Shipbucket

Crown Royal Lines
Est. 1897

1897-1899

Founded by two brothers James and Lyle Crown, they hadn't much money $700 at best, but their minds were the limits of how they envisioned their new merchant ship company. Crown Brother Shipping Company was the original name to which they started. The larger companies at the time obviously laughed at them and their attempts at gaining customers. For the first two years they built small wood boats and ferry poorer people from one side of rivers and the bay to the other, charging only $0.15 per-trip. On any good day they would earn up to $ 14.70, very meager. On June 15, 1899 their luck changed for the better when the a disgruntled captain of the S.S. Midnight quick his job of ferrying upper and middle class passengers to the other side of Parers Bay, citing they want to pay less than he charges. So the Crown Brothers bought the ship cheap and kept the name.



The Midnight was small(built in 1889), 44 meters long and 8 meters wide, max speed of 9 knots. They figured they'll make due however though they needed to hire their first employees at minimum wage. Since they started to ferry richer passengers they charged more, but less than their competition which won them praise from their customers but enemies from other ferrying companies. The company grew in business, but it wasn't until 1908 when the brothers realized they needed to expand and upgrade in other ways so in that same year they started planning their first ship.

1908-1915

Because of their realitivly cheap prices they started to invest money into building their first ship, they'd name it the MS Midnight Sun. First thing first finding a shipyard that would build it, which wasn't easy since the majority of the yards were already full or in the process of constructing new ships for "rivals". The brothers finally found one that would build their ship, though the yard was new the two backed away but finally made their decision. It took one year for the Midnight Sun to be built, however when she was finished she was everything they had hoped for. The only problem they hadn't the money to hire anyone to operate it, so they leased her for three years to the Federal Prison System as a correctional vessel that would transport prisoners from United Fantasia to parts around the world.

During her time shipping prisoners she was painted in a mild gray, the funnel painted black, the railings removed and replaced and in closed to look like a cage so inmates wouldn't try to escape by jumping overboard. Along with these modifications the only other exterior modification was iron bars across all port holes and windows.



Midnight Sun in her CBSC livery.

Not bad for a start, though it could use a little mor detail.

This is not SB style at all. Given your detailed buildings I'm sure you could produce far better than these blocky monstrosities. I'm thinking the beginner's thread is the best place for these. The Midnight looks about the best, but again its not really in SB style.

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