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 Posted - March 04 2009 : 09:21:00 AM
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WOOO-IS-ME! THIS IS NOT GOOD! While checking Bowsers site, because I rely on them for replacement parts for my Bowser, Varney, and Penn Line locomotives. I came upon this information. Bowser is stopping production of it's steam locomotives and this includes parts.
My way of getting their parts was to check their site. Make my list. Then go to the Model Railroad Shop in Dunnellen NJ and check their first. They almost always stocked the part. A few times I had to order directly from Bowser and had no problum at all. Their service was fast and very pollite. THIS IS GONE NOW! Does this mean they will stop making Selly parts also.
Back to WOOOO-IS-ME! I am at a lose as to what I will do. This company was allways their for the modler. Not like Athearn and Model die casting being bought up by a fast buck radio control toy company and going to China. Now they are becomeing just another outlet for Chinnese trains. Just another fast buck company. When this glut of diesels destroys the market for diesels, you can only sell so many diesels. Then these fast buck companies will fold. Replaced by the new Ma and Pa companies.
This is what happens when sales and production rule a market. Who is to blame. We send our young to bussiness collages to learn the latest sales methods. The collages are factories turning out businessmen. Teaching efficiency, and economics. After these new young businessmen practice their learned lessons. Things always seam to fall apart.
I will miss the old Bowser. For me it was Penn Line, and Gilbert, and Varney, and Mantua, and John English. Now it is nobody.
frank
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 09:47:45 AM
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| hi frank where did you read this ken
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 10:48:43 AM
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Ken : While checking the Bowser site.
frank
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 10:57:43 AM
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Like the Tyco locos we love, We will have to buy junkers to scavenge parts from.
Someone needs to get their act together and buy the tooling for all the bowser locos.
with a little upgrading they would sell better.
Ray
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 11:02:57 AM
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hi frank,i could not believe that they would do this but its true ken
yes we stopped making steam loco kits
Thank you
Lee English - Bowser Mfg
Edited by - catfordken on March 04 2009 2:55:54 PM
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 3:10:06 PM
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| These are realy bad news! - Erich
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Posted - March 04 2009 : 3:48:22 PM
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Given the plenitude and demand for High-quality RTR, superdetailed, and often sound-equipped steamers from the likes of Broadway and TrueLine, let alone improved offerings from Bachmann and Proto over the years... this was really only a matter of time.
Even brass is feeling the pinch of high-quality, affordable, incredibly-detailed modern plastic RTR.
It's getting harder to find a newly-made but basic diesel kit these days as well. In fact the only ones still made are the junky basic ones we've laughed at for years. I don't think IHC has done well with their re-releases of ex-Tyco and other basic trains.
Beyond that, the guard of this hobby has long been shifting and skewing ever more to the old retired guys with more money and space than sense and time. Families with toddlers in strollers still go to the shows for Thomas stuff... but take a good look at who's doing most of the buying and I guarantee you at least 80% of them are over 50.
Have to say... I certainly appreciate the older kits, and Loopy gave me a box filled with old Tyco steamer parts that I've spent many hours tinkering with and planning for (even though I've nothing to show for it yet). But if I were modeling steam... given my limited budget... that same budget would probably go to a newer RTR loco to get me running and meet my needs quickly, rather than a classic that I may or may not fully understand at first and/or would possibly look crude next to my other stuff.
PennLine / Bowser stuff is still pretty expensive, at least the ones I've looked at. Too much money even to have "silly crude fun" as with Tyco junk.
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Posted - March 06 2009 : 5:32:23 PM
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maybe i visited the wrong site (http://www.bowser-trains.com/),
but I could not find anything about production stopping there!
many greetings - Erich
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Posted - March 06 2009 : 5:44:36 PM
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hi erich part of email from bowser ken
yes we stopped making steam loco kits
Thank you
Lee English - Bowser Mfg
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 Posted - March 06 2009 : 5:48:02 PM
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Ken:
maybe they stopped production because they did enough for the next years -Erich
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Posted - March 06 2009 : 5:49:27 PM
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| no the fact is they have stopped,full stop.ken
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Posted - March 06 2009 : 10:44:02 PM
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I read about Bowser from the HO forum on yahoo, today.
