Talk:Ferris wheel/Archive 2

Ferris wheels in popular culture
I admit to being a bit of a sci-fi geek now and again, but the following statement is quite tenuous and fairly unencyclopedic: "The main character from Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard, likes Ferris wheels." I snorted with a shocked sort of humour when I read it, it doesn't seem very appropriate.

I have removed it and bumped up the line about ferris wheels in films (I'd argue it's the most relevant) but am happy for someone to revert if there needs to be consensus on this potentially massive change to the article...! - Bigger digger (talk) 00:29, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Common spelling "Fairy('s) Wheel"
Would the fact that many people refer to Ferris Wheels as Fairy('s) Wheels be enough to justify a redirect from the latter? The initial statement can easily be backed up by doing a search through any search engine you like. The question would be if an encyclopaedia should refer to - though common - incorrect spellings. --Schattenspieler (talk) 01:24, 9 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think fairies wheel or fairy's wheel is a common misspelling. A google search for fairies wheel gives 3.9 million results but "fairies wheel" has only 281 and "fairy's wheel" only 392. There are no hits on wikipedia for these "incorrect spellings". So no need for a redirect in my opinion. Although obviously I won't stop you but others might feel a redirect is irrelevant and delete it!
 * Also, thanks for giving me the opportunity to learn how to put web links into text, very handy!
 * Bigger digger (talk) 15:31, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

Ferris Wheel at Columbian Exhibition
The 700 ton weight ascribed to the axle does not agree with the description of its dimensions as being 45 feet long by 32 inches in diameter. With a density around .283 pounds/cubic inch, the axle should weigh around 61.5 tons. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.167.40.129 (talk) 18:58, 1 November 2009 (UTC) Nitpick - "a single 700.000-ton" means seven hundred thousand tons in a lot of countries
 * It was vandalism: . Now fixed: . 92.3.44.211 (talk) 15:13, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

Different sources give significantly different weights - I've found one stating 42 tons, another 74 tons, and dozens inbetween, with 70 tons probably the most commonly quoted figure.

http://columbus.iit.edu/dreamcity/00024025.html says: ''The shaft was solid, and forty-five feet long; it was thirty-two inches in diameter, and weighed as much as a heavy locomotive - that is seventy tons. It was and is the heaviest piece of steel ever forged - certainly outside of Krupp's works at Essen.''

http://www.hydeparkhistory.org/newsletter.html says: ''... the 89,320 pound axle, forged in Pittsburgh by the Bethlehem Iron Company ... the largest hollow forging in the world at the time, it was 45 1/2 feet long, 33 inches in diameter... Four and one-half feet from each end it carried two 16 foot diameter cast-iron spiders weighing 53,031 pounds.''

The bold emphasis is mine. This image of the complete axle provides a good view of one end, which is clearly hollow.

89,320 lb = 44.66 short tons 53,031 lb = 26.5155 short tons Total: 142,351 lb = 71.1755 short tons = 63.5495536 long tons = 64.5693275 tonnes (about the same as a fully loaded Boeing 737-600)

I've reviewed a good number of resources and haven't found anything to cast credible doubt on 71 "US" tons being correct for the complete axle, or the fact that it comprised three parts - a 44.66 ton hollow forging, with two cast-iron "spiders" accounting for the remainder - per the image linked to above. I'm going to remove The axle, a single 70-ton solid hammered steel forging... from the article and add the information from the hydeparkhistory.org / Patrick Meehan synopsis instead. While that source is at odds with others on some other matters, in respect of the axle it provides the most comprehensive details and explanation and I've found nothing more credible or any proof that it's not accurate, plus there's no consensus amongst the other sources (which simply quote a single weight) other than the general "70 tons" approximation. I don't think it's worth mentioning the discrepancies in the article itself, as the differences appear to be misinterpretations and inaccuracies, as opposed to the weight being disputed. 92.3.44.211 (talk) 22:25, 12 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Ferris's Chicago Wheel was steam driven, a fact that perhaps should be given in the article itself. Abenr (talk) 20:36, 19 September 2011 (UTC)


 * The statement "that they could challenge the magnitude of the Eiffel Tower of France's 1889 Paris Exposition.[7][unreliable source?]" may also be verified in the pages of "The Devil in the White City". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_in_the_White_City for reference.  This book details the efforts behind planning and building the Columbian Exhibition and the Ferris Wheel, though I don't have page numbers and quotes. 173.174.57.39 (talk) 12:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * The [unreliable source?] tag was added in reference to first part of the claim "It was Somers' wheel in Atlantic City that George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. was ordered by the planners of Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition to study, that they could challenge the magnitude of the Eiffel Tower of France's 1889 Paris Exposition."(ref), which Jplyrenm has now corrected (rev) - 92.40.97.87 (talk) 14:56, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Infobox Ferris wheel
Infobox Ferris wheel is now available for use on your favourite Ferris wheel articles. It is newly cloned from Infobox roller coaster so may need some debugging. Please report any errors or oddities at Template talk:Infobox Ferris wheel. -Arb. (talk) 04:46, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Add coordinates
Missing coordinates should be added! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.46.242.126 (talk) 23:36, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

R66 Bussink wheel "The eye"
This ferris wheel is NOT the talles transportable ferris wheel in the world. Bussink never built a 66-metres high wheel (check the official website). The article (deaths shot the eye) is completely wrong! The wheel itself is not higher then 60 metres!!! The Steiger-60-metres ferris wheel is still the tallest transportable ferris wheel in the world (for example check the newest Guinnes world records). It is interesting, no one cares about the official information, like the Bussink website, the Guinnes world records, etc, BUT everyone believes in an article, which is completely wrong. Rest in peace Wikipedia :-( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.201.184.161 (talk) 10:47, 21 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I have talked with someone at the Bussink Company. He told me, that the Giant Wheel (Deaths shot the Eye) is not the tallest transpiortable ferris wheel in the world. The wheel itself is only 52 metres high. But the have reached the hight of 66 metres with extra long pillars (correct word???). So, the Steiger-60-metres wheel is still the talles transportable ferris wheel in the world. Even the EXPO Star wheel of Hablützel belongs to the 60-metres-class, but you can read in the official construction plans, that the wheel itself is only around 57 metres high. BUT the Steiger wheel itself is exectly 60 metres high. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.201.245.88 (talk) 14:32, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Submerged wheel
I removed this recently added section as this is not a notable type of Ferris wheel. It appears to describe the sole example of a minor variation, a picture of which can be found here. 86.173.125.104 (talk) 23:46, 13 April 2011 (UTC)