Crown Metal Products
One of the largest producers of park trains
was the Crown Metal Products Company. Crown began by focusing on 15" and
24" gauge trains, but later built trains as large as 36" gauge. Many Crowns
are still in operation all over North America.
Crown was started by Ken Williams. Mr. Williams was in the manufacturing
business. His interest in trains led him to purchase a steam locomotive.
He later bought a small 15" gauge engine, probably a Cagney. From these
humble beginnings he began making his own trains. By the time he died in
the early 1970s, Crown Metal Products trains had progressed from small, 15"
gauge steam locomotives to 24" gauge engines and on to 36" gauge engines.
While all were intended for the amusement industry, these are real, working
steam locomotives.
Crown locomotives come in three basic sizes. The smallest is the 15" gauge
engine. These could be ordered in 14", 15" or 16" gauge. All three of the
smaller gauges used the same basic 15" gauge locomotive frame and boiler,
with the wheels pushed in or out to accommodate the other two gauges. Apparently
very few 15" gauge locomotives were built.
The 24" gauge engines were Crown's largest until they entered the
36" gauge market in the early 1970s. They are essentially a larger version
of the 15" gauge locomotives. One of the most impressive examples of the
24" gauge Crown is Hershey Park's Dry Gulch RR. The small engines pull
4 and 5 car trains up some pretty steep hills, putting on a real show.
The smaller engines were pretty much all built to the same basic design.
The larger 36" gauge engines, however, were sometimes customized. Crown
did offer a standard 36" gauge Crown such as this engine in use at a church
retreat in Oklahoma. Anheuser-Busch ordered a pair of custom Crowns when
they opened their Busch Gardens theme park, "The Old Country," in 1974.
A third Crown, which is a "standard design" engine rebuilt to match the
European styling of the other two, has recently been added. A total of 18
36" gauge locomotives were produced in the 1970s and 1980s. An article on
the "big Crowns" is included here.
The smaller engines are mechanically simpler than the larger locomotives.
The three foot gauge engines have a single stage air pump manufactured
by Westinghouse Air Brake Company. (WABCO). WABCO's steam air pump business
was bought out by Crown, who turned around and sold it to a company called
Backshop. Air operated independent brakes are standard on the larger
engines. The smaller engines came standard with hand operated locomotive
brakes (working on the drivers only, the pony wheels were unbraked) and
a chain driven air pump. This method of pumping air meant that the train
line had to be charged from a shop compressor before the first run of the
day.
Ken Williams' son Bert is now supporting his father's products.
He's formed a new company called Capital Ridge Products located in Claysville,
PA. Before you ask, no, I don't have any contact information.
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1995-2002
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