Crazy & Co.

Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

Tales Of Misadventures, Helter Skelter Woe’s

28 March 2021

We are proud of our safety record in the funfair industry. Having never had a serious accident or incident with members of the public.

We have had a couple or three minor ‘incidents’ usually involving me, or Arthur (a one time collaborator) or in one case a poor sod we had shanghaied to work for us for the day. For some weird reason, they all involve helter skelters in some form. Perhaps subconsciously that’s why we got rid of our last example a few years back.

Fred Thompson’s Lighthouse Helter Skelter

My maternal Grandad, Fred, was one of the industries characters. He owned a massive amount of rides over the years, but also seemed to buy things like dodgems with no cars, only to sell the track and then buy a set of cars with no track. The helter skelter however he did own and operate right up to his death.

Not one of the smaller square latticework rides, this was the huge steel structured ride which was shaped like a lighthouse or pepper pot. Whilst Grandad was basically on his death bed, the famous Nottingham Goose fair rolled around. Due to some internal family politics, the offspring that usually took the ride to the fair refused to do so. So Uncle Garry, my dad, and by extension me were drafted in to set the ride up. None of us really knew what we were doing, but there were a couple of long time staff members helping, and another operator with the same type ride at the event, came and offered advice when we needed it.

The Great De-Rig

We managed to set up OK, and we ran the attraction for the three days of the fair. On the Sunday morning, we got up for the derig, only to be welcomed by a torrential down pour. Great, to compound matters the two staff members had done a runner, couldn’t blame them really. So it was left up to the deadly duo (Uncle Garry and Dad) and me.

Not fancying pneumonia, I had wrapped myself in a rubberised wet suit, and wellingtons. I had started in the top chute (the U shaped part of the ride that you actually slid down), undoing the bolts that held them together. You unfastened the twenty odd chutes then usually started at the top chute and took them down one at a time. Due to the water, I slipped into the chute and started to slide down. Because of the wet suit I couldn’t generate enough friction to stop my descent. Not a problem I could slide to the bottom and walk back up the steps so I just sat back and accelerated.

Which would have been OK, had not the other two started removing the chutes at the bottom and working their way up. The result was me imitating an Exocet missile exiting a launch tube as I shot off the number 7 chute, about 15 feet in the air. Luckily they had handily stacked all the other chutes in a nice row on the floor to break my fall.

After recovering from my high speed exit, I pulled myself together and climbed back up to try again. Now at this point, some poor innocent funfair enthusiast happened to walk past. Little did he know the fun he was going to be subject to. Looking back he was a bit like a Turkey strolling past Bernard Matthews just as he finished sharpening his knife.

“Oy Mate”, shouts Uncle Garry, “Fancy a job on the fair?” The poor sod did. Fifteen minutes into his new career he managed to fall down the steps at the front and break his arm. We packed him off the the local hospital, not expecting to see him again. Given that a&e was usually synonymous with about an eight hour wait.

He Comes Back

In the event he surprised us, as about forty minutes later he came back. Walked up the front steps into the centre of the ride, then holding his newly potted arm aloft like a badge of honour, perhaps Nottingham’s version of a purple heart, he shouted up, “Its me, I’m back!”

Now, this had an immediate and unfortunate effect. Uncle Gary and I were at that point taking side sections off the top of the ride. These were held on by massive bolts, think of something the size of a lemon. Gary had in his hand one of these very bolts, just as our unfortunate hero shouted up to us.

Garry turned quickly to see who it was, and unfortunately lost grip of the bolt he happened to be holding. With an aim worthy of William Tell, the bolt hit the guy slap bang in the centre of the forehead. Dropping him to his knees and producing a rather large egg shaped lump and a rather unfocussed look.

“Erm, listen guys”, he managed to croak feebly, “I think I am gonna resign, I don’t wanna work on the fair no more.” This time we didn’t see him again, can’t say I blame him really.

Some People Just Never Learn

Now, I swore this was enough to put me off helter skelters for life. So of course, a few years later, Rennie (another occasional collaborator) suggested purchasing a square type helter skelter that he knew of between us. It was a bit rough but we had the skills between us to rebuild it, and like the fabled lemmings, I hadn’t had any brushes with death for quite a while so I went for it.

We got it back to the yard, semi erected it and started on the multitude of jobs. One day I had climbed to the top and noticed that the bracket holding the highest section of steps on was cracked. Badly cracked, in fact it was held on by a sliver of paint. I thought to myself then that the next job should be to weld it back together. Just then, fate, in the form of my mother in law, turned up with a bacon sandwich and coffees for me and Renny. Being partial to a bacon sarny I shimmied down for breakfast.

After wolfing them down, and feeling recharged. I collected a large 8ft by 4ft wooden panel that needed affixing to the top of the ride and ran up the steps with it. As I stood on the topmost tread of the topmost section of steps, the malicious gods looking down decided that was the instant that the sliver of paint holding the steps on would finally expire.

