a fairground life (they don't make em like that anymore)

It's been a short 18 months since we put the Carousel of RT's in the mall. Situated on the ice rink pad it was a bit of a task getting it in there. The ride it's self was originally a build up type as is common with all rides over 20 years old. However this had the centre assembly mounted onto a trailer some years back. RT and his boys had removed it from the trailer ready for going into the mall. This meant the fabrication of a new sub frame to carry the centre on the ice rink (pad). So after closing one Saturday night in May we did get the ride in. We rolled the centre components in on a small trailer and using a scaffolding assembly we lifted it clear of the trailer, then we shoved the trailer clear and lowered the pole onto frames with 6" castor wheels attached (skate board looking). This was then maneuvered down a set of stairs (4ft) onto the pad. It took several hours to do this and get it erected again using a chain block attached to the scaffolding frame. The rest of the ride we just carried in by hand.

Now it was time to get the ride out again. Problem was that gravity would not on our side when it came to getting the whole lot back up those stairs. Luckily a restaurant behind the pad was closed for re development. This meant we would be granted forklift access through it to the edge of the pad. However this restaurant was 4ft above the pad floor at mall height and the pad's circumference was surrounded by 20mm thick toughened glass hand rails. So we hatched a plan. We pulled down all the carry off items of the ride on Sunday night. The horses, chariots, platforms and dropper rods. Next we lifted the centre assembly by jacks onto rollers (scaffolding tubes) and rolled it to the front of the pad. This put the top of the ride over the thick glass hand rail panels and we worked on the mall floor at a good height to get the rounding boards ,cranks, top cover and swifts off. This left only the centre assembly with gearbox and motor attached.That was enough for one night, the easy part was done. We rolled the ride to the rear of the pad again and at 10:30pm headed home. The next morning we decided to start to remove two panes of glass from around the pad at the restaurant side. We cut away the top timber banister , then the silicone sealer and gouged that all out. We wobbled it glass about as best we could, not that it moved much. We tapped it as hard as we dared but there was no movement.We attached suction cups and tried to jack the sheet up and out. Nothing would move it, I think it must have been set in resin before the sealer was applied to the edges. This was going to knacker us for the forklift access tonight. So we asked the question and the answer came back that we could remove the panes forcibly. That night after the mall closed we taped them up in the fashion popular during the Blitz. A roll of 50mm gaffer tape was spent on the two panes (about 3ft high by 5ft long each). The two panes were covered by a plastic sheet to prevent flying shards. Next my bro stepped up with a Firemans hand axe. One smart blow to the bottom edge and we heard the shatter sound, he stepped one pace along and repeated for the second pane. Although we had heard the shatter noise's the two panes were still standing under the sheet. We stepped forward to removed the sheet, but as soon as we touched it the whole lot crumbled to the floor. We brushed it out the way. Now we rolled the centre over to this position and engaged the services of the fork lift. The extended forks were attached and as the wheels of the forklift sat on the edge of the floor they just reached out over the pad and above the motor. This and the gearbox were removed by attaching a strap to a fork and hoisting the lot up. We dropped them onto a pallet and the FL took it out side. Next was the top section of the centre pole. The pallet was put on the forks and GT and I stood on this while the FL raised us up like a mobile platform. The bolts were removed and the heavy pipe section was man handled by us onto the pallet we were standing on. So far, so good. The extended forks were employed again and they slid under the chain wheel attached to the pole. The pole hung down from this and the forks lifted the whole lot up and away. All that was left was the cross on the fabricated frame. The boys dismantled this and erected it back onto the rides trailer again that was waiting outside. In the meantime we had a problem. The pole was about 6ft tall. The forks were lifting it from about 2ft from the top. This meant that the pole was around 8ft tall and would fit through the doors of the mall, however the forks had a 3ft tall safety barrier attached (presumably to stop crates falling backwards onto the fork lift driver) that stuck above this height and would not fit through the doors. The pole was certainly too heavy to man handle.We thought up a few ideas but then the simple one was mentioned by bro- "just take the guard off". Right enough it was only 4 bolts and 20 minutes later it was off (2 minutes to do the job and the rest to find the right size socket and allan key). The pole was taken out and dropped right back onto the trailer were it was assembled again. Next up was the motor and gearbox and a little past 8pm the ride was ready for traveling the fairs again.

I wonder if it will ever come off the trailer again. The ride operated inside every day for 18 months and never missed a day, testament to the quality of workmanship and manufacture of this mature ride.

The pict show the centre pole awaiting dismantling and the top over the glass hand rails at working height.

a fairground life

Leaving EK we had a day to kill before entering the corporate event. It was good to have a day off and it was further justified by the torrential rain that fell all day. I say justified as I usually feel guilty about doing absolutely nothing in any single day. The next morning the weather was fine and we headed off to the event location. As promised the car park area was coned off and getting set was easy (in a gated private car park, in an industrial estate, so I don't know where the stunned locals could have been (see NOTW article)). Fortunately the plan I made from google earth was accurate and I didn't need to tweak anything. Although the DZ was set up by 1pm we stayed on site to help bro finish off the dodgem.The other rides were nearly finished off too by this time. The weather was really sunny during the afternoon. Bro had just received a new top cover. It was made of PVC and still needed tie ropes to be attached. So "r" and he went off to get the rope, on their return we started the job of fitting it up. The rope was nylon so we cut it to length and then melted the ends on candles to stop them fraying. I suppose that an older generation of showman would have been able to splice them with chandler skills. Around 8pm the cover was on and we headed off home.

The next day the weather turned nasty again, it was unfortunate for the works staff but they did make a good attempt to enjoy themselves.Saturday's weather was just as poor with only a few bright periods. It was a really long day starting at 10am and finishing at 10pm. I left "r" to do the final few hours alone so Blakey and I could move the other gear to the mall that evening. The batteries were flat on the EC12 so I had to put Blakey's charger on. The rain was falling in torrents by now, but luckily after only 15 mins of charging the lorry started.

Sunday the Mrs and I were up at 4am to catch our budget flight out for a city break. Poor "r" was left to do the final day's graft at the corporate do, then pull it down and move it to the mall. The next few days he erected all the equipment ready for opening October break. When I returned mid week everything was ready. He had even tried the new pump on the skydiver. The ride was better but still not up to "new" spec so I investigated a bit further myself and noticed that a pressure gauge was lacking a few PSI. I adjusted the appropriate valve a minute amount and brought it up to as was. This did the trick and the ride is working well, just begs the question if I should have done this first before ordering a new pump. To be honest I'm glad I didn't as the old one will be a spare and the new one should see me out. Since then it's been ground hog day, business is also way back on last year.

The pict is of a juvenile I seen on my travels, I texted this photo home with the sarcastic message, "tell the NOTW I got 200K for this one!". What can I say, bloomin numpties!, problem is how many people just believe it.