Can anyone tell me where to get parts or service for an ahm HO POCHER 2-4-0 loco and tender. It was made in Italy. One of the rubber tires disentigrated from age and when it was run, one of the driver wheels heated up from the arc (short) and it loosened the metal wheel from the plastic spoke part of the wheel. I would like to send it to a reputable repair service that would go thru the unit and make all the necessary repairs. thank you.
This won’t help you with the damaged driver, but the traction tires are available from Walthers - #192-511. The Bowker drivers are the same size as those on the Rivarossi/IHC old timer 4-4-0s.
The AHM may have been made by Rivarossi. Rivarossi is now Hornby USA - check their website.
I can’t say about size but in my 1977 AHM parts catalog the drivers sometimes have different numbers.
The Bowker drivers in 1968 and 1971 runs were parts P-155-019 (front) and P-155-020 (rear). The traction tire was part P-155-032 in the 1968 version; no traction tire is shown for 1971. Those were both the tender drive version. The 1974-1977 production (motor in the cab) the drivers were P-241-010-0140 (front) and P-241-011-0160 (rear). The traction tire was part P-155-032-0025.
The Reno/Genoa/Inyp 4-4-0 models – this gets very complex as they did not all share drivers. The Genoa generally had the same drivers as the 1968 Bowker but the Reno had different part numbers.
Actually the Bowker is fairly frequently seen, often in damaged condition, at swap meets (it was a speed demon that probably went sailing off the edge of many layouts back in the day) and it might be possible to pick up an engine with decent drivers and traction tire cheaper than buying the parts from someone.
Dave Nelson
Probably the most common damage to the Bowker is what’s wrong with mine - the pilot is broken. Rather delicate plastic, and if you ran into a stopped car or somethign ont he track, it broke very easily. I don’t recall the Bowker being any faster thant he Reno or Genoa, but for whatever reason mine was significantly louder. The Reno was a very fine running locomotive - at least the one I have is, with the newer motor. I’ve see older versions with a much larger motor int he tender, they are also a lot noiser in operation. I used to use the Reno to test the track power - since it only picks up power with two drivers on one side it’s good at finding dead spots. If the Reno could creep through a section of track, ANYTHING would run.
–Randy
I repaired my old Bowker a few years back. Parts are available for Pocher and Rivarossi models imported by A.H.M. . You can get them from Golf Manor Hobbies of Cincinnati, Ohio. phone: 513-351-3849. You can ask them about repairs.