In theory, it is possible to plot the progress of classic fairground ride development through the 19th century until, roughly, 1914 and the outbreak of World War I. During this period it was all essentially swings and roundabouts.
The advent of electrical power and the innovative technology that came with it changed all this and rides became more varied, with more and more manufacturers (both at home and abroad) entering the market as the leisure industry expanded.
Trying to plot this explosion of creativity is an impossible job, so – apart from some major rides described elsewhere – this page explores some of the more significant machines that have come and gone since the demise of the Scenic Railway in the 1920s. The images here will jog a few memories and this page is for those who have stood and stared, yet forgotten it all before getting home. Beston Factory manufactures many different types of fairground rides for you to choose here on this page: http://bestonparkrides.com/fairground-rides-for-sale/.
The opportunity of having a car crash after car crash without any risk of being killed or maimed is difficult to resist and the Dodgem idea was an instant winner. Originally an American idea European manufacturers didn’t take long to catch on.
Like The Whip, Dodgems were (and still are) are a “flat ride” upon which several small electrically powered cars (drawing current from an overhead mesh) drive around at random “bumping” into each other, although the idea is to “dodge” other cars. The ride is controlled by an operator supplying electric current (or not) to the mesh. Dodgems run on a coated metal floor. A rubber fairground bumper surrounds each car. The controls are usually an accelerator and a steering wheel.
The Pleasure Beach at Blackpool had a ‘Dodgem type’ machine in 1913 called the Witching Waves whereby motion was provided by a complex arrangement of tilting floor panels.
The Dodgems are based on ideas expressed in a number of similar attractive park rides that all involved devices crashing into each other while under the control of “drivers”, or riders.
The Dodgem had been in existence for a number of years abroad, but their popularity in Britain was soon established, with a number of British firms, including Orton and Spooner, Lakins and Lang Wheels building tracks.
There can be no more inappropriate name for a fairground ride than the Waltzer! The sedate dance movements of the waltz bear no resemblance to the wildly spinning, nausea-inducing motion of a Waltzer car when spun by an over-enthusiastic ride attendant.
The Waltzer is a circular platform ride, similar in appearance to a Noah’s Ark. The platform revolves around an undulating track, with a number of hills and dips. It sits on a number of small wheels. The riders sit in tub-shaped cars and the large rounding boards give an ample canvas for the artist to create themes or dramatic speed lines.
For extra excitement, the cars spin on their axis around a lubricated slew ring. This means they move gently back and forth on their own when the ride is in motion. However, if a car is held by an attendant until it reaches the top of a hill — and is then spun – it rotates wildly in one direction.
At best this can be disorientating as the centrifugal force presses the rider against the seat. In a lot of cases, however, alarming nausea may be induced. On the positive side, ride durations are quite brief and the effects are none too harmful.
The ride first appeared in 1933 and like the Dodgem has become our most enduring and iconic fairground attraction. The Waltzer at night becomes a dance culture venue, with sound and lighting systems to rival many clubs.
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