Operating HO scale ground throws?

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If you want to put the throws on the facia, get some brass tubing that the wire for the throw just fits inside. You can hid the tube with scenery and the tube holds the wire straight so the throw works reliably. You can also gently bend the tube to get the wire to where it needs to go. My club has used this technique to mount hand throws in the facia and bend the wire up to the switch. It also works well in yards where you need to run the wire under other tracks.
 
Josh, as Chip said: you can use piano wire to lengthen the distance from the turnout. I have several that have a piano wire under one track and over to another.

Like Jim, I use a piece of foam roadbed under most of my Caboose Throws, nailed, and then pour white glue over the foam and around the base of the throw. This stiffens the foam up and also makes it easy to paint as concrete or choice color.

Where my track is directly on the sub-roadbed (plywood), I super glue them. Yup! and they have stood up to several Op sessions.
 
Most people shim up the Caboose Throws with either whatever they're using for the track bed, or squares of styrene all glued together.

Kennedy
 


I use the caboose ground throws on all my switches except for the 2 that I cant reach and 1 that has no space for one. They are very reliable and keep good tension on the rails in both direction of travel.. there cost and easy of instalation are a bonus as well.
 
Since I use cork roadbed I just cut a chunk, flip it over, glue it down and mount the Caboose Industries ground throw (218S, 202S) to that. I tried the 204S, but it wasn't durable enough.

For long reaches (usually under a track to another track) I use some piano wire and a "coffee stirrer" sized straw to keep the wire from catching on things.
 
So, its dawned upon me, if I use ME switches, I don't technically need ground throws that work. I still going to get one to test it out and to see its size (never seen one before). I'm going to check out the Rix one I linked too, if nothing, to add extra tension on the ME switch (if I chose to skip the Caboose throws).
 




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