Mountain and valley railway
A mountain and valley railway (also known as "Snow Circus", "Music Express", "Butterfly Railway", "Jaguar Railway" or "Raupe") is a ride that is mainly to be found at folk festivals . This further development of the carousel , which has existed since 1890, has been preserved as a ride type to this day.
Development history and technology
Initially, the wagons drove on tracks over several elevations, that is, over "mountains and valleys". This construction was prone to derailment , which is why the booms were later attached centrally and ran with a wheel at the outer end on a circumferential ring of rails.
Each gondola is equipped with seats for two to three people. Originally the gondola elements and the podium of these shops were made of wood. Modern systems are increasingly using metal and glass fiber plastics as materials. Individual systems also use “bobs” as gondolas, here the seats are arranged one behind the other.
In rare cases, the drive takes place centrally, but mostly via four star-shaped motors that are attached to the arms and transmit the power via V-belts. Centrally located in the amusement park are electrical sliding contacts for these motors and for the boom and nacelle lighting.
Since the development of amusement rides largely came to a standstill in the years around and during the First World War , further developments of the mountain and valley railways only began to emerge from the mid-1920s: This is how the first caterpillar came with a fabric cover that is put around the passengers during the journey and so gives the railway the appearance of a butterfly caterpillar , introduced in 1925.
In the 1960s these railways also had names such as Cortinabahn and Squaw Valley Railway. Many of these rides also had folding canopies that could be activated temporarily.
Music Express
The well-known "Musik Express" type was originally produced by the MACK Rides GmbH & Co KG company from Waldkirch , but further developments are available in different versions from different countries today.
The Musik Express is one of the most popular rides in Europe. It is usually built using a two-column hydraulic system on which the entire roof with ceiling is mounted. Two to three transports are usually necessary to transport the systems.
