The Original Parktrains Website

The History of Parktrains

Alan Herschell

Alan Herschell bought out Miniature Train Company in 1958. Herschell was subsequently bought by Chance Rides in the early 1970s. Chance sold off the remains of Herschell in late 1997. I have been unable to find production dates or figures for either MTC or Herschell. How much overlap there was in the production of the G-16 after Herschell took over MTC is still unclear. Herschell did build some G-16s after the takeover. Since the G-16 was a MTC design and was produced under the MTC name even after the takeover, I will refer you to the MTC page for information on that train.

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The S-16

Despite the fascination with streamline diesels, steam continued to be popular -- especially in the 1950s and early 1960s, when Westerns were at the height of their popularity and virtually every park had a "Wild West" theme section. F3s just don't fit with train robbers, Indians, and honky-tonk saloons! But competent steam mechanics were becoming hard to find at a reasonable cost. So, a new breed of "steam" locomotive was designed shortly after the Alan Herschell Company bought out MTC in 1956. While it looked like a steamer, it was actually powered by an internal-combustion engine hidden inside the "boiler."

The photo at right shows a common modification of the S-16. I've personally seen at least two engines that received this modification, which I at first assumed to be the stock configuration. A stock S-16 actually had the "main drivers" resting on the rails. This particular engine was originally used at Playland in Ocean City, NJ and is now installed in a family park in Aston, PA. At some point, the "main drivers" have been raised off the rails, probably to simplify maintenance. A couple people have reported that Herschell went through quite an ordeal to get the "drivers" to work properly, so it stands to reason that keeping them working right was something of a small headache.

Herschell also offered a powered B-unit to go with the S-16. This was built to look like a baggage car. Apparently relatively few of these were built.

The coaches pulled by the S-16 are essentially the same cars used behind the G-16. The primary difference is different sheet-metal to make the cars look like old-time open-platform heavyweights instead of the newer, lightweight streamline cars used behind the diesel. A somewhat different canvas-top coach was also offered with the S-16.

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The "Iron Horse"

Herschell also offered a larger version of the S-16. The Herschell Iron Horse resembled S-16 scaled up to two-foot guage.The Iron Horse uses a Jeep engine and a somewhat different frame. Apparently, the Iron Horse postdates the S-16 and may have been a last-ditch attempt to compete with the Chance C.P. Huntington, which runs on 24" guage track. If so, Chance's buyout of Herschell in the early 1970s ended that.

The photo at right is the only one I have of this train, which appears to have received a similar modification to the S-16 pictured above. I have no additional information on these trains. Additional photos and information are welcome .

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Glen Fairweather of the UK sent an interesting tidbit about a possible Herschell in England:

Some further info on the Herschell train in England. I've not personally seen it but a friend of mine has said that it looks very similar to a C P Huntingdon train with a single driver (dummy) and two driven bogies (one each side of the driver). It came to England in December 1987 from Magic Harbor Amusement Park, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

I've since received a phone call from Grey Tuttle, who helped install the Magic Harbor train. Mr. Tuttle asures me the train was a stock S-16. Perhaps Mr. Fairweather's friend saw it under repair, or perhaps the train received some modifications.

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