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MEW UPDATE

 

We are excited to announce that we have purchased Model Engineering Works. It will take some time to sort and organize everything but their great wheels and parts will continue. One of our first priorities is to get the Standard Gauge electric and steam loco wheels rolling.

 

 MEW_Announc_sm

 

We have been sadly informed that Model Engineering Works has decided to end their product manufacturing. Limited time availability and personal priorities have led to the decision. Model Engineering Works has been an excellent manufacturer of many reproduction pre-war wheels & parts for Lionel, American Flyer and Ives for many many years.

 

We, at Henning's Trains, have been working with them for the past few years to keep these great parts available to everyone so this news is a little disappointing. At this time we still have many of the parts in stock, and may be getting some more as final inventory is worked out, but when the inventory is gone, it's gone. Who knows how many of the parts will be produced by others in the future.

 

What we have in stock is listed on our on-line store at www.henningstrains.com 

 

On February 1st we will be changing our on-line store system and many of the parts will not be re-listed so I would suggest taking a look at what there is now.

 

MEW

 

 

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Last edited by Bill Henning
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Bill,

Yours is a highly competitive business. MEW has been having problems large and small just as many other suppliers. Can you just imagine all the rules and regulations they must comply with? Their casting shops have to be an underwriting nightmare. We have been blessed to have them around as long as we have.

 

I surely hope that Harry (The Old Man) can find a way to purchase the balance of the MEW inventory.

 

God Bless,

"Pappy"

 It's a shame they haven't sought out a buyer of their tool and die setups,or have they ?

 I'm sure there might be someone out there with the needs and or resources to keep their product line going in some sort of fashion.

 Producing items like they do is a dying art here in the U.S. and it's a shame that they can't hand off or assist someone in learning the trade.

 

Last edited by mackb4

Word of the demise of Model Engineering Works is disappointing. From the beginning of the MEW brand many decades ago through its current ownership, the pre-war enthusiast has been well served.

 

The need still exists for the wide variety of parts offered by MEW. I share the hope of others that a way will be found to re-establish MEW as a source for pre-war parts.

I know that Dick Meyer sold MEW a lot of RichArt's remaining parts inventory and old tooling under the provision that MEW would give back to him any parts he might need to finish his remaining orders.  In fact, on more than one occasion Dick told me that he was waiting to receive some RichArt parts from MEW to finish the Milwaukee Road passenger cars he was making for me.  

 

I hope someone buys out all of MEW's remaining parts and tooling and puts it to good use.

 

Bob Nelson

To all who have an interest!!

        We are working to obtain the balance of any inventory left . Henning's is affiliated w/ a 'modern' machine shop here in Pa. who provides our tooling and presses. They visited MEW on our behalf several years ago. The problem w/ purchasing the product / line, was that much of the tooling was just plain worn out, and ALL of the machinery was antiquated to the point of being just antiques.  We were advised that if new tooling were needed, make it to run in modern machinery and be "COST EFFECTIVE". Subsequently, we passed on making the purchase. MEW would only sell as a pkg. consisting of raw materials, finished parts and obsolete machinery.  Hopefully further on in the year we will have 'good news'. 

    One of my business associates are already working on mfg. the "O" spoke and disc wheels for Lionel locos. Hopefully this venture will be successful and the Lionel standard gauge electric wheels will follow.    "The Old Man".

Originally Posted by Harry Henning:

To all who have an interest!!

        We are working to obtain the balance of any inventory left. One of my business associates are already working on mfg. the "O" spoke and disc wheels for Lionel locos. Hopefully this venture will be successful and the Lionel standard gauge electric wheels will follow.    "The Old Man".

Harry,

I had a feeling that you wouldn't let us down, Thank you!

 

FWIW There's a small time dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area selling off the contents of storage lockers of older MEW products.

 

God Bless,

"Pappy"

MEW UPDATE

 

We are excited to announce that we have purchased Model Engineering Works. It will take some time to sort and organize everything but their great wheels and parts will continue. One of our first priorities is to get the Standard Gauge electric and steam loco wheels rolling.

 

 

MEW_Announc_sm

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Images (1)
  • MEW_Announc_sm
Last edited by Bill Henning

When Dick Wheeler owned Model Engineering Works it was in a shed behind a drive in dairy in Monrovia,CA. When I saw him at train meets I would ask him if I could watch him sometime make metal die cast parts since I only worked about two miles away. One day he called me and said if I could get there in 5 minutes I could watch him. Five minutes later I was there. He was casting dummy couplers for Williams. He had several molds that each contained about 20 couplers arranged around the outside. The molds were made out of RTV (Silicon Rubber). He said that the molds could not take the high temperature of the metal so thay didn't last too long. He said that his secret to getting good parts was to control the temperature of the metal to within 1 degree. His method to control the temperature was to heat the pot of metal and to monitor it with a digital thermometer that had a probe that he inserted into the pot. When the metal reached the desired temperature he would dip a ladle into the pot and then pour it into a funnel that was in the center of the mold. The mold was spinning on what looked like an old phonograph turntable. As soon as the metal was solid which wasn't very long he would pop the parts out of the mold and then throw the RTV mold on the concrete floor to cool off. Since the molds had been used before there were some parts that were bad so he would break then off and throw them back into the pot. He was able to make these couplers with what I would call very crude equipment. Since the molds did not last very long he had a method of quickly making more molds. I never watched him make any other parts such as wheels and I did not see any other equipment except an old drill press. What I was able to see, was that there was not much equipment there that would have any value to anyone else.

Well this is going to be a great new venture and new things for us to learn.

 Were heading down this week to pack up the old Model Engineering works and bringing

it to it's NEW home here in PA. At Henning's Trains.

 It will take us a couple weeks to get it all here. 

Keep your eyes on the website for up dates on parts.  

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