— Ben Curtis, Billerica, Mass.
A I first posed your question to Mitch Markovitz, who is an avid and knowledgeable railroad uniform aficionado. He says this particular style hat was popular with the Eastern railroads in general, not specific to any particular one or two. The most logical manufacturer would have been Kromer Cap Co., although the cap in the photo wouldn’t have been an authentic Kromer Cap because several details were inconsistent with the company’s famous designs. Still, the cap you have might have been a replica, so I contacted the company to see if it looked familiar.
George Kromer was an engineer for the Chicago & North Western and lived in Kaukauna, Wis., in the late 1800s and early 1900s. According to the company’s website, “[he] decided there wasn’t a single cap of quality materials and manufacture, which suited the needs of railroad men. So he made one.” Today the company is based in Baltimore but still manufactures the famous Kromer Caps that are synonymous with railroading.
Stu Levin at Kromer Cap searched the oldest company catalog in his possession and asked former employees if they remembered such a cap, but was unable to confirm whether Kromer ever made that particular design. That said, the company crafted a few and has decided to include the design in its newest catalog as Style A751. See www.kromercap.com for more information.
— Kathi Kube
This style cap was sold at the railroad YMCA in Union Station in Washington D.C. and was worn by engineers working on the Wash – NYC trains.