Wooden Parachute

They say that in moments of extreme terror, your life flashes before your eyes. Truth be told this didn’t happen, but I do distinctly remember that time seemed to slow on the way down, as I plummeted earthwards holding a large sheet of wood above my head. My first thought was “Bugger, I should really have welded that bloody step up”, followed closely by “I bet this is gonna hurt”, followed by “This is taking some time,” followed by the sound of a person hitting the wooden floor, followed even more closely by the sound of a large wooden panel hitting a person, and almost simultaneously the sound of a section of steps hitting a wooden panel.

Suffice so say, I survived, a bit battered but without breaking anything important.

Arthur

The final entrant into our tale of woe, didn’t really involve the helter skelter, beyond the fact that I happened to be midway up the ride when the problem was brought to my attention.

We were at a corporate event in Salford. Renny ,Arthur and I with a range of attractions. Arthur, being afraid of heights tended to steer clear of the Helter Skelter, instead bagging the job of looking after the moonwalk. This was an inflatable attraction, that was enclosed in a dome. Arthur got himself comfortable on the front step, in front of the slit in the front that acted as a doorway. Because the dome had a high speed fan continuously blowing air in to keep the thing inflated, you tended to get a high speed stream of cold air blowing out the front. On perhaps the hottest day of that year this was a bonus for Arthur keeping him nicely chilled.

Glowing

Anyway, there I was half way up our slide, when Arthur wandered over and shouted up “My head hurts”, oh FFS, “Look in the glovebox of my car there are some headache tabets” I replied without really taking any notice, tricky things these big slides so I was paying attention to what I was doing.

“I didn’t say I had a F**KING headache”, said Arthur, “I said my F**KING head hurts!”

When I looked I could see his issue, “FFS Arthur don’t walk out the gate of the park”

“Why he asked?”

“Cos you will stop the traffic, you look like a set of traffic lights on red”

Dear me, his full forehead and face were glowing, and I mean glowing, like he had been stood a bit close to Chernobyl when it went up. I saw him about a week later when the skin had started peeling off and he looked like the singing detective. He ended up with scars on his forehead the sunburn had been that bad. Serve him right for lazing on the step all day.

It’s Not Just Us

Another operator I know of ended up with two broken legs, when one day he was at the top of his helter skelter painting it. He happened to glance upwards, where the clouds were moving due to a stiff breeze. Becoming disorientated, and believing it was the ride moving he threw himself over the side, in the belief that it was better than being inside the ride when it hit the ground.

And yet another guy, was at Yarm fair in the North East, and managed to fall from his ride landing on a street sign and breaking a number of ribs. Whilst in hospital he was laid in bed with his hand dangling over the side, when his visiting mother leaned over the bedside cabinet to give him a kiss. Unfortunately the cabinet was on wheels and being shoved against his hand managed to break three of his fingers.

Eventually the health and safety executive decreed that fall arrest equipment needed to be worn when working on these things at height. To give them their due most operators did both buy and use said kit. The one guy I know that put them to test still managed to break his ankles, when I enquired how, he explained the the standard fall arrestor worked by expanding and slowing you descent without too much of a jerk. Sadly it needed about twelve feet to work and he was only ten feet high when he fell, so he hit the deck before it arrested his fall. He seemed quite cheerful though and vowed that in future he would only fall off higher up.

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Event Planning, funfair events, Funfair Rides

6 Tips For Hiring A Ferris Wheel

24 March 2021

A Ferris wheel is one of those iconic funfair rides that everyone remembers. They not only make regular appearances at funfairs up and down the country, but you can also hire them for private events. Here are 6 tips for hiring a Ferris wheel to make sure you get the best for your money.

1 What Size Wheel

There are two basic wheels you will see in the UK. What we tend to term a traditional wheel, which in actual fact is more than likely to be American in origin, more specifically from the Eli Bridge company of Jacksonville Illinois.

This is the type of wheel that was in the final scene of Grease, the movie. They are also what you most probably rode as a child, and they are what is usually hired for private events.

The other big wheel type, is big, really big. They have been christened Continental Wheels in the UK, but are generally referred to as giant wheels on the continent. They come in a multitude of sizes, the travelling models tending to be 50-60 metres in height, with some fixed models of 100m up over. These can be hired privately, however keep in mind that a typical 50m wheel would come on 5-6 trailers, with each one being towed by a vehicle averaging perhaps 6-7 MPG. They would take a number of days to set up and similar to take back down, using a crew of perhaps 6-8 staff members. So unless you are Elon Musk or the likes, you aren’t going to hire one for a 5 year olds birthday party in your back garden.

2 Where Will The Wheel Be Built

We will proceed under the assumption that you aren’t Elon Musk and wish to hire the smaller Eli Bridge type wheel. For the other type, much of what we advise is equally valid, but you would need a specialist survey to ensure the ground can take the weight and stress of a true giant wheel.

