HOW DOES THE MERRY-GO-ROUND WORK?
Most merry-go-rounds work the same way. There is a large bearing at the top of the centerpost. Long, thick metal rods are attached to the bearing and radiate down like the spokes on an umbrella. The rods meet with the ends of “sweeps,” long wooden beams that are also attached to a stabilizer bearing about halfway down the centerpost. The sweeps are parallel to the ground. The entire ride platform and all of the horses hang off of those sweeps like a circular swing set. There are no wheels or tracks underneath the ride. This is why when you step on the ride platform, you can feel it sway. In 1909, the president of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Charles Auchy, created the Auchy Drive for merry-go-rounds. The massive iron machinery used a giant motor to turn two leather belts, which drove two counter-rotating wheels, which in turn drove a large flywheel. The flywheel was attached to a long steel shaft, which turned a giant toothed ring attached to the sweeps. Holyoke’s ride is one of
