hornby motors are perhaps a more elegant physical solution, as it were, and they are supplied with screws to secure the motors to the baseboard. Minor details though, in the broader scheme of things.

I don't really have the option of using point motors under my layout. The chap that made the baseboard for me, a carpenter, put wooden braces all over the place, so the opportunity to use them under the layout didn't work in a number of places, which is why I went for surface-mounted motors.

Brilliant disguise work in the photo, BTW. Nice job.

The main takeaway from this is that going forward, if I need a turnout I can grab a Peco ST240/241 instead of the Hornby variants. At present, I'm playing the 'return for replacement' game with the duff Hornby points that I have.