Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and

amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

History

Chance Manufacturing was incorporated in 1961 by Richard H. (Harold) Chance. Harold Chance had been involved in the amusement business since 1946, building small trains for the Ottaway Amusement Company. He designed a gauge replica of the '' C. P. Huntington'', a well-known steam locomotive built in 1863 for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. Titled by the same name, Chance's ''C. P. Huntington'' is the company's most successful product line. In 1967, Chance began producing Starliner Trams under the subsidiary Chance Coach. In 1970, Chance acquired the assets of the

Allan Herschell Company The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the ...

. Richard G. Chance (Dick Chance) assumed control of the company and formed Chance Industries, Inc. in 1985 to oversee the various divisions – Chance Rides, Chance Coach, and Chance Operations. In December 1986, Chance then acquired Bradley & Kaye, a ride manufacturer specialized in children's rides and carousel figures.

Modern era

For several years, Chance Rides Manufacturing products were sold under the brand Chance Morgan. In 2011, the company reintroduced the Chance Rides brand which encompasses Chance Morgan Coasters, Inc. and Chance Rides Manufacturing. On September 17, 2011, trade publication ''

Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arli ...

'' presented Chance Rides with the Golden Ticket Award for Supplier of the Year, in honor of the company's 50th anniversary.

Trains

Chance Rides began to fabricate their

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

''C. P. Huntington'' locomotive in 1960. Since 2018, these locomotives can be powered by a gasoline, diesel, propane or electric engine. An

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

and drop down 90*

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

transfers power to the front and rear power

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

via

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power and torque and rotation, usually ...

s and

es. Its drive wheels are not powered but roll on the rails while fake side rods reciprocate in and out of fake

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

s. Some owners have chosen to remove the false drive wheels for ease of maintenance. With over 400 examples built as of 2022, the ''C. P. Huntington'' has become the most popular park train since The Allan Herschell Company merged into Chance Industries in 1970 and production of the S-24 Iron Horse train ceased. Many amusement parks are replacing their

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s with these locomotives since they are easier to maintain and operate. Locomotives and coaches can be customized in a variety of ways.

Carousels

Chance Carrousels (deliberately spelled with two 'Rs') were introduced in 1971 following the acquisition of the

the previous year. Chance modified the Herschell design giving it a more ornate style. After Chance purchased Bradley & Kaye in December 1986, Chance was able to use the molds and manufacturing rights to 62 carousel figures produced by Bradley & Kaye owner, David Bradley. He had carefully reproduced prized carousel animals from famous carvers over the previous 20 years and new molds were cast at the Chance facility under his direction, until Bradley died in 1988. These famous reproductions with spectacular detail have been included on Chance carrousels since the late 1980s. With the merger of the D. H. Morgan line of carousels, some of the unique Morgan figures have been added to the collection as well. Although fiberglass, the magnificent detail and menagerie of different styles of horses and other figures have become a trademark of Chance Rides carrousels.

Ferris wheels

The first

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

from Chance, the Astro Wheel, was sold to showman Don Franklin and debuted at the 1967

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. Wi ...

. It featured 16 cars with two passengers per car. The first park model, an 80-foot Giant Wheel, was built in 1975 at

Valleyfair Valleyfair is a amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Owned by Cedar Fair, the park opened in 1976 and now features over 75 rides and attractions including eight roller coasters. Valleyfair also has a water park called Soak Cit ...

amusement park in Minnesota. It features 18 cars holding four passengers per car and is still in operation. The Giant Wheel/Century Wheel was introduced in various sizes in both park and portable models in 1988. In 2006, Chance worked with Ronald Bussink Professional Rides of Switzerland and Dutch Wheels BV, a division of Vekoma Rides, to produce larger wheels such as the

Niagara SkyWheel Niagara SkyWheel is a tall Ferris wheel in the middle of Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Niagara SkyWheel is a Ronald Bussink Professional Rides designed R60 Giant Wheel, manufactured by Chance Rides and supplied by Chance Morg ...

which stands tall. It features 42 air-conditioned cars seating eight passengers per car. According to Chance Rides director Angus Jenkins, the larger wheels are known as observation wheels as opposed to Ferris wheels, since they carry riders in enclosed cars rather than in open seats. On October 19, 2012, Chance Rides announced a long term license agreement with