Ideally a perfectly flat tarmac or concrete surface such as a car park is what we like for a wheel. Realistically, this isn’t always possible. Grass is fine, as long as it isn’t too soft. This is more for the vehicles carrying the ride rather than an issue with the ride. A wheel is a stable structure, well balanced and with large outriggers to prevent it tilting. Getting it into position on extremely soft ground is where the problems arrive. We carry wooden boards to drive on across soft ground, and if you need us 50 or 60ft across a field its not an issue. If you want us half a mile across a swamp it isn’t going to happen.

Access

The other issue people seem to be oblivious to, is actually having an entrance large enough to drive the ride through. We have turned up on site visits many a time, to find out that although there is a 300 acre field available, the only access is through a gate 4ft wide, or around a sharp bend that you would be lucky to manage with a classic mini without a couple of shunts. Imagine the large vehicles you see on the motorway, then widen it a foot and add perhaps 10ft on the end. That will give you an idea of how long a typical ride is.

If in doubt ask about a site visit. There may be a small charge, but a decent operator will waive this if you end up booking.

3 Ensure It Carries The Correct Documentation

Thankfully, with the funfair industry being so highly regulated, the cowboys have pretty much been forced out. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still undertake due diligence when hiring attractions. Circumstances can conspire to create a situation where someone may cut corners, be it down to greed, or desperation. The best way to ensure your safety, is to make sure your chosen operator can actually supply a full set of safety documentation. The following list are all legally required documents, if they can’t provide any of them, run away, quickly:

Public Liability Insurance (Self Explanatory)
Risk Assessments (To how the ride has been assessed to ascertain what risks exist)
Fire Assessments (Like the Risk assessment, but looking for fire based issues)
Method Statements (A document showing what has been put in place to mitigate the risks identified)
ADIPS Certificate (Much like an MOT, showing the ride has been tested by an independent engineer for safety)
Daily Inspection Record (To show that each day the ride is operated it has been checked by the operator)

Adips

One the mentioned documents, the ADIPS cert bears a little more explaining. Each ride has to undergo an annual inspection to ensure it is safe to operate. This includes electrical and mechanical safety, and may well include non destructive testing such as x-rays or dye penetration inspections to check for metal fatigue and cracking. A certificate is issued once the ride is passed as safe. This has all the relevant information about the ride. It also has two important things to look out for. One is the ADIPS inspection number, If you visit their website, you can actually input this number to ensure the document is correct and up to date.

The other is the photograph in the top right hand of the document. This should match the ride you have hired. If it doesn’t it could mean that the ride you have hired isn’t covered by that document. A big no no.

Above is an example of what the DOC looks like, you can see the image in the top right hand corner, directly below this image will be the DOC number.

4 Ask For Photos Of What You Are Hiring

There are some absolutely immaculate wheels on the hire market. There are sadly a few poor examples, and the majority are comfortably in the middle, quite presentable rather than exceptional.

You are certainly entitled to ask for a photo of what the operator is proposing to hire to you. Beware of tiny thumbnails that show no details, and ask for how old the photos are. Something immaculate 20 years ago could look very different now.

Any professional operator wants his client to be happy. A successful job isn’t just one where they earn money, its one where the client is happy and will use them again.

Take a look at the wheel above, this can quite accurately be described to you as one hot wheel without telling any lies. Thing is, it’s hot, not because it’s a fabulous wheel, but because it was in the vicinity of Chernobyl when the nuclear reactor exploded. So don’t trust to descriptions alone, unless it is someone you have worked with before and trust.

5 Ensure The Quote You Have Includes Everything

Although we haven’t really heard of it happening with wheels. A favourite tactic of one competitor when offering dodgems for hire, was to quote a price roughly halve of everyone else’s. When your ride turned up, it didn’t have lights or music. There was no top cover so it wouldn’t work it it rained, and you only got 4 cars. They would inform you that the ride supplied was exactly what you had paid for. If you wanted all the additional extras and the more usual 14 cars, then they were extra. Your choice at that point was to pay what could end up being more than you had been quoted from other operators for the same service, or put up with half a ride.

Most companies quote within a narrow price band. If something is exceptionally cheap it is for a reason, and not usually a good one.

Another Cowboy

Another cowboy we came across had an ingenious scheme. He would quote a price about 40% less than anyone else. To secure it you had to pay an immediate £500 NON REFUNDABLE deposit. The day before your event, you would receive a phone call informing you that sadly, the ride you had booked had been destroyed by fire/stolen/kidnapped by space aliens. But not to worry, they had a couple of children’s roundabouts they could bring you. When you complained the event wasn’t for kids and you were cancelling, they were happy to let you do that. Of course the deposit was non refundable.

