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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by NevinW Short of rigging a lever through 2 inches of foam and plywood to an electrical switch below the layout, is there anything else I can do to improve the reliability of current flow through these switches. [/quote] This is not as hard as it might seem. Here is an easy way to make a linkage from the throwbar through 2 inches of foam and plywood to a microswitch under the table - and it can be done AFTER the turnout and ballast has been installed. Did this on Peco N scale turnouts when the points kept getting dirty and got tired of having to clean them, now i do it all the time when installing turnouts.. Evergreen Scale Models Strip Styrene 3/32" hollow tubing (#423) makes a nice bushing for 3/64" OD brass rod from a hardware or craft store. The brass rod is formed to pivot in this styrene busing so that only a single round hole is needed through the table. It is the need for only this single round hole that makes this method installable as an afterthought. Drill a 7/64" hole (a 3/32" hole pinches the styrene tubing and binds the brass rod) through the styrofoam and plywood located between the first clear pair of ties from the thowbar (about 3/8" away in N scale) and the same distance from the rails as the hole in the end of the throwbar (add a hole in your throwbar if necessary) when the points are at mid-travel. Form the brass rod into a U shape with a short end that engages the hole in the throwbar and lets the rod slip down through the styrene tubing and out the bottom. Form the bottom of the brass rod where it exits the tubing to work a microswitch lever. Use glue to firmly fix the tubing into position so it can't move or bend and prevent the rod from rotating in the tubing. Place the microswitch as close as possible to the stryene tubing to minimize the required force yet still allow adjustment so the microswitch activates when the points are cenetered between the stock rails (to prevent electrical shorts). Now thowing the points makes the brass rod rotate in the plastic bushing and transfers the force to the microswitch. This will work through many inches of styrofoam thickness, but eventually the torsion of the brass rod will be overcome by the force needed to operate the microswitch. In this case larger tubing and heavier rod will be needed. Good luck with this.
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