Ferris wheel

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A Ferris wheel on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA.

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 type of amusement park ride and may also be found at many urban parks and public places around the world.

[edit] History

Drawing of a 17th-century precursor to the Ferris wheel.

The earliest model of the ferris wheel was called the ups and downs it was hand cranked and is believed to have given George Ferris inspiration. (as shown to the left)

The modern Ferris wheel is named after George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., who designed an 80 meter (264 feet) 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 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 two revolutions - the first to make six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter; the 2nd a single non-stop revolution - and for that, the ticket holder paid 50 cents. 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, only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height.^[1]

A portable Ferris wheel in England

Another famous Ferris wheel with a height of 65 meters (213 feet), dating back to 1897, is the Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater in the second district of Leopoldstadt. It was designed by Hubert Cecil Booth. 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.

For the 1900 Paris Exposition a 'Grande Roue', of similar size and design to Ferris', was constructed and kept in operation until its demolition in 1937. The French wheel operated 40 cars (as opposed to Chicago's 36), and is clearly visible in photos of the 1900 exhibition. [1]

The London Eye, in London, England, measuring 135 meters high had until very recently been the world's largest, but has since been eclipsed by the The Star of Nanchang [2]. Located in the Chinese city of Nanchang , Jiangxi Province , this new Ferris wheel measures 162 meters high. Sky Dream Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan, at 112 meters in diameter and 120 meters (394 feet) from ground to top, is the largest Ferris wheel in Asia. At 65 meters (212 feet), The Texas Star at Fair Park is the largest ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere, excluding the London Eye. The wheel opened in 1985 and has a maximum capacity of 260 persons.''''''

[edit] Observation wheels

The London Eye

Main article: Observation wheel

Recent large Ferris wheels have been marketed as "observation" wheels to differentiate them from the smaller Ferris wheels, but ironically are more similar to the original Ferris wheel than the smaller modern wheels.

One of the world's most famous observation wheels is the London Eye in London, United Kingdom, operated by British Airways. Its great popularity has led to a number of other cities, including Manchester, Birmingham and York (The Yorkshire Wheel), Moscow, Nanchang, Las Vegas, Shanghai, Melbourne and Singapore erecting, or proposing to erect, similar wheels.

[edit] Double and triple wheels

This illustration, from U.S. patent 1,354,436, depicts a variant of the Ferris wheel with sliding gondolas. It was built at Coney Island in the 1920s, and still operates at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. A replica of this Ferris wheel can be found in Disney's California Adventure theme park.

In the mid to late 1970s, 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. Triple Wheels were attached to three long arms mounted equal distance in a circle on a central tower. When loading/unloading passengers, the 3 arms would rotate until one arm was at the loading area and hydraulics would bring that arm/wheel to the ground.

A two-arm version titled "Zodiac" was also installed at Kings Island in Ohio as well as Hersheypark in PA titled "Giant Wheel." The double wheels were attached to a long, straight arm. The arm was mounted in the center on a central tower. When the hydraulics lowered one side, the other raised.

The Kings Island Zodiac was relocated to Australia's Wonderland. Australia's Wonderland closed in 2004.

All models featured 8-10 passenger cages. The cages were attached to the wheels by chains. When the wheel was in the loading position, it was horizontal and all cages could be loaded at once. As the arm raised or rotated, the wheel moved to a vertical positon and provided a typical ferris-wheel ride, only much higher from the ground.

Another version of this ride existed at Magic Mountain in CA titled "Galaxy." This ride was similar to the Zodiac, except the arms did not raise as far off the ground. The arms on this ride were shaped more in a "V", than a straight line, and the central tower was shorter. On each wheel were 4 smaller wheels that also rotated, providing a double vertical rotating movement.

A 4th version of the ride was installed and removed at Astroworld in TX titled "Astrowheel." It was also similar to the Zodiac model, but had the shorter tower/"V" arm configuration of the Galaxy.

This was a great advance in capacity on the ride and loading time. This was one of the most spectacular appearing amusement rides to date. But today, none of them operate in the US.

[edit] More Ferris Wheels and Manufacturers

• Allan Herschell
  • Seattle Wheel--The Seattle Wheel has 15 cars with up to two people per car.
• Chance Morgan
  • Astro Wheel--There are 16 cars with up to two people per car. Half of the cars face one way, and the other half, the other way.
  • Century Wheel--This Ferris Wheel has 15 cars with up to four people per car.
  • Giant Wheel--This ride has 20 cars with up to six people per each car. This is one of the biggest Ferris Wheels out there.
  • Sky Wheel--This Ferris Wheel is a double Ferris Wheel. There is a wheel on top, and bottom of the ride. There are eight cars per each wheel with up to two people for each car.
• Childress
  • Expo Wheel There are 16 cars with up to two people per each car. The sitting on this Ferris Wheel is much like the Eli Bridge Hy #5, or Chance's Astro Wheel.
• Eli Bridge [3]
  • Eagle Wheel--This ride has 16 cars with up to three people per car.
  • Hy #5 Big Eli Wheel--Some of these rides are cable driven while others are rim driven. This ride has 12 cars with up to three people per car.
  • Little Wheel--This ride is much smaller in dimensions, but it still has 12 cars with up to two people per car.
• Intamin
  • Coaster Wheel--This type of Ferris Wheel is a little different. The reason for this is the fact that some of the cars actually move on a track in the middle of the wheel. There are 16 of these cars. There are also eight cars on the outside of the ride that do not move much, and do not have a track. One of these is located at Disney's California Adventure, and another is located at Coney Island. Each of these cars can hold up to six people.

[edit] List of world's largest Ferris and observation wheels

A list of world's largest Ferris and observation wheels. This list is incomplete and should be completed and corrected, if necessary.

[edit] References

1. ^ Erik Larson. (2003) The Devil in the White City, page 258.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ferris wheel

• Singapore Flyer
• 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.
• London Eye Homepage
• Niagara SkyWheel Homepage
• Manchester City Council Wheel of Manchester Page
• World's Tallest Ferris Wheel - The Star of Nanchang
• A video of Eli bridge Erecting a Ferris Wheel in 1949

[edit] Ride Manufacturer Sites

• Chance Morgan
• Eli Bridge
• Intamin