Ferris wheel

A Ferris wheel (or, more commonly in the UK, big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim.

Ferris wheels are a common feature of amusement park rides and may also be found at many urban parks and public places around the world.

History

The earliest ancestor of the Ferris wheel is the Ups-and-Downs, a crude, hand-turned device, which dates back at least to the 17th century and is still in use in some parts of the world.

The modern Ferris wheel is named after Galesburg, Illinois native George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., who designed a 75-meter (250-foot) wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. It was designed as a rival to the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris exhibition. This first wheel weighed 2000 tonnes (2200 tons) and could carry 2,160 persons at a time; The Ferris Wheel was the largest attraction at the Columbian Exposition standing over 250' tall and powered by two 1000 HP steam engines. There were 36 cars each the size of a school bus that accommodated 60 people each (20 seated, 40 standing). It took 20 minutes for the wheel to make one revolution and for that, the ticket holder paid $.50. The wheel was moved twice after the 1893 Fair and was eventually destroyed (by controlled demolition) in 1904 after it was used at the St. Louis exposition of that year. At 70 tons, its axle was the largest steel forging of the time. It was 26 stories tall which was four stories taller than the tallest skyscraper in the world—also in Chicago—but only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height. Another famous Ferris wheel with a height of 65 meters, dating back to 1897, is the Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater in the second district of Leopoldstadt — see also World's Fair.

London, UK had its very own 'Gigantic Wheel' built at Earls Court in 1895, which was modelled on the original one in Chicago. This wheel stayed in service until 1906 by which time it had carried over 2.5 million passengers. It was built by two young Australian engineers named Adam Gaddelin and Gareth Watson and was the first of over 200 ferris wheels that they built world-wide.

Sky Dream Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan, at 112 meters in diameter and 120 meters from ground to top, is the largest Ferris wheel in the world. At 212 feet (65 meters), The Texas Star at Fair Park is the largest ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere. The wheel opened in 1985 and has a maximum capacity of 260 persons.

Observation wheels

Some people consider Ferris wheels to be a distinct category from observation wheels, of which the London Eye is currently the largest example in the world. Although they are very similar, they differ in a some minor technical respects, most notably in that the passenger cars are not suspended from the wheel's circumference but are mounted on its exterior. This requires them to be stabilised mechanically, making observation wheels a more technically complex form of the Ferris wheel.

Double and Triple Wheels

In the mid to late 1970's, coaster giant Intamin AG invented a new twist on the common ferris wheel, using long arms to hold the massive wheels, they created a way to load and unload ferris wheels more quickly. In 1976, 2 Sky Whirls opened at Marriott's Great America (IL, CA) and were the first triple wheels. One was also installed at Paramount's Kings Island in Ohio. Triple Wheels were attached to three long arms and when loading/unloading passengers, the massive structure would rotate and bring another wheel of cars to the ground. Today, none of them operate.

External links

Ferris wheel patents
Bellevue Ferris wheel at Luxembourg Schueberfouer
Information about a Triple Wheel, Sky Whirl
The Yorkshire Wheel A 54m observation wheel at the National Railway Museum, York, UK.
Eli Bridge Company, Makers of Ferris Wheels

Amusement rides | Ferris wheels

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History

Observation wheels

Double and Triple Wheels

See also

External links