Is it legal? Hmm, probably not, getting you money back by going to court probably outweighs the £500. If you give the guy too much hassle he had the option of refunding your money to stop the case. He kept far more than he lost though.

6 If You Have Any Unusual Requirements, Agree Them Beforehand

Do you want only Max Bygraves records playing on the ride. Or the lights switched off for some reason. Perhaps you want your pet donkey to be allowed to ride. Talk the to supplier and make sure this is possible, before the day of the event. It isn’t fair complaining that they had none of Mr Bygraves songs to play, if they were totally unaware that you were a fan.

Most reasonable requests we are happy to comply with. We enjoy a bit of fun, and want you to be happy. (Not sure about letting the donkey ride though). But be aware of the fact that we will not, compromise safety to please you. No amount of offering to sign waivers will make any difference, (and for the record, judges tend not to view the practice very kindly, their take is that the fact we had a waiver signed meant we knew it was unsafe to do), we want the job, and we want you to be happy with it, but not at the risk of hurting or killing someone.

If you want any more info on the ins and outs of hiring a Ferris wheel, drop us an email, or pick the phone up, we are quite happy to talk to you about it without obligation.

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Event Planning, funfair events, Funfair Rides

Mack Rides Gmbh, A Manufacturer Profile

21 March 2021

A German entry into our manufacturer series today. This company can trace their roots back to 25 year old Paul Mack who began building wagons and barrows in the German town of Waldkirch in 1780.

His son took over in 1787, and diversified into building stagecoaches, as well as building pipe systems and drilling wells.

Showmen’s Wagons

Mack continued to expand and build wagons, stagecoaches etc. By 1880 they began to receive commissions to build showmen’s living wagons, as well as parts for rides in the growing amusement ride arena and stalls for showmen.

Roller Coaster

In 1921 Mack built it’s first wooden roller coaster. Built for Siebold & Herhaus the ride first operated in Switzerland before touring Europe. It’s first car ride followed in 1936 and a bobsled ride in 1951. By this time the company had a steadily growing export business to the United States.

Classic Rides

The company created a number of well known classics, including the Music Express (a caterpillar type ride), Sea Storm and Wild Mouse coaster.

Their client list pretty much covers the globe, with Mack rides both old and new operating both on travelling funfairs and fixed parks.

From Builders To Operators

The Mack family visited the United States in the 70′, seeing the amusement parks over there were inspired to build their own. They purchased the park attached to the historical Balthasar castle in Rust. The resulting park named ‘Europa-Park‘ opened in 1975. Despite scepticism, it actually had some 250,000 visitors the first year. Rapidly climbing to over 1 million annually within 3 years. The park is now the largest in Germany, and the second most popular in Europe after Disneyland. It now averages 5.75 million visitors annually. The park has also regularly been voted the world’s best them park.

In its 240 year history, Mack Rides has built a huge number of both travelling funfair rides, and 146 roller coasters, the vast majority of which are still operating.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

Funfair Rides, FAQ’s

12 March 2021

Another of our series of attempts to answer some of the questions we have happened across on the internet, as well as those we seem to be asked regularly.

Can I Go On Rides When I Am Pregnant

It depends on the ride. Some of the more sedate rides shouldn’t be any more problematic than a trip on a train or bus. We wouldn’t however recommend going on something that turns you upside down or inside out. In short, you need to use that rarest of skills, common sense.

Are Funfair Rides Safe

Well, it depends who you listen to. There was a guy on the go in the 90’s who had set his own safety organisation up. He used to have plenty to say about unsafe fairgrounds. Funnily enough, he never mentioned them, until he formed his safety group and demanded that the funfair industry pay him for inspections. When they refused he went on a campaign against the industry. Demanding amongst other things daily safety inspections by the operators of the rides, and annual inspections by engineers. Weird thing at the time was that we were already doing that.

The Health & Safety inspectorate have long been in charge of overseeing safety at the funfair. Their opinion, is that you are more likely to die from a shark attack, or being struck by lightening, than killed on a funfair ride. In fact they estimate the chance of it happening as 1 in something like 83 million.

How Much Are Funfair Rides

That depends whether you mean to ride on them or to buy one.

Nowadays a typical ride costs between £1 and £2 a ride. Some of the larger fairs or festivals tend to be more expensive. There are also a handful of rides that are fairly unique and as a result tend to command a higher price for a ride.

Danters Air, One Of Only A Handful Of This Type Of Ride

If you mean how much to buy a ride. Then it depends on what you want to buy. A second hand Miami type ride can be picked up for probably £50K. Something like a giant wheel can be upto the £5 million mark. Roller Coasters as much as some small nations annual GDP.

What Is The Most Popular Funfair Ride

Dodgems, the dodgems and definitely the dodgems. By a huge margin all of our records show that dodgems are the most requested ride. This is true for events such as weddings, as well as corporate events, festivals and parties.

