Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1904-08-10
WHEN VISITING TIE WORLDS
FAlR RlDE ON TIE FERRiswHEEL

engineering and constructive ahili
". One Of these, the EiHel Tow
er, was designed aud huilt BY y
Frenchman at Paris for the Elk
position Of 1889; the other tn
Ferris Wheel, Was designed anc
built by the late Geo. W. g. Fer
ris for the Worlds Columbian Elk
position at Chicago, in 1898
Paris again held a great ExpOsi-
ton in 1900 but failed to produce
any feature to take the place Of
the Eiffel Tower. In America,
st. Louis in 1904, planned and
produced the greatest Exposition
the world has ever seen. Scores
of attempts Were made to invent
something more wonderful aud
more attractive than the Ferris
Wheel, but as Paris failed to out
do her own Eiffel Tower, so did
st. Louis fail to equal the far fam
ed Ferris Wheel Of the Worlds
Columbian Exposition Of 1898.
Arrangements were accordingly
made to bring the Ferris Wheel to
the Louisiana Purchase ExpOsi
ton, and it was given a location
near the geographical center of the
grounds.
The problem Of moving the Fer
ris Wheel from Chicago to Sc.
Louis wvs stupendous-42OO tons
OF material, including the 20 ton
axle, besides engines, boilers and
derricks and falsework, had to be
transported. One hundred and
seventy-f Eve freight cars we're re-
quired to move this material.
A brief resume Of the dimen-
siOns and description Of the Fer
Fis Wheel may be interesting.
The Wheel is built upon the blcy.
Gle principle, with immense tension
spOkes, 2 1919 in. diam. The
wheel IL $50 It. in diameter and
stands 264 #. high. In reality it
is two wheels securely braced
together. Between the outer rims
of these wheels the eIeven-ton cars
are suspended on 6 IL in. Plus, 6
tt. long. These cars are 10 #:
wide, 26 #. long 8 #. high and will
carry 60 persons each. There are
SO Of them, so the total capacity
of the wheel is 2, 100 persons. At
several times in its history the
Wheel has been filed to it's capac
ity. The axle OF the wheel is a
solid steel forging, 80 in. in diam
eter and 40 #. long.
The solid bronze bearings upon.
which it rests are each s #. long
and contain nearly two tons Of
metal The weight of the wheel
is carried upon two four post tow
ers 6 #. square on top and 40x50
ct. at the base. These in turn rest
upon solid concrete and steel beam
pillars, which are carried down to
solid rock, 26 #. below the surface
OF the ground. The towers are
are anchored to the bottom of this
mass Of concrete 2x6 in. eye.bars,
so that the Wheel is perfectly safe,
even in the most violent storms.
The side vibration Of the Wheel
in an 80 mile an hour wind is less
than ID inch. The Wheel is run
by a double reversing engine with
cylinders 3Ox4S in, capable Of de-
veloping 1000 horse power. The
power is applied through a series
of cOgs to a sprOcket chain which
engages wide cogs on the outside
Of each rim.
Two revolutions are given each
passenger, and the time required
is from 90 to 80 minutes. The
view during this half hour ride is
most interesting and instructive.
Gradually, as the mighty and ma
iestic wheel rolls one up higher
and higher, a grand panorama IN
folds itself to view. A fifty mil
lion dollar Exposition in all its
grandeur is before you. The To-
cation Of the Wheel in the center