OK, I'm curious.
Why the fascination with Top Breaks?
I must add that I have quite a few of them, all antique Smith & Wessons, plus one old Iver Johnson.
New Model Number Three, 44 Russian caliber
2nd Model Russian, 44 Russian caliber
Double Action 44s, Target Model and Standard, 44 Russian caliber
1st Model Schofield, 45 Schofield caliber
38 Safety Hammerless, 3rd Model, 38 S&W caliber
38 Double Action, 3rd Model, 38 S&W caliber
32 Safety Hammerless, 2nd Model 32 S&W caliber
Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless, 38 S&W caliber
So much for showing off. But I do have a little bit of experience owning and shooting Top Breaks. I collect them because they are very cool and I love old guns. But allow me to clear up a couple of fallacies about the old Top Breaks.
Automatic ejection
Yes, it is a feature of all of these guns. When you break them open, the ejector star on all of them rises up automatically and then pops back down again. That is part of the design. However the shells do not automatically eject. To get them to pop out you have to snap the barrel open rapidly and tilt the gun a bit to the side to impart some direction for the empties to go. If you don't do either of these things the ejector pops down again and the empties fall back down into the chambers. Or, what often happens is an empty manages to fall back down into a chamber and then the ejector pops down on top of it, jamming the rim under the ejector. This then involves much gnashing of teeth to coax the ejector back up while pulling up on the jammed empty. Usually the empty will not fall out easily because the stroke of the ejector is just short enough that an empty under the ejector will not clear. It needs to be coaxed out from under the ejector, which often results in cursing and broken fingernails.
Easy to open
First off, forget everything you read about how easy it is to open a Schofield. You know, operating the latch with your right hand and brushing the barrel open against your thigh while riding at full gallop. Then somehow reloading, using both hands, while still at full gallop. Forget all that, it is baloney. ALL Top Breaks require two hands to open them, including the Schofield. The only difference is with the Schofield you pull the latch back with your right thumb, while with all the others you grasp the latch with your left hand and pull it up, at the same time rotating the barrel down with the heel of your hand.
Strength
I have already addressed that point, no Top Break of any kind is going to be as strong as a solid frame revolver. Period.
Believe me folks, a Hand Ejector (modern swing out cylinder) is much easier to operate than a Top Break, particularly a S&W, because they are so well designed from an ergonomic standpoint. You simply push the side latch forward with your right thumb while supporting the gun with your left hand. You pop the cylinder out with the fingers of your left hand and pop the ejector rod down with your thumb while pointing the muzzle skyward. The empties all fall out. Easy Peasy, takes about two seconds. Then you reload however you like to reload, either separate cartridges or using a speed loader.
Don't get me wrong, I love old Top Breaks, that is why I have so many. But my familiarity with them has demonstrated to me why the side eject Hand Ejectors are such a better design. Don't get me started on how many Hand Ejectors I have.