Second are the tamer thrill rides such as Twist and Miami, but they are definitely playing second fiddle.

Carousels occasionally put in an honourable mention, but it tends to be mainly at weddings, where they make a great photo opportunity.

Can I Go On A Fairground Ride If I Am Disabled

There is no real reason you can’t. The problem tends to be access.Legislation was brought in requiring business’s to take reasonable steps to alter their premises to enable disabled access. Unfortunately there aren’t any reasonable steps to alter a funfair ride for this. Any major alterations of this type would require a complete set of engineering drawings and stress calculations drawing up, then a design review by qualified engineers to ensure the alterations are safe. In some cases this could cost more than the ride is actually valued at.

This doesn’t mean you can’t ride them though. Any professional operator will be happy to provide assistance in getting the less abled onto their ride.

How Old Do Kids Have To Be To Go On The Rides

Well, that depends on the ride. For the really little ones, talking toddlers here, you are best sticking to something like the teacups Children’s Ride or toytown ride, the parents can usually ride with the kids so they are kept safe.

When you start getting on to the bigger stuff, they tend to have a height board. Usually your kids will need to be the minimum height to ride. Please, please, please respect this. The amount of arguments we have ended up in over the years, because someone wants their under height kid to be allowed a ride, is ridiculous. Look, we want your money. If we are stopping your kid riding, it isn’t to be a killjoy. It is to ensure they aren’t hurt and our insurance costs don’t go up. Your claim that you will take responsibility if they are killed, doesn’t actually offer us much protection in a court of law.

Stick to funfair rides like this, if you have little kids. Oh, and accompany them. I well remember one mother trying to jam her 6 month old baby in such a position that it didn’t flop forward and fall off. If the kid isn’t old enough to hold itself up, it isn’t old enough to ride alone.

Can I Join The Fairground If I Buy A Ride

Theoretically you can. Most large funfairs are run by members of the Showmen’s Guild Of Great Britain. To attend them you have to be a member of the organisation. At one time, unless you were either born to existing members, or married one, you weren’t allowed to join. This closed shop was stopped by legislation meaning it is open to anyone to join. If you are interested in becoming a member you can find details to join the Showmens Guild here.

However the reality is, that at most events the same families have owned the rights to the individual ride plots for generations. To buy one you need to be in a position to know they are for sale. As quite often this is discussed at social events, ie. down the pub. Unless you are part of the crowd you tend not to be involved. Some newer events the plots are advertised, but again, the operators in charge tend to stick with established family names they are familiar with. So before ponying up a large cash advance to join the Guild, I would think carefully. You are likely to have more success on a roulette wheel, or the local horse races than operating your on funfair rides.

Showmen’s Guild Logo

Are Bumper Cars Different To Dodgems

Nope, they are exactly the same ride. In the North East they tend to be called bumper cars, the rest of the UK prefer dodgems. The actual historic name is dodgems, as in you dodge the other cars.

That lot up in the North East tend to be a hardy lot, so smashing into each other is probably more fun.

If you have any other questions about funfair rides, feel free to add them in the comments and we will try and answer them.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

The Carousel, History Of An Iconic Ride

11 March 2021

Many of the rides still travelling on funfairs have been around for decades, in some cases over 100 years. Others are relatively new designs, but have still achieved iconic status. One such ride is the carousel, the first of the rides we are going to take an in depth look at.

Early History

Much of Europe and the Middle East have a long history of jousting. Knights would gallop in circles whilst tossing balls to each other, a demonstration of their skill and horsemanship. The actual word carousel takes its origins from the Italian Carosella meaning little battle, which was an exercise used by Arabian and Turkish horsemen to prepare for actual battle. essentially a training mechanism to prepare and strengthen the riders sword play.

Eventually as medieval jousting gave way to the cavelry era, this was replaced with demonstrations and spectacles that had the rides spearing suspended rings.

Eventually even the commoners began to play the game, and rudimentary carousels began to be set up at fairgrounds across Europe. An early make believe carousel with wooden horses was set up in Paris, at the Place Du Carousel for children.

The Modern Carousel

The forerunner to the modern carousel, was what in the UK is termed a dobbie set. Much like a carousel, but with one important feature lacking. The horses didn’t have an up and down motion. They were either suspended on poles, or fastened to the platform, and though they would rotate in the same manner, they lacked the galloping. They also tended to be much smaller that the rides we are used.

Then Came Steam

The first of the two breakthroughs that led to the ride we all know and love today came around 1861. Invented by a gentleman called Thomas Bradshaw, who built a ride that was powered by a steam engine. This allowed a much bigger structure, with crucially more riders. One newspaper of the time remarking that it moved with such impetuosity that the wonder was the riders not being shot off like cannonballs.

Then Came Frederick Savage

The final piece of the puzzle came from an English engineer. Frederick Savage was a builder of agricultural machinery. Who, for reasons unknown decided to branch out into the design and production of funfair rides.

