a fairgound life
The last Saturday at Stranraer was dry. The fair opened a little after 2pm until 5pm when most closed again for Tea. It was at this time I decided to start the lorry to thaw it out for that nights jouney. It started alright but it did seem a bit smoky and off beat. I just dismissed this as the engine being cold, stopped it and went for my tea. Having a quick tea we coupled the Hobby caravan to the jeep and Mrs showman set sail for the yard in Glasgow. It was 90 miles away and by her leaving early she would be able to do the first 30 mls (the worst) in daylight. I opened the DZ again after teatime until 9:30pm. There was a decent crowd on the fair for the last night, no doubt helped by the fact that the previous night was a total wash out. "r" arrived just before pulling down and we were all set. I had positioned the DZ on a slight angle when we built up so that the tower would lower into a gap between a side stall and a caravan. It did this perfectly but we had to wait until the side stall was moved before we could swing the tower around along the truck length for travelling. There were also several hoopla stalls in the way too and we assisted the owner of one to pull down. We coupled up the unit and it was at this time that the smoke problem hit home. The lorry had run for 10 mins and shunted the ride out of its position but the smoke still persisted. We decided to change the fuel filter but this had no effect. I was wondering if the new exhaust silencer could have been put on the wrong way or if the intercooler had got a pin hole? No time to waste now, I just decided to get in and go. At 11:48 pm we pulled out the gate of the fair onto the main road. About 1 mile or less and the smoke had cleared, I guess it was a sticky injector. The lorry pulled like a train and a little after 2:15am we arrived at the mall.We only stopped once at Prestwick for fuel. "r" wanted to build up right away as we were to open here at noon the next day, but I had other ideas and we went home for a shower and kip. The next day at 10am we started to erect the tower again. We missed the noon opening by 15 mins.
posted by showman @ 15:45
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Are you putting any of your rides into the SECC this year ?
I was asked about the weight of the dodgem.
That's a good question. to be honest I've haven't a clue but a guess would be 11t with cars.
anyway the old paratrooper 150 grossed about 28t, then pulled the wagon about 8t. so that'ts 36t all in. however someone once mentioned (true or false) that any thing on a drawbar was another 10t of drag! but I don't put any faith in that statement. old gardiners must have been able to drag train weights of upto 40t but surely they wouldn't get out of crawler on any hills.
the dodgem was renewed from plates up after the fire (90s) so that must have altered the weight, but up or down is anybody's guess.
We will be back in the SECC again.
I miss the upright Paratroopers. Being stuck up the top was half the fun. The lifting ones also dont go as high and seem smaller. Or am I just bigger?
What Fire ?????
afternoon all hows all regulars doing! now were into winter its good to get some spare time to do the odd jobs u were meant to do months ago i declare im one of those people that put them off, showman hows things lately quiet are you many thanks borderer.
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