Bitter Creek Ground Throws

I wanted to do something a bit different with my new layout. I had used Fast Tracks Bullfrog switch machines on my old layout and although they worked, they never worked great for me. I think that temperature changes in the basement might have contributed to their inconsistent performance. Plus, installation was quite difficult though that might have just been due to my inexperience with the product.

So, with my new layout I was determined not to use those again.  This meant using Micro Engineering turnouts across the entire layout. These turnouts come with sprung switch points which holds them firmly against the rail. This allows the user to operate them with simply the flick of a finger. Simple!

So this solution should hopefully work great, but there is one curved switch on the layout and unfortunately, I couldn't find a sprung switch in the radius I needed. A Walthers #6.5 curved turnout would fit the bill here, but I'd have to find a way to hold the switch points in place when the switch is thrown.

My initial thought was to use the tried-and-true Caboose Industries Ground throw.  These little mechanisms are commonly used, however they are VASTLY over-sized and do not look too great because of it. That said, If I'm only planning to use them on one place on the layout, maybe It won't be so bad?

A search for an alternate solution lead me to a blog post discussing Bitter Creek ground throws. They looked promising so I ordered a couple pairs to check them out for myself.

I haven't installed the turnout to test it's performance, so I can only really comment on the looks and build quality of the ground throw at the moment. Looks wise, It's a bit of a mixed bag. Although the profile is much, much smaller than the Caboose Industries ground throw, it has an overall larger footprint. That said, much of that footprint can likely be hidden with some careful ballasting so that issue is likely remedied. The spring and pivoting mechanism of the machine itself is also not very prototypical, though I'll admit that I'm not so sure the Caboose Industries mechanism looks like much of anything you'd find on a modern railroad these days.



Build quality on the Bitter Creek ground throws appears to be quite good. They are all metal in construction which is nice. They do feel a bit delicate compared to the Caboose Industry throw though and that might have a lot to do with the design of the moving parts, the spring, etc. Once securely mounted, that delicate quality might just go away.  That spring does give it a nice, strong feel when thrown so I've got a good sense that electrical connectivity will not be an issue with these throws. Apparently the original design dates back to the early 70's so it's already had plenty of long-term testing on other layouts by this point. That said, I've played it safe and purchased four total so I have plenty of backups should one fail.

At the end of the day, (and again, this is only my first impressions) I'd say it's a bit of a toss-up between the Bitter Creek and the Caboose Industries ground throws.  Each appear to have their strengths and weaknesses. For me, the Bitter Creek ground throw has the edge on looks so I'll be installing that one on my railroad and I'll be sure to report back in the future on how well it performs.