Archived report · 2 min read · Set in Stanhope Road ·
Survey of the Carousel at the Stanhope Road Fair
A safety inspection of the fairground carousel set up each summer on Stanhope Road finds that the painted horses rotate one stride ahead of the drive shaft, and the brass pole of the centre horse carries a rider's grip worn into its surface.
- filed: Filed with the travelling amusements licence
- reference: FG/SR/12
Subject: steam-driven gallopers carousel, Stanhope Road fair ground, operator licence 6114.
1. The carousel was built in 1911 by a Midlands firm and has travelled the county fairs continuously since. It comprises twenty-four carved and painted horses on a rotating platform, driven by a single brass shaft from an overhead engine. It was last inspected in May.
2. The drive shaft was measured and found to rotate at a steady eleven revolutions per minute, within the operator's permitted range. The horses are mounted on rising poles with spring stops at the top and bottom of their travel.
3. During the static inspection, with the engine cold, the platform was rotated by hand to check clearance. The horses moved freely. On release, the platform continued to turn for a further half-revolution without power, which is not consistent with the friction in the bearings.
4. Measurement of the horses' relative position at each full turn shows that each horse leads the drive shaft by one stride, approximately eighteen inches, in the direction of travel. The lead is constant and does not vary with the speed of the engine.
5. The centre horse, a grey stallion with a gilded mane, carries on its brass pole a worn patch at the height of a seated rider's hand. The wear is smooth and deep and shows the grip of a person who has held the pole for many decades, with the fingers spread at the same angle.
6. Recommendation: the platform be shut down for overhaul and the horses removed for inspection. The operator objected. He said the carousel had been running at that lead for as long as he could remember, and that the children who rode it were never once thrown or hurt.
7. Observation not explained by the survey: during the inspection the surveyor noticed that the grey stallion's painted eyes were turned toward the operator's booth. The operator, who had been watching the survey from the booth steps, said he had not seen the horse move, and that it always faced that way at closing time.
8. The licence has been renewed on condition that the lead be recorded at each fair. The operator's log for the season records a constant lead of one stride, and at the foot of each page, in a different hand, the words: *She waits for the last rider.*