S-SCALE OFFICE/ASSAY BUILDING

(ROSE-WALSH SMELTER, SILVERTON, COLORADO)

From Silverton, Colorado, comes the Office/Assay Building of the Rose-Walsh Smelter. This kit is the first of three in S-scale to replicate our HO version of the smelter. (For more information on the complete smelter complex, please refer to our webpage http://raggstoriches.biz/RWSMainpage.html.) The smelter was first constructed in 1882 but only operated, off and on, for about 20 years. Although it was a very successful operation in Silverton, smeltering in Durango was more efficient and profitable. Obviusly, the structure housed the main offices for the smelter as well as an assay laboratory. Because the smelter processed ore from many locations and owners, it needed an on-site lab to assay the ore content of each batch that was smelt. Although nothing exists on the original site today, spent assay vessels littered the ground around the location of the lab until quite recently.

As with nearly all of our structures, the kit consists of a plywood core that makes extensive use of slots and tabs for easier assembly. The core is then covered by pre-cut, peel-and-stick clapboard walls. Note the interior support walls as well as the notches that serve as chimney supports, making installation easier.

The outer walls are peel-and-stick, aged clapboard. The windows and doors are made from several layers of peel-and-stick plywood. They include the glazing, sills, and thresholds, all pre-cut to size. The windows can be mounted in an open position -- try doing THAT with plastic windows! (We don't take short cuts in our kits!) The roof, too, is slotted for an easier fit. The small addition on this end and the clerestory are optional when building the kit, making the model much less specific and allowing you to apply it for different scenarios. Perhaps, even, a roadside motel??? Use your imagination! Note the prototypic fascia boards that are all pre-cut and included in the kit.

The kit includes the corrugated roofing as well as the two brick chimneys and round smoke pipe. Notice how true-to-life the louvers appear on the clerestory -- you can see right through them.

Up for a challenge? Here's an example of the level of detail the kit allows you to provide....or not.

The S-scale kit has a footprint of 4 x 12-1/2 inches and sells for $145. Shipping is $12 per order for US addresses; international shipping is added at actual cost