Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1894-01-10
The Nan Of the Wheel

tion at Chicago may establish, says Inc
Rerier Of Rerieus. it will have brought
generous and just measure of fame to a
young engineer. whose daring and bril-
liant exploit has already set him far IN
the front rank of engineers of America,
if not of the world. This is George
Washington Gale Ferris, the inventor, as
he may be properly called, Of the great
Ferris wheel, who is not over 30 years OF
age. There are few among those who at
tended the Worlds Fair who did not visit
this huge and curious mechanism, few
who did not pause to wonder and to mar
vel at its bulk, its symmetry and its tre-
mendous strength. But it is the members
of Mr. Ferris own profession who best
realize the full measure of his achieve
ment.
For, after all its spectacular qualities
are dismissed, the wheel is the triumph of
modern engineering. 1t brings into play
a new mechanical principle and exhibits
the almost lmilless possibilities of steel
construction. When one considers all the
problems which its building involved, the
absolute perfection of its design, the mas
sive strength of its slender and apparently
frail contour, that much Of it was wholly
experimental, that much of it was built
against the judgment of many of the
ablest engineers of the United States, II
would seem that there is no feat, no pos
sibility of mechanics so great that between
Bessemer and genius brain it may not
one day be realized.
When the young engineer conceived
the wheel (250 feet in diameter) as almost
the flash inspiration of a moment, and ex-
planned its features to his brother engin-
eers, they promptly stated that the scheme
was not feasible They claimed that
when it revolved it would become an
ellipse. Besides there was no way to re-
volve such an enormous mass, any way.
There we're objections in multiple. Not
thay they exactly secuted the idea. It's
authors position in the engineering world
was too well established. But in the in.
terest of his long and hard earned reputa.
ton they advised him to let the project
alone.
Giving the circumstances, in no other
country than America would the wheel
have ever been built. 1t took three years
to complete the Eiffel tower. Even here
it took two years to build the St. Louis
bridge. Both were comparatively simple
work. The builder of the Ferris wheel
had not only to construct work equal.
ling these, but in such way that it would
move, and, moreover, move periectly--a
lar greater prODlen.
On December % every scrap of iron
and steel used in the wheel was pig.
On June 81, less than six months later,
2.200 tons of this pig" converted into a
revolving mechanism as perfect as the
pinion wheel Of an Elgin watch, began TO
turn on its 70 ton axis.
As to what the great wheel represents
in mechanism Mr.. Ferris says that il
might be considered as typifying the la
test development Of engineering science
There are really two wheels, one built 30
feet within the other. These are jpined
by truss work, such as used in our finest
bridge construction. Beyond all that
the wheel develops to degree hitherto
never realized the capacities Of a tension
spoke. The wheel is not only perfect
pinion wheel, but a tension wheel as well
and these, says Mr.. Ferris, may be re-
garded as the chief points. 1t is as per
feet pinion wheel as the little whee
that goes fickering back and forth il
your watch. In all that immense diam
eter there is less DETECTION proporilonate
", from true circle, than from the pin
ion wheel of the most perfect watch made
This is due to the fact that it has, instead
of stiff spokes, the tension or jolntec
spokes. When Mr.. Ferris first proposed
to build tension wheel Of this diametel
the feat was regarded as impossible. !
was held that the spoke rods on The uppe
side of the wheel at any given moment
Instead Il sustaining The weight OF th'
upper part of the wheel, would, iron
their own weight as they hung vertically
pull down that arc of the wheel which
they bore upon, and thus cause the wbee
to become elliptic. As a matter OF fact
they did nothing of the kind.
The Fools are not all Dead.
A lazy man, whose horse and cart wer
stuck in the mud. prayed to Jupiter 70