The General Information of Carousel Rides

How Carousel Operate?

The carousel revolves around a stationary center pole made of metal or wood. An electric motor drives a small pulley that is controlled by a clutch for smooth starts. This pulley turns a drive belt and a larger pulley that turns a small-diameter, horizontal shaft. The end of the shaft is a pinion gear that turns a platform gear. The platform gear supports a vertical shaft that turns another pinion gear and final drive gear attached to the support beams of the carousel, called sweeps, which extend outward from the center pole like the ribs of an umbrella and support the platform, horses, and riders. The sweeps hold cranking rods that are turned by small gears at the inner ends that are driven by a stationary gear on the center pole. Horse hangers are suspended from the cranks, and as they turn, the horses move up and down about 30 times per minute. A typical carousel platform with horses and riders may weigh 10 tons and be driven by a 10-horsepower electric motor. After the motor's revolutions are reduced by the series of gears, the riders on the outer row of mounts will gallop along at about 5-11 miles per hour.

Carousels, with colorful figures attached to a revolving horizontal mechanism, have amused the masses since the end of the 1700s. By 1800, carousels were advertised as amusements as well as an activity that got the blood circulating. After the Civil War, a number of merry-go-round manufacturers started up businesses and popularized the carousel.

The Raw Materials of Carousel

The two primary materials for a carousel are metal and wood. The metal mechanism includes the electric/hydraulic motor, gears, bearings, and crankshafts. Horse hangers and platform suspension rods are metal with brass sleeves, and the center pole is steel. The wood parts of the carousel include the horses, which are carved from basswood, the oak platform, sweeps, rounding boards, panels, and mirror frames. The platform and various panels and gingerbread work were made of wood or plaster in the old days, and today they may be made of these same materials or may be cast in plastic or fiberglass. The tent-like top is made of canvas. Music is supplied by a band organ that is also electrically or mechanically powered and plays much like those of a player piano. Specialty manufacturers provide the organs.

Source from: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Carousel.html