The Bowser website used to have internal links to its catalogs of Selley white metal castings, O and HO. The links still worked last fall. Those links are now gone. You can find what look like links on a Google search but clicking them comes up empty. So evidently the line, which dates back to the 1950s, is no longer part of the Bowser offerings. While the castings showed their age in many cases, there were some unusual and valuable offerings, including pipe valves, vehicles, loads, rolling stock frames, doors, and ends, locomotive detail parts, and figures including animals.
When I was young the Selley parts were much cheaper than comparable lost wax brass castings so my early efforts at detailing or semi scratch-building from parts used Selley. So I bought a lot of Selley stuff.
This is somewhat the same situation that was the subject of Forum discussion when the old Stewart line of white metal castings (not to be confused with the Stewart locomotives that Bowser still offers) seemed to go away:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/265003/2993581.aspx#2993581
A bit if an internet search shows that some O scalers noticed the Selley absence a few months ago, and one posted on another forum that Bowser told them the Selley line had been sold but they didn't know who to (which seems odd - as if they had a third party do the selling for them).
Perhaps someone on this Forum knows more?
This might be goodbye to Selley, and goodbye to yet another source of detail parts, flawed and outdated though it may have been.
Dave Nelson
I have e-mailed Bowser and will report when they respond.
Selley offered doghouses for tender decks. The only ones I knew that were available.
.
I heard the Selley line was sold to Chooch. Treat this information as rumor only.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190I heard the Selley line was sold to Chooch.
The 'Chooch' Electric Train Outlet Selley pages (there are 5 according to the directory) still appear to be live, although whether this refers to product in stock or 'to be produced' I don't know.
Heard this directly:
Selley was sold HO to JL Innovative and O to Arttista AccessoriesThank youLee EnglishBowser Mfg, 1302 Jordan AveMontoursville PA 17754www.bowser-trains.com
http://www.shop.jlinnovative.com/
http://www.arttista.com/
Back in prehistoric days, Selley produced HO white metal kits for "shorty" Sierra passenger cars. I understand the dies for these were lost many years ago. Does anybody have any of these kits hanging around, whether built or unbuilt? They must have weighed about a ton!
Tom
ACY Tom Back in prehistoric days, Selley produced HO white metal kits for "shorty" Sierra passenger cars. I understand the dies for these were lost many years ago. Does anybody have any of these kits hanging around, whether built or unbuilt? They must have weighed about a ton! Tom
I remember seeing them but never hefted one. The detail was not particularly sharp as I recall.
For years Model Die Casting had white metal freight car kits before they reluctantly switched over to plastic (I say reluctantly because in the mid to late 1950s MDC advertised that their metal kits were oh so much better than those ewww plastic kits others - they meant Athearn - had), and they did not weigh a ton because the castings were fairly thin. My old MDC white metal boxcars are pretty close to NMRA weighing standards actually. What does happen is that the metal, a zinc alloy, becomes brittle and can crumble if it is pressed or forced. The running board casting was usually the first to go.
Back then just about the only other choice for short ore cars was the Varney plastic car which weighed next to nothing and was nearly impossible to add weight to except for adding a load. The MDC all metal ore car was still below NMRA standards when empty but was about as good as you could do at the time.
Overmod Heard this directly: Selley was sold HO to JL Innovative and O to Arttista AccessoriesThank youLee EnglishBowser Mfg, 1302 Jordan AveMontoursville PA 17754www.bowser-trains.com http://www.shop.jlinnovative.com/ http://www.arttista.com/
David at JL Innovative had some of them repackaged for sale at Springfield. I have to say that I never paid much attention to the Selley line, but what he displayed looked very nice!
Jim
Sorry about breathing new life into this old thread, but I seem to have missed this news, so perhaps it really is news
J.L. Innovative has been sold to Costello. This from their website
For those of us that refuse to do Facepalm, here is the current Web site (as linked from the page in Dave Nelson's post):
http://www.jlinnovative.com/
They promise an updated site experience is coming. Note the telephone number at the bottom, which I suspect is an immediate way to ask about availability of any particular casting or line.
(I'm tempted to ask Mr. Nelson to revise the title of this post to add the words "NOT gone!" once it's confirmed the Selley line is preserved...)
I have the Ulrich kits - metal kits of the Shorty Sierra passenger cars. I wonder if these were from the same dies. I bought these in the mid-70s, and started the coach.
Fred W
Fred I do not think so, for one thing they were both being sold simultaneously by the two companies for a good long time. Based on what I see on HO Seeker the Selley coach had an oval window at one end which I do not believe the Ulrich car (or the Sierra car) did or does. Moreover Ulrich specifically said its cars were Sierra RR prototypes, and from what I see Selley did not make that claim only that their coach and combine were "old time." Take a look on HO Seeker and compare what you have with the Selley instructions and photos. The Ulrich instructions on HO seeker date from Walthers' ownership of Ulrich and it seems like there was some wood in the construction of the underbody. To my knowledge Selley was all metal.
And yes if I learn more about whether the Selley line will be reintroduced by the new owners of J L Innovative I might revisit the name of the thread. I just hope they make a go of it with the JL Innovative line of stuff!