By the 70’s (the 1870’s that is), he was exporting funfair attractions all over the world. He experimented with various designs, and at one point came up with the ‘Sea-On-Land’ a nautical themed attraction, that used an offset crank system to pitch and roll the boats on the roundabout.

When he took this new idea and married it to a steam powered carousel to give the horses the motion they lacked, he created what he called the platform gallopers. Steam powered organs were often installed into the centre of the ride to give it the classic carousel design, that isn’t that much changed today.

Our American Cousins

Across the pond, it was immigrants that developed the Carousel. Including Charles W.F. Dare from England and Gustav Dentzel of Germany. A number of differnent manufacturers appeared, all with differing styles, Looff had reaslitcally painted saddles, whilst the Coney Island style had elaborate jeweled saddles from the likes of Dentzel, Herschell’s and Spillman’s often having no saddles at all. Their machines tended to be large and elaborate, highly decorated affairs.

One curiosity is the direction of travel. In the U.K., a carousel, in common with most rotating rides moves in a clock wise motion. Whereas in the States and Europe it goes the opposite way.

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Event Planning, funfair events, Funfair Rides

PWS Rides, A Manufacturer Profile

7 March 2021

Another of our profiles of amusement manufacturers. This one is actually UK based, and both manufactures and refurbishes a range of adult rides. In terms of sales and range of products it is more restricted than many of the big Italian and Dutch marquees. It is however highly regarded within the industry, especially the home market.

The company takes its name from the founder, Perrin William Stevens, who during the 1970’s built and sold rides around Europe, and even as far as the States.

Nowadays they have factories in both England and Poland, and as well as building new rides, they also refurbish older rides and equipment. Their specialities are Twists, Dodgems, Extremes and the Frogs.

PWS Sizzler Twist

One of its mainstays is the sizzler twist. This is much the same ride as the Eli Bridge ‘Scrambler’, but the PWS version is a more hi tech take on its American cousin. It is also designed to fold up onto its transport trailer, so is bigger, and more highly decorated than the Eli version.

The Extreme

Another of the rides PWS are known for. The Extreme is an update on an older ride called the orbiter. The seats were changed to a version where the riders legs dangled, giving a more thrilling feel to the motion.

Super Trooper

Another revamp of an existing ride. Paratrooper type rides have been around since the 1960’s. Originally they were built at a fixed angle. This meant the ride had to be rotated one car at a time to load and unload the passengers. Then the lifting paratrooper made an appearance. As the ride ended it was hydraulically lowered to the ground allowing all of the cars to load at the same time.

The Super Trooper took this in a new direction. The ride started on the floor to be loaded, then once active would rise into the air, it could then operate both horizontally, and tilt to give the classic paratrooper motion.

Refurb

PWS also have a steady business refurbishing and updating many of the older rides still in operation. A revamp can give a ride a new lease of life. Keeping it competitive with the newer thrill rides permeating the fairgrounds of today, whilst keeping the cost affordable.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

Weird Carnival Rides, The Flying Cars

6 March 2021

Over the years there has been some way out and wacky rides designed for the funfair industry. Some have worked and became classics. Others were either too unreliable, vomit inducing or just downright dangerous. The flying cars could be argued to be dangerous as it did in fact kill someone. However the someone failed to fasten their safety belt so its an arguable case.

The ride was something quirky. The drum rotated and the cars were fixed to the track, similar to a roller coaster. The cars had a brake pedal which clamped the car to the track causing it to climb the drum. Once it had climbed you released the brake to allow it to fall back down and up the other side. Eventually you built enough momentum up to go 360 around the full drum.

The Ride In Action

Unfortunately someone failed to fasten their seatbelt and was killed in the fall which resulted in the ride being removed. Modern technology would probably solve that problem now with interlocked safety bars and the like.

There was records of a second, double drum flying cars ride being built for Conklin’s Carnivals, but scant records exist of that model or any other rides.

The ride was built by a German manufacturer, but despite the wonders of the world wide web, we have been unable to find out which particular one.

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Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides, General

Eli Bridge, A Manufacturer Profile

28 February 2021

Next up in our ongoing series of amusement ride manufacturer profiles, is the long established American company of Eli Bridge.

The founder W.E. Sullivan visited the original Ferris Wheel at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. He (like George Washington Gale Ferris) owned a bridge building company. After his ride he became fascinated by the ride and decided to build one of his own. In collaboration with the machinist James H Clements they began construction of their own wheel.

This debuted in Jacksonville’s Central Park and was called the Big Eli Wheel. The ride was a success and Sullivan set up a company to manufacture his wheels.

Their first wheels were powered by 6h.p. huber steam engines and came in two sizes, 45ft portable models and 50ft park based designs. There was also a 55ft ‘Aristocrat’ model.

