Ferris Wheel turned by power unit

[mikethefixitman1]

When I was young (a hundred yrs ago) I remember WG Wade SHOWS using both Allis-Chalmers and IH engines to power their rides.The ones that intruged me the most were them great big(as a kid they were huge) engines/ generators that supplied the power for the whole show.I remember walking over those monster cables that seem to run everywhere.

 

[Rabbit Holler Flash]

My cousin was part owner of G & H Amusments Co. a summer traveling carnival & fair amusment contractor. He and the "G" bought out the old Rose City Rides Co. Billed as " The cleanest Midway in the Midwest" When they started they had all independent power units on each ride a mix of C60s A,C.s and contenintals. They always had 3 spares along for emergency replacement and he said that in "winter quarters" for clean up and off season they rebuilt a third of the units each year.They went to the big genset and electric motors on each unit to reduce up keep on multiple units the noise factor and safety concerns due to many of the power units were connected to rides thru a long drive shaft and transmission setup.

 

[Gary S.]

Well I almost fell over when I saw this post. Just what are the chances of Ferris Wheels and cubs being together. From 1954 to 1972 my parents had an amusement park in Dundee Illinois. I am the 4th generation in the business,my great grand parents and grandparents being in Riverview until 1963.The property my parents park was on got so valuable that in 1972 he sold it and most of the big rides were sold right away too.The Ferris Wheel came home and sat until 1996 when my Dad thought he should get rid of some of this stuff. The guy transporting it back to Texas, lost control down the drive and hit a tree.Don't know if it ever made it there.Early wheels were all cable driven,pine tar was applied to it for traction.Later models were mounted on a trailer and a rubber tire on a track replaced the cable drive. 2 people could put it up as opposed to 4 on the older ones. Since ours was a permanent installation it was powered by a 3 phase 10hp motor,which can be seen in the last picture on the back of the trailer. The other picture is of me running it in 1972. One of the cubs we have was bought to maintain the grounds in about '60 or '61.