6.4. Ground Throw
This scratchbuilt ground throw wasn't as hard to make as it may look, in spite of its size, although it did have a lot of parts. Also, all of the parts started out quite large, and were gradually trimmed down to size; it's much easer to make small parts from larger ones than it is to handle small parts once they're made.
First I rounded the end of a piece of styrene rod, and drilled a hole in it endwise.
Next, I made the base, throw lever and connecting rod from bits of styrene and brass wire.
I assembled all of the pieces together, and then trimmed away the excess.
The targets were cut from tiny bits of brass foil. After gluing them in place, I painted the assembly and installed it on the layout. The throw rod merely hovers directly under the switch points.
Incidentally, I later sold Z (and N) Scale ground throws as a commercial product.
