issue of Outdoor Railroader and was written
by Russ Reinberg
He did it. The owner of Lone Star Bridge, Mark Smith,
finally produced a scale model of a specific prototype.
The real Hermosa Creek bridge is on the D&RGW Silver-
ton line (now the Durango & Silverton Railroad), about
15 miles north of Durango,Colorado. Kit versions have
appeared in the smaller scales but, until now, no manu-
facturer has offered a model to hobbyists in the large
scales.
Lone Star's model was worth waiting for. It is a very
accurate reproduction and, as with all Lone Star pro-
ducts, the quality of workmanship and materials is unsur-
passed.
Let's begin with the demensions: 36 by 9.15 by 7.75
inches. In 1:20 scale, that works out to 61 feet long by
15.5 feet wide and side panels 13 feet tall. Those mea- surements correspond precisely with those on our plans.
But Mark went a step further. He actually drove to
Silverton and climbed around the bridge with a measuring
tape! He corrected some inaccurate plan dimensions.
Such attention to detail is typical of Mark Smith's ap-
proach to business.
Now let's look at the variations between the model and
the original (they are few and minor): First and most ob-
vious, Lone Star located the deck ties to allow you to
drop in a length of LGB or Aristo-Craft sectional track. The actual tie spacing should be closer. Prototype ties are
available upon request.
The demensions of the model's X-bracing are consistant
throughout whereas, on the actual bridge, the size of the
bracing varied slightly between panels. Mark standardized
the size in order to minimize production costs. Without a
scale rule the differences are virtually impossible to
detect.
The model's metal end angle blocks are the same as the
rest of the angle blocks even though our plan shows them
cut in half. Mark says the plan is wrong the real bridge
uses the same castings throughout.
The size, number, and the placement of some of the
nut/bolt/washer castings vary from the hardware on the
actual bridge. Mark knows; it was intentional. He points
out his larger NBW's look better, using fewer of them
keeps the price down, and changing the placement be-
"Artist's license," he says.
The bridge certainly captures the overall appear-
ance and the spirit of its prototype. It seems un-
likely any modeler would find much to criticize.
Mark built the model mostly of very high grade
mahogany with a rich, satin, impregnated, weather
resistant finish. He painted the white metal and
brass hardware flat black. Only Lone Star's trade-
mark, the polished brass star, shows its natural
color. The excellent nut/bolt/washer castings are
crisp. The other metal parts are of equal quality.
Every aspect of the workmanship is topnotch.
Every corner is square and clean. Each piece
mates precisely with every other. The end of each
timber exhibits no splintering, rough grain, or fuzz;
everything is satin smooth. The finish of the wood
surfaces would be appropriate to top quality furni-
ture. Lone Star even putties every nail or pin hole
flush with the surface. It is impossible to detect a
filling by touch and difficult to find it with the eye.
The glue joints are invisible and the bridge is dur-
able.
Even the custom foam packaging to protect the
model during shipping is a work of art.
This review has become awkward; I have no
criticism. As usual, I found the perfection of Lone
Star's work throughly disgusting. And this time
more than the quality and appearence of the model
impressed me; it is also a very accurate scale
model. Considering the time it takes to research
and build such a bridge, let alone one of such
obnoxiously outstanding quality, the price seems
fair. Few of us could match Mark's precision re-
gardless of how long we worked. If you want a
Howe pony truss on your layout or have always
lusted after the Hermosa Creek bridge specifically,
you should seriously consider Lone Star's model.
It is truly excellent.
* * * * * *
This review appeared in the July-August 1993
issue of Garden Railways and was written by
Marc Horovitz