A good source for tubing to run the control wire through under intervening tracks are the skinny straws that are often given with spray-can-packaged products. If you're like me, the first step is to quite losing that straw every time witg various products. These are usually red, so that helps spotting them. They're skinny enough they may even work under N scale track.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I have mounted most all of my Ground Throws at the edge of the layout to keep the Operators from having to reach through the Scenery and knocking the scenery loose!
For most I can drill through the cork roadbed with a long 1/8" drill bit!
I then take the coffee plastic sturring straws and push them through the 1/8" hole and run the straw back to the Ground Throw. I use 18 gauge mechanics wire (available at Lowes/Home Depot by the roll).
I will either put hold the plastic straw with track nails and put scenery over the straw or will glue the straw down with DUCO Cement (only glue I have found that likes to attach to the plastic straws other then super glue).
The DUCO cement is a lot cheaper than Super GLue.
If i have to go further than one of the coffee straws I will enlarge the end of the straw and press the end of another straw into the enlarged end a 1/16" then glue that down and put the scenery over that!
I have also use the half round Plastruct material much the same way as the plastic straws - this is easier as I just install the wire and then cover it over later once the Ground Throw is working OK!
I have also used Plastruce tuging for longer reaches and glued the ends together. This though went through the table in a sweeping arc as I had to drill the holes at a very steep angle to get this to work!
The R/C airplanes have Golden Rod (a Red/Yellow Nylon cable) which works well if you have to run things at an angle as the stuff is made to bend around a fairly sharp curve!
I have also made eccentrics so I could run the throws at 90 degree angles.
Some of those were made out of large washers with a piece of brass tubing for a pivot point and just space the washer up off the table and use a screw to screw the brass tube tight to the table - the washer then pivots around the brass tube.
I usally drill out the washer hole so it is a snug fit to the brass tube OD!
Now as to covering up the pivots, I just place a piece of Woodland Scenics Clump foliage in front of the eccentric so you can't see the metal which I will paint flat black to make them less noticable!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I have several areas where ground throws are located a few inches from the turnouts they control.
Here are some spaced one track away from the turnouts, and others two tracks away. I ran some 1/16" brass tubing under the track only (not the subroadbed), and used steel wire moving through the tubes to the turnout throwbars. A slot cut into the cork (as in this spot) or Homasote roadbed provides clearance for the tubing and wire. The tubing prevents the wire from deforming under compression from the ground throw.
Rob Spangler
I have had good success placing the ground throws on the accessable side of the track and then connecting them to the turnout with thin piano wire running through a styrene tube under the roadbed. I do not remember the exact sizes of the wire and the tube but I would guess that the tube is about 1/8 inch outside diameter. The tube allows you to use a thinner piano wire and it helps protect the wire from glue or ballast which could jam up the works.
I have a question, I have three turnouts that have a ackward place for my groundthrows, they are All placed on the iinside of my dbl mainline, can anyone show me a diagram of how and where I could place my ground throws, I've heard of a technique where a wire is run from the turnout to the ground throw via underneath the sub road bed to the ground throw placed in the fasia. please help in this matter.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q571/UPetey52/20140608_185828_zps68a902dc.jpg
TrainsrMe