The company was originally located in Roodhouse, Illinois, next to a railway track, allowing for easy distribution around the country. In 1919 a new purpose built building was erected in Jacksonville, also next to the railroad. The company has been there ever since. It’s 76,000 sq ft facility contains a room tall enough to erect a big wheel in.

Modern Eli Bridge Wheels

The company still produces wheels to this day. A modern Eli Bridge, is, truth told, little changed from the earlier models. Sure, there is no doubt the construction will use moderner materials and methods. But the look and feel of the ride definitely contains the same DNA. That isn’t meant as a criticism. The fact is the early formula worked well, and still works well, so why change it?

One major change is the drive system. For generations, the wheel used a wire rope, that passed through a pulley which was rotated by an electric motor. The system worked fine, and still does as hundreds of wheels around the world continue its use. It did however have a couple of disadvantages. The rope gradually stretched, and as it did the drive began to slip. Murphy’s law would dictate this happened just as you got busy. The other failure was when the rope snapped. A sensible operator would keep a spare, and could change it relatively quickly, but it is still inconvenient and would lose you revenue.

Rim Drive

To counter the wire rope issues, the company has now switched to rim drive systems. This works by attaching a flat rim to one side of the ride. An electrically driven wheel would contact the rim and as it rotated, would rotate the ride. No slipping or snapping and a much more precise regulation of the speed available from a modern inverter driven control system.

Scrambler A New Chapter

1955 brought a new chapter for the company, with the launch of its Scrambler ride, the first non wheel addition to its portfolio. Known over here as a ‘Twist’ the ride took the American amusement industry by storm, and is still prevalent at funfairs around the world today, albeit in many versions from many different manufacturers.

Other Products

They also sell a couple of children’s rides, including the quirky Spider Mania, to which I can’t really find a comparable ride in the UK.

A line of fire pits for camping expeditions and Boy Scout troops round off the companies product list.

. One quirky fact is that the word Bridge was deliberately left in the company name, so that they could still build bridges, their original business model. Though records indicate that since they started selling wheels, they have only actually built one bridge.

Check out our profile of Fabbri the Italian manufacturer.

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Catering, Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

Dismaland A Theme Park With A Difference

24 February 2021

The world renowned graffiti artist, Banks’y happens to be a favourite of my daughters. To be honest I quite like his style too. A few years back when she was studying art at school, she made Banksy her special project, so one day we jumped in the car and drove to Bristol to visit his artworks in the flesh so to speak.

When he announced the Dismaland project, a theme park not suitable for kids as he put it, at an old Lido in Weston Super Mere. We were lucky enough to secure tickets for us and a couple of Emmerson’s friends.

My wife hates using our car due to the size and fuel consumption, but none of the vans would fit 5 people, so I got to enjoy a blast all the way down the country in my Mas. During the periods the wife fell asleep I got to enjoy the 400+ horses under the bonnet without screams of “Look at the fuel consumption” lol.

When we got to the park, the queue was enormous. It was then that I realised a possible problem. I had actually bought the tickets on ebay, not through a regular channel as they were next to impossible to obtain. Basically the ticket was a sheet of A4 paper with a barcode. Anyone could have put them together, or the same ticket could have been sold multiple times.

Crap, but I did have a cunning plan, I sent the kids in first to see what happened. In the event they walked straight in so we were ok.

A Park With A Difference

Now the park itself was different, very different, but something we all enjoyed. However I have to say it brought a worrying trend home. The whole idea was that the park was meant to be a dismal, unfriendly place, with surly staff that couldn’t be bothered with the customers. A spoof on a traditional fairground.

Thing I realised was, the customer service part was pretty much what you see on some fairgrounds today. Young kids in the stalls playing on their phones who viewed you as a nuisance if you wanted to play. Operators in the rides looking bored and disinterested. At one point the wife and I were stood debating whether we should go into a particular structure. When the girl on the outside shouted at us “In or out, in or out, don’t stand there blocking the ride, make your mind up!”

I burst out laughing, because a very good friend of mine has exactly the same customer facing skills. I have seen her shout very similar commands when some poor unfortunate is stood at the ride entrance making their mind up.

I was impressed by the thought that had gone into the attractions. To be sure they were taking traditional funfair attractions and twisting them into some steam punk, distressed interpretation of what they would have been. But in some cases hitting the nail right on the head.

It’s Impossible To Win!

Take topple the anvil for instance. I should imagine its physically impossible to knock an anvil off the shelf with a rubber ball. But then, there are games I have seen on fairgrounds that are equally impossible. The traditional coconut shie was renowned for having ‘duds’, that is some of the coconuts you were trying to knock off were actually metal replicas. Nothing short of an Exocet missile would move them.

One of my favourite shows was death riding the dodgem car. Played to trance music it was one of the earlier attractions we encountered and was just plain funny.

