I have been using the CI 206s N-scale ground throws on all My Atlas #4 turnouts since 1990 and in all that time I have not had any problem’s. I have even reused some when changing track plans around. I use #0 x 3/8’’ black round head wood screws, that screw right into the Homasote roadbed, no starter hole is necessary and can even reuse the screw, fits right in the base of ground throw. In the pic’ there are two on one side. The one to the right controls the points in the street, with a brass rod in a brass sleave inbedded in a trench in the Homasote, works like a charm. Since the photo I have filled in ballast holes and re- weathered the brick street. I don’t have problems throwing them either. If You let the handle rest off the ground, rather than all the way down, its easy to flip or use a skewer/flat blade screw driver. They are still a little large…but look better than their HO counter parts.
Several years ago at a local train show, I saw a layout that used mini toggle switches to operate the turnouts. A small hole was drilled through the toggle switch handle near the base of the handle and perpendicular to the switch movement. A length of music wire with a “S” bend in it was used to connect the toggle switch handle to the throw bar of the turnout. This setup not only provided an easy-to-operate sprung manual throw but the toggle switch also provided a convenient way to power the isolated frogs. As a final touch, a hole had been drilled into the top and down through the center of each toggle handle and a short length of music wire with a round target soldered to the wire had been inserted and glued or soldered into each toggle handle. While this wasn’t exactly scale modeling of a prototype, the mini toggles were smaller than CI ground throws, visually unobtrusive, and the targets made the toggle handles look a lot like high level switch stands. Now that this thread reminded me of these switches, I might look into replacing one or two of my CI ground throws to see whether I’d like these better.
One thing you might want to consider, since no one has mentioned it, is your own approach to the hobby; i.e. what do you want out of your layout and how do you plan to use it? If you’re very operations-oriented and plan to have guest operators frequently, then the Caboose Industries ground throws are possibly your best option, along with some of the other good suggestions already posted.
If, however, you’re like me and prioritize appearance over operating durability, you’ll want to check out more realistic options. For now, at least, I’ve settled on Central Valley’s operating switch stands, as they seemed to provide the ultimate in realism at the time I was comparing all the available offerings. By “operating”, I don’t mean that you use the switch stand to throw the turnout. Rather, the target rotates prototypically when the turnout is thrown. Yes, they are fragile, so that’s why they may not be best for situations where lots of hands will be in the scene often. But they look fantastic! If you do go with some sort of switch stand for appearance, ideally you’d use one of the remote manual control options like the wire through the straw idea mentioned earlier to avoid damage. However, I’ve been using my coupler pick (bamboo meat skewer) to reach and throw manual turnouts and haven’t done any damage (yet).
