Crown Metal Products history

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

Reviving this thread rather than starting a new one... I've been researching Crown locomotives recently and wanting to know if there are any good resources for them?

When researching surviving crown locomotives it's difficult to figure out when and who they were built for as some of them were sold and traded throughout their lives.

Jennie K · **Joined:** Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:48 pm **Posts:** 198

The State of CA made Knotts put a deadman's pedal on their 2' gauge Crown in Camp Snoopy. It will kill the fire, close the throttle and apply the brakes when activated. I have heard that it is the last train built by Crown before shutting down production.

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:13 am

Crescent-Zephyr wrote:

Reviving this thread rather than starting a new one... I've been researching Crown locomotives recently and wanting to know if there are any good resources for them?

When researching surviving crown locomotives it's difficult to figure out when and who they were built for as some of them were sold and traded throughout their lives.

Found this site, and it has a roster. Hope this helps, at least as a starting point.

http://www.trainweb.org/crownmetalproducts/

http://www.trainweb.org/crownmetalproducts/roster.html

http://www.trainweb.org/crownmetalproducts/roster2.html

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:19 am

The Steam Locomotive Information site's entries for Crown steamers. One is in Baghdad, Iraq!

Note there seems to be conflicting information about the road's equipment, and it even seems likely that particular Crown is gone.

https://www.steamlocomotive.info/locobr ... 20Products

http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/iraq/na ... -railways/

https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/v ... 3&start=90

Not a Crown, but something fascinating still!!

http://gwrarchive.org/site/sitel2pg/Iraq/iraq.php

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

Jennie K wrote:

The State of CA made Knotts put a deadman's pedal on their 2' gauge Crown in Camp Snoopy. It will kill the fire, close the throttle and apply the brakes when activated. I have heard that it is the last train built by Crown before shutting down production.

Oh interesting. The one time I've visited Knott's the 2' railroad wasn't operating because of construction on Camp Snoopy.

I read somewhere that the last 3 crown locomotives were the 2 delivered to Hershey Park and the 1 delivered to Knott's. I'm also curious if any of those 3 were the rebuilt original engine from Hersheypark.

I'm wondering if there are any records... perhaps Tweetsie has them? I'd pay to be able to research it more.

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2875

Is Crown the company whose boilers are needing replacement due to problems with the steam dome? Sorry for the rather vague recollection, I know it was one of the park ride steam engine companies, possibly boilers made as replacements on existing engines from the pre WWII builders.

Dave · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:58 pm

Possibly, but Crown boilers were designed by an old German engineer who had previously designed boilers for H K Porter. Presumably the were in compliance with industrial codes of the time given that depth of experience.

Jennie K · **Joined:** Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:48 pm **Posts:** 198

PMC wrote:

Is Crown the company whose boilers are needing replacement due to problems with the steam dome? Sorry for the rather vague recollection, I know it was one of the park ride steam engine companies, possibly boilers made as replacements on existing engines from the pre WWII builders.

That sounds more like Shop Services

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2875

Jennie K wrote:

PMC wrote:

Is Crown the company whose boilers are needing replacement due to problems with the steam dome? Sorry for the rather vague recollection, I know it was one of the park ride steam engine companies, possibly boilers made as replacements on existing engines from the pre WWII builders.

That sounds more like Shop Services

I was wrong, it wasn't Crown but another company still in business that makes non-railway boilers I think.

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:28 am

The standard gauge Brooklyn (New York City) Eastern District Terminal RR kept operating oil burning steam locomotives into the early 1960s, partly because New York State full crew laws didn't require a fireman on a steam engine.