There was plenty of Banksy’s political commentary, such as the coin operated remote control boats. Which happened to be boats filled with refugees. Or the exhibition of various weapons used by governments to oppress the people.

There were also some weird commentary on consumerism and minority representation such as the gifts below sold in the shop.

Battlefield Casualty Action Man

But The Food Was Good

Lol, even the catering didn’t escape his vitriol.

Although some people slated the park, I think it is because they just didn’t get the sarcasm mixed with social commentary undercurrent that it was put together with. We had a great time.

Sources;

Dismaland

Banksy

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Fun Story, Funfair Rides, General

Power Generators And The Decline Of British Industry

20 February 2021

With funfairs being a travelling industry, it’s fairly obvious that rides and such like cannot be connected to a fixed electricity supply. The answer is portable generators.

In the very early days, these tended to be steam powered. The traction engines used to transport the rides could have the drive belts disconnected and switched to dynamo’s to provide the 110v direct current supply used at the time.

As things progressed, and diesel powered lorries took over from the steam engines. A similar system was put into place. The drive shaft from the gearbox to the driving axle on the vehicle could be disconnected. A pulley was then attached to the output of the gearbox and drive belts used to drive a dynamo. With progress, the power source slowly began to gravitate towards 240v alternating current, same as powers a house.

I am 50, and can just barely remember helping my dad ‘drop the shaft’. Basically this was disconnecting the propshaft, dropping it to the ground and connecting the drive belts, a ritual at every fairground.

The ultimate evolution was the switch to dedicated generators. A totally separate engine and alternator or dynamo, or sometimes both piggy backed. These tended to have a more regulated speed control designed to keep the engine running at optimum speed for power generation.

Gardner Engines

A British manufactured engine rapidly became a firm favourite to build power generators. Built by a Manchester based firm called L.Gardner & Sons.

Originally a sewing machine maker, they moved into gas engines around 1895, then into the new fangled diesel engines in 1903. Their initial engines tended to be for marine use. In 1929 they fitted an engine into a Lancia bus. This was such a success that they ended up introducing a new range titled LW, geared towards on road use.

Gradually they grew to provide power for many of the existing lorry manufacturers throughout the UK, and also licensed the design to Dutch manufacturer Kremhout, Belgian makers FN and Miesse and French manufacturers Bernard and Latil . A larger range was introduced to power diesel locomotives, and things were good for the company as they became the world’s leading exporter of diesel engines.

A number of things were noticeable about their designs. Their thermal efficiency (how much energy was converted to actual power output as opposed to heat) was a shade over 40%. To put this into perspective, state of the art computer controlled engines in the 2010’s managed to hit 43%, a mere 3% improvement over a design 80 years old, and currently around 50% is as good as it gets.

Legendary Reliability

The other stunning achievement was the unparalleled reliability. A huge number of Gardner’s are still in use around the globe. From powering junks in Hong Kong harbour, to fishing boats in the 3rd world, to lorries in Africa. The marquee became a byword for long lasting trouble free use. In part the formula of a large engine working lightly meant the components were all relatively unstressed whether it was being used for a power generator, a locomotive or road going power..

The crankshaft also benefited from not only being secured vertically, as was normal, but also being horizontally braced. This gave the bottom end of the engine tremendous strength, and warranty claims for failure in this area were virtually unheard of.

Fall Of A Legend

Sadly, like many industries in the UK, Gardner’s were doomed to a decline and eventual demise. During the 70’s other manufacturers gradually increased the power output of their offerings. Gardner, controlled by Hugh Gardner stubbornly refused to follow. Whilst virtually every other manufacturer was adding turbochargers to provide more oomph, Hugh insisted on keeping his engines naturally aspirated. As gross weights steadily increased, more power was needed, and Gardner just couldn’t keep up.

When they eventually developed a turbocharged range it was too little too late. Cummins Engines of America were selling a 10 litre engine outputting 325 horse power. Gardners closest option was the massive 15.6 litre LYT that managed 350 HP, but had the inherent drawbacks of an engine of that size being heavier and thirstier on fuel, the opposite of Gardner’s traditional strengths..

Adding to the typical stunningly poor decision making of British upper management, the offer to take over Rolls Royce engine division to broaden their portfolio was turned down. Additionally they reached a point where there was a 2 year waiting list for engines to be supplied for new lorries. Perhaps an agreement with another manufacturer to licence build them could have alleviated this. Whatever the main cause, eventually they just lost too much sales volume and with the advent of Euro 1 emissions regulations they were closed down.

Unlike many former industries where the the British used to lead and then become basically extinct in that industry. Power generators are still being built by Perkins Engines.

Midget Submarines

One novel use of the Gardner engine, was the smaller 4LK model. Fitted into the Royal Navy’s X-class midget submarines. These were used to cripple the German battleship Tirpitz.

Some of the main Power Generator Manufacturers are;

Cummins

Caterpillar

Generac

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