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Lew English, co-founder of Bowser Manufacturing Company in Montoursville, Pa. died on Friday, February 3rd.  He was 93 years old. Lew was a member of the National Model Railroad Association Hall of Fame.  

 

The Bowser product line is extensive.  Initially, emphasis was placed primarily on HO gauge items, but over the years, offerings expanded to include a number of O Gauge pieces as well.  For years, Bowser turntables were ubiquitous in the hobby, and for streetcar aficionados, Bowser trolleys plied the rails on home layouts across the country. 

 

In addition to building trains, Lew owned and managed English's Model Railroad Supply in Montoursville.  His store was, and still is, one of the most comprehensive  model railroad shops anywhere.  If English's doesn't have it, they will get it.  If one's trains need to be repaired , English's is the place to go. Moved two years ago, a short distance from it's original location, the store is now bigger and better than ever.

 

Lew loved trains of all sizes and gauges.  He was an avid collector of toy trains and between he and his brother Al, who predeceased him,  they amassed world class collections.  Both men saw trains as toys to be played with and no matter the value or level of rarity, their trains rode the rails under their own power.  Visits to see these collections were always memorable.

 

It was always fun to visit with Lew and spend time in his company at the store or at home.  He will be missed by all who knew him.  He was a credit to our hobby. Lew's full obituary was published in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.



Edited by the webmaster to add the link to the Obit.



Last edited by Rich Melvin
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I had the honor of talking to Lew on the phone for nearly two hours in 1995 regarding a rather odd cast brass GG1 HO GG1 I had purchased at a swap meet in Phoenix.  Since he had the Penn Line HO tooling, I thought he might be the best resource for information and he was.  We talked all things train related over the course of that time including all the variations of the Penn Line / Varney / AHM / Life Like / GHC cast GG1, which shared a lot of common tooling, but not enough to take parts from one to the other.  In an age before the internet was very useful, he was a joy to discuss the hobby with.  We ultimately did not fully figure out the nature of the GG1 I had acquired, but through our conversation, he gave me enough information to track down the history of that locomotive about 10 years ago.

 

It is a shame that Bowser is dropping all of the cast kits and detail parts, but in this age of the hobby, it is understandable why that decision needed to be made.  I know I will always treasure the K4 with super detailing kit I built at age 16.  Lew's commitment to keeping those 50's kits alive for me as a teen in the 80's instilled a sense of great appreciation for the challenges kit building can offer and the skills one learned as a result.  He will certainly be missed.

Back in the 90's I used to love going to English's Model RR store in Montoursville.  One time he fixed a AHM HO ten wheeler I had taken apart but did not realize that one side of the drivers were insulated so I could not make it run.  He would come downstairs in the morning(he lived above the old store) and work in the side room right off the sales area. He fixed the engine as I waited and we talked trains, it was great.  

 

I bought a Bowser 4-4-2 Atlantic kit engine and built it before I turned to O gauge.

 

Lew will be missed and I offer my sympathy and prayers to the family.  I hope they can continue the store in its new location for a long time.   

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