Ferris wheel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

1 History
2 Observation wheels
3 Double and triple wheels
4 More Ferris Wheels and Manufacturers
5 External links
- 5.1 Ride Manufacturer Sites

[edit] History

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

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 George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., who designed an 80 meter (264 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 two revolutions - the first to make 6 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.

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 — 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 (394 feet) 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.

[edit] Observation wheels

Image:London Eye Twilight April 2006.jpg

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 wheel 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, 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 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 operates.

[edit] More Ferris Wheels and Manufacturers

Allan Herschell
- Seattle Wheel--The Seattle Wheel has 15 cars with up to 2 people per car.
Chance Morgan
- Astro Wheel--There are 16 cars with up to 2 people per car. Half of the cars face one way, and the other half, the other way.
- Century Wheel--This Ferris Wheel has 16 cars with up to 4 people per car.
- Giant Wheel--This ride has 20 cars with up to 6 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 8 cars per each wheel with up to 2 people for each car.
Childress
- Expo Wheel There are 16 cars with up to 2 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 [1]
- Eagle Wheel--This ride has 16 cars with up to 3 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 3 people per car.
- Little Wheel--This ride is much smaller in dimensions, but it still has 12 cars with up to 2 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 8 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 6 people.