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Crown Metal Products was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock based in Wyano, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Ken Williams in 1946 and initially sold pot cleaners and then electric fence wires and other products. In 1959, the company began to transition into producing
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
locomotives, a personal interest of Williams. The company went on to produce steam locomotives and passenger cars of various sizes for
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
. The firm ceased production in 1989; however, much of its rolling stock continues to operate at various locations around the world.


Background

The firm has its roots in 1946, when Ken Williams, a machinist and railway enthusiast of Wyano, Pennsylvania, founded Crown Metal Products in Sutersville, Pennsylvania to produce pot cleaners. In the 1950s, Williams purchased a miniature steam locomotive, presumed to have been built by the Cagney Bros., and decided to construct his own locomotive of the same design. In the summer of 1959, Williams was visited by Gaylon and Sallie Borders of Flora, Illinois, who had taken an interest in his locomotive. Gaylon then placed an order for a locomotive of Williams' design, which would become the first locomotive to be built by the Crown Metal Products. This locomotive was given the name "Little Toot", and over the following decade, more locomotives would be produced for parks, zoos, and other amusement attractions.


Designs

The locomotives produced by Crown were
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
live steam locomotives of various sizes, ranging from gauge to gauge. All locomotives built were of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, with the exception of Carowinds locomotive no. 1 "Melodia", a 2-6-2 rebuilt from a
0-6-2T T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...
built by
Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...
in 1897. Most locomotives were styled after the typical American 4-4-0 type locomotives of the mid 19th century, with most having two domes, similar to the ''
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
'', '' The General'', and the '' Inyo''. However, some of the gauge offerings featured three domes in the vein of locomotives such as the '' William Crooks'' and the '' Countess of Dufferin''. The locomotives were built to burn coal or wood as fuel, though many were later converted to
propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...
or
compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air in vehicle tires and shock absorbers are commonly used for improved traction and reduced vibration. Compressed air is an important medium for t ...
. Busch Gardens Williamsburg purchased two gauge locomotives that, while built to the same specifications as the typical Crown offerings, were given European style appearances. Similarly, their sister park in Tampa bought two locomotives of the same size, these having African styling. Besides steam locomotives, Crown also built diesel-hydraulic steam outline locomotives, of which two are known to exist. One operates at Valleyfair in Minnesota, and the other operates at Dorney Park in Pennsylvania. Crown also constructed the open-air Narragansett-style excursion cars that were usually provided with the locomotives sold, as well as a set of standard gauge ones for the Greenfield Village's Weiser Railroad.


Decline

By the 1980s, tighter
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...
regulations for operating steam locomotives, the inherent dangers of boiler failures, as well as the significant amount of work required to keep steam locomotives maintained on a daily basis, resulted in the Crown locomotives falling out of favor, with more parks opting for diesel locomotives or steam-outlines (locomotives powered by diesel or gasoline engines but given the outward appearance of a steam locomotive) for their railways. The most popular steam-outline locomotive is the gauge replica of the C.P. Huntington locomotive produced by
Chance Rides Chance Rides is an American roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. Originally founded in 1961, the current company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufa ...
, which continues to be produced for park railways around the world. Crown Metal Products was shut down in 1989, with all remaining orders fulfilled by 1990. Ken's son, Bert Williams, continued to support the Crown locomotives, providing replacement parts and service through his company, Castle Ridge Products of
Claysville, Pennsylvania Claysville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1950. The population was 728 at the 2020 census. Claysville Elementary School, part of the McGuffey School District is ...
, until 2004. That year, the necessary tooling, jigs, inventory and rights were purchased by
Tweetsie Railroad Tweetsie Railroad is a family-oriented Wild West theme park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. The centerpiece of the park is a ride on a train pulled by one of Tweetsie Railroad's two historic narrow-gaug ...
in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Tweetsie Railroad currently handles parts, restoration and service of Crown locomotives.


List of Crown Metal locomotives

A large number of Crown-built locomotives continue to operate at amusement parks, recreational parks, and tourist railways. Below is a partial listing of parks that currently operate, or previously operated, Crown locomotives:


See also

*
List of locomotive builders This list of locomotive builders (companies, government agencies and railways) is ordered by country and includes both modern-day and defunct builders. Since many entities changed their names over time, the most recognisable name is used – gener ...


References

Back in the 70's, Crown Metal Products Company purchased the patent and manufacture of steam locomotive air brake equipment from Westinghouse Air Brake Company (now WABTEC) of Wilmerding, Pa., U.S.A. As main railroad steam locomotives were superseded by diesel units, Crown Metal Products could only sell this equipment abroad. Such was the case of a large order placed by Argentine State Railroads which then amounted to some $440,000.00, covering compressor and air brake equipment spare parts, the largest order received by Crown at that time.


External links


Unofficial Crown FansiteSurviving Steam Locomotive Search - Crown Metal Products
{{Amusement rides Amusement ride manufacturers Defunct locomotive manufacturers of the United States