Manufacturer: Lone Star Bridge & Abutment, 1218 A-8 Colorado Lane, Arlington, TX 76015. Price: Wood and metal turntable bridge with fiberglass pit $750.00.

You doubt the superlatives? Visit Lone Star's display at the next national convention and see for yourself. Keep in mind, though, Lone Star never has reproduced a specific prototype. Their models are freelance, "stand-off" scale (nominally 1:24 but equally suitable for 1:22.5 and 1:20 scales), and strive for overall impression rather than precise detail. If you evaluate them in that context, here is what you will notice:

The turntable bridge: It is 31 1/2 inches long, 5 1/4 inches wide, and 11 13/16 inches tall; the size alone will impress you. The wood is extremely high grade mahogany with a rich, satin, impregnated, weather resistant finish.

The color and texture alone please the eye. But look further. Lone Star has earned a reputation for virtually seamless wood-to-wood and wood-to-metal joints. The quality of our sample lives up to expectation; each piece fits with precision. The end of each piece displays a smooth finish with no splintering or fuzz. The finish on the flat surfaces resembles high quality furniture. Every nail or pin hole has a flush putty filling; it is impossible to detect the filling by touch and difficult to find it by sight. The glue joints are invisible and the assembly is strong.

Lone Star has discovered a few metal detail parts can augment overall appearance. Crisp nut/bolt/washer castings punctuate the bridge timbers and guard rails. As you might suspect, they line up with absolute precision; no wavy lines on our sample. The truss rods and turnbuckles appear functional. All metal parts have a black paint finish except Lone Star's trademark, the polished brass star.

The pit: Frankly, I was a little reluctant to open the big box containing the fiberglass pit casting. After all, I thought, a pit is a pit. Wrong. When you examine the turntable, pay as much attention to the pit as to the bridge. It, too, is a work of art.

The overall diameter is 36 inches, the depth appears to be about 4 inches. The color is a dark, satin gray with light marbling. The texture is fine pebbling. The inner (visible) wall of the pit is model stonework. So is the exterior wall of the center pedestal. The top lip around the outside diameter and the sloped floor are smooth, except for the pebbling. Between the floor and the inner wall is a step. It supports a ring of Garich Light Transport code 250 brass rail on very short Garich ties, products with their own reputation for top quality. The rail joint is, as you might guess, completely smooth without a hint of kink.

An electric motor drives a machined aluminum platform and the wooden bridge fits over it with absolute precision. A pair of leads from the platform will connect to the bridge rails (our sample came without rails, presumably because so many kinds are now on the market); another pair of leads runs from under the outside wall of the pit and connects to a control box. Yes, Lone Star includes that, too.

Really, folks, words fail. You must see this pit. It's obnoxiously superb.

The entire model: You must have the idea by now. The product is beyond excellent. Nobody could find Lone Star's A-frame turntable less than attractive and nobody can justifiably criticize Lone Star's quality. If you have the wherewithal and want a turntable of Lone Star's design on your layout, have no hesitation about its construction, appearance, or caliber. It is first class.-RR