I'm in the middle of putting my Bowser Challenger together. It was an incomplete kit from a train show. Fortunately, I have already ordered all the parts I need. if I don't break anything. MIght order a few spares while I'm at it. Being the scrounge of train shows. buying another Bowser steam engine project might not be a good idea.
Unspoken expectations are premeditated failures.
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Posted - March 07 2009 : 03:23:09 AM
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I wouldn't count them out just yet. I had a feeling they would resurface under another manufacturer, and then I read this post on the Vintage HO group:
Re: [vintageHO] Re: Fwd: Bowser Product Retirements
List,
I don't think you will see an end to the Bowser/Pennline stuff
completely. The steam locomotives appears to be heading to a new owner.
He is suppose to upgrade the whole line if I understand correctly.
Although you may want to start saving up now if you plan on purchsing
anything in his loco line. For what it is worth, this is just one email
I have seen:
email message:
Group,
This was posted on the Anthracite RR group site:
Good news however, for those who also like PRR steam power is that I
have arranged with Bowser to carry forward the Penn Line/ Bowser
legacy, in part. That is, fully modern tooling will be derived, and
state of the art classes E6 Atlantic, G5 Ten Wheeler, H8 and H10
Consolidations will now be built as Production Run models by Eddystone
Locomotive Co. These locomotives will be very well detailed, and powered
by the Eddystone As-36 or AS-28 drive ( your choice of gearing), driven
by an efficient can motor. A variety of quality tenders will be
available, with Soundtraxx decoders if you wish. The other new "Pennsy
Classic" -- the new product line name-- will be the K4 with long haul
tender. There were 10 such locos in the 1930s.
See
http://www.eddystonelocomotives.com
Best regards, David Grover / ARHS / Eddystone Locomotive Co.
End of email message
Personally, I think Lee English is dumping due to lack of interest and
movement of this outdated 1950's technology model equipment. Probably a wise business choice. He is keeping alive pretty much everything else,
where the sells are. (plastic kits, detail parts, Stewart Locos etc)
.........Gary
It would be nice to see the kits updated, and new additions to the line, which could spur renewed interest. Sad as I was to see this, the original molds are probably at the end of their useful lives after 50 years of production. The downside is that Eddystone's stuff is anything but affordable. 
The Tyco Depot
Edited by - NickelPlate759 on March 07 2009 03:26:05 AM
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Posted - March 07 2009 : 08:24:52 AM
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| Frank, ifeel the pain too,it breaks my heart knowing its just gonna be that much harder to scavenge for parts.i do alot of repairs out of my home for a select few ,talked to to dan bush yesterday for penn line parts and we discussed the bowser saga. all i can ask now is what to do w/all my kit parts i have set a side ? do i need to save them for my projects or use them in cutomers repair pieces? i just got a pennline for repair,when i told the old boy i could fix it and replace valve guides i thought he was gonna cry w/ joy, i just know there is stiil a great love out there for these kits.especially if you built one as a kid . maybe insted of dsecting frogs in school they should assemble a pacific. they could use the stimulis bill ,at least some of that money would be well spent. thanks for bringing this up for topic. adam
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Posted - March 07 2009 : 11:49:35 AM
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Adam : At this time Bowser has a good selection of repair part as always. I am afraid of what is comming.
frank
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Posted - March 07 2009 : 12:03:36 PM
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| thanks frank , i havent had to much of a problem as of late , one thing i need that bowser no longer has inventory of is the aerotrain frame, the one set up for the athern power if you have any info on one let me know. i finally decided to build one and i guess i waited to late to get new casts.i have everything else for it.thanks for your time if you need parts ive got a good many sources but when they fail i usally come to this site and ask ,im new to this but not to train repair, would love to see some of your bowsers, thanks again for your time adam.
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Posted - March 13 2009 : 3:32:11 PM
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Bowser sold his soul!
nothing more to say - Erich
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