Know anything about Ferris wheels?

March 23, 2006 5:10 PM

I'm working on a project that requires somewhat in-depth knowledge of the workings of antique carnival/fun-fair size breakdown and re-assemble Ferris wheels. The problem is that I don't know enough about Ferris wheels or how they work to know what to look for.

I've looked at a lot of pictures on the internet, but most Ferris wheel photographers are enamored with giant modern wheels. They also tend to point their cameras up at the wheel rather than down at the engine/machinery area. I've read some fluffy pages about the history of the Ferris wheel but nothing concrete about how they work/ed.

Ideally, I'd like to find some technical illustrations of antique (Depression era and older) traveling wheels that include illustrative depictions of the powering mechanism. (What did they run on? Gasoline? Steam?) Second best would be modern photographs of antique wheels. Detailed photographs of high quality circus models would be ok, too.

Internet reference is preferred (my local library, while nice, is a very small town affair), but book recommendations would be welcome, too. Any hints for non-obvious search terms or potential reference sources (I've been searching Google for carnival Ferris wheels, technical Ferris wheel drawings, etc) would be great also.

posted by xyzzy to media & arts (7 comments total)

A starting point might be The Devil in White City, which includes several chapters about the construction of the first ferris wheel at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. I don't have my copy in front of me, so I can't say for sure, but I would guess the bibliography would have some references that might be useful for you. Amusing the Million, which is about Coney Island at the turn of the 20th century, might have some helpful photos, too. Here are some other references to ferris wheels.
posted by scody at 5:20 PM on March 23, 2006

You might find it useful to visit the patents page and look at the drawings there.
posted by tellurian at 6:03 PM on March 23, 2006

Chicago's great ferris wheel of 1883
posted by atom128 at 6:57 PM on March 23, 2006

You need to read Remaking the World : Adventures in Engineering by Henry Petroski [my review] it has an entire chapter on the ferris wheel from an engineering perspective. Not to be missed. Not a lot about the engine part, but a whole lot about how it was created and machined. If you're not in a hurry I could send you my copy.
posted by jessamyn at 8:21 PM on March 23, 2006

Here is a photo circa 1924 from my hometown library. scroll down
posted by hortense at 9:03 PM on March 23, 2006

OMG hortense, KKK on a ferris wheel!! xyzzy, the book mentioned on the patent page looks good too.
posted by tellurian at 9:27 PM on March 23, 2006

Thanks all, this information has been fascinating and/or helpful. Much obliged.
posted by xyzzy at 9:05 AM on March 24, 2006