I am using toggle switches for the first time. I have purchased miniature ones from Miniatronics Corp. As far as the Single Pole Doulbe Throw ones, should they stay in the “on” position when you flip the toggle up and down. The one I have been experimenting with doesn’t stay “on” when I flip the toggle up and down. Being new at using them I wondered if this is common or should the toggle stay on. I would appreciate any help.
You have “momentary contact” toggles. That’s what you want for running twin-coil switch machines (Atlas, Peco) if that’s your application. They want to return to the neutral position after you activate them. If you’re running Tortoises, then you’ve got the wrong kind of toggles.
When you are buying them, momentary contacts will be in parenthesis, like so:
(ON)-OFF-(ON). That switch could look exactly like a ON-OFF-ON, but obviously works differently.
like Mr. Beasly said, you would want momentary switches for many turnout controls. But you would want a switch that either stays on or off for block control. So it depends on your intended use. Dave