Bowman Models were made at Dereham, Norfolk between 1928 and 1936. Products included stationary steam engines; boats powered by steam, clockwork and elastic; the O-gauge steam railway system, and many other items.
For some reason I've been in love with the Bowman engines since I first saw one. They have that look about them that really states that they could only have been made in one place and at one time. This kind of model engineering went out with WWII. They're also quite astonishingly British - in fact, the foreword to their catalogue is written in an inimitable hectoring late-colonial style.To a non-Brit like myself this is utterly fascinating. They had something to be proud of though; the fact that so many of their engines survive in such good condition 70 years after the demise of the company says something. They really are very well built, simple as they are, and virtually indestructable. The Bowman design is immediately appealing: robust and functional, but well thought out and well balanced. Another thing I like is that decorative details has been kept to a minimum - everything has a function and works, there is a complete absence of fussy fretwork, embossed metal or anything like that. These engines look like they mean business, and they do.