Bussink Design GmbH Ronald A. Bussink has been a leading designer of giant Ferris wheels and similar structures for over 25 years. Bussink entered the amusement industry market in 1985 and designed, manufactured, and delivered more than 60 giant observation wheel ...

for the exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the

R80XL Giant Wheel The Bussink Design R80XL is a type of giant Ferris wheel. It was designed by Bussink Design founder and CEO Ronald Bussink, and is manufactured under licence from Bussink Design GmbH of Switzerland by Maurer German Wheels and Chance American W ...

in North America. Chance Rides will market the R80XL, which is over tall, under an affiliate company, Chance American Wheels. The first R80XL wheel was manufactured by Maurer German Wheels in Munich, Germany, and was delivered to the city early in 2013. The first U.S. version built by Chance was the

Capital Wheel The Capital Wheel is a Ferris wheel at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D. C., in the United States. It opened on May 23, 2014. The wheel was conceived by National Harbor developer Milton Peterson and inspired by the Roue ...

at the

National Harbor National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront deve ...

, Md. It opened May 23, 2014. Chance Rides/Chance American Wheels will continue to manufacturer and sell R60 wheels in North America under an exclusive license from Dutch Wheels BV. Notable wheels include: * The Great Escape Giant Wheel (1989) *

I-X Center The International Exposition Center, better known as the I-X Center, is a convention and exhibition hall located in the Hopkins neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The building i ...

Ferris wheel (1992) tall. It was the world's tallest indoor wheel when it opened. *

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of ...

Ferris wheel (1996) *

Clementon Amusement Park Clementon Park and Splash World is a mid-sized combination theme park and water park in Clementon, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. Also known as Clementon Lake Park, it is one of the world's oldest operating amusement parks and is one o ...

Giant Ferris Wheel (1997) *

(2006) *

Myrtle Beach SkyWheel The Myrtle Beach Skywheel is a observation wheel located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that opened May 20, 2011. At the time of its opening was the second-tallest extant Ferris wheel in North America, after the Texas Star in Dallas, and the ...

(2011) *

Seattle Great Wheel The Seattle Great Wheel is a 53-meter tall giant Ferris wheel at Pier 57 on Elliott Bay in Seattle, Washington. At an overall height of , it was the tallest Ferris wheel on the West Coast of the United States when it opened in June 2012. Openi ...

(2012) *

(2014)

Roller coasters

Chance Manufacturing's first coaster was the Toboggan, a portable ride in which a small vehicle climbed vertically up a tower then spiraled back down around the same tower. The ride was invented by Walter House of Amarillo, Texas, and Chance acquired the manufacturing rights and started producing it in 1969. It was designed to be a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

ride, fitting on two trailers, but several units were purchased by amusement parks where they were set up as permanent attractions. Chance manufactured 32 of these units, two of which still operate at a permanent park. In 1998 Chance introduced the Big Dipper children's coaster. With the integration of the D. H. Morgan line into Chance Rides in 2001, the company acquired track manufacturing technology and the ability to offer a variety of coaster designs. D. H. Morgan was an offshoot of

Arrow Development Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman ...

, original developer of tubular steel track, first used on Disney's Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction. In 2006, Chance formed an alliance with

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally m ...

. Chance Rides represented Vekoma in North America and manufactured the steel track for select projects. On October 17, 2012 Chance Rides and Vekoma discontinued their agreement to produce rides together for the North American market.

List of roller coasters

As of 2019, Chance Rides has built 36 roller coasters around the world.

Current models

* Carrousel * Carrousel * Double Decker Carrousel * Carrousel * Double Decker Carrousel * Grand Carrousel *Aviator *''

C.P. Huntington ''C. P. Huntington'' is a 4-2-4T steam locomotive on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad, carrying that railroad's number ...

'' replica

miniature train *Century Wheel *DGW35 Gondola Wheel *DGW45 Gondola Wheel *Electric Cars *Family Coaster *Freestyle *Giant Wheel *

Hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ...

s Mamba, World's of Fun *Hyper GT-X Coaster Lightning Run, Kentucky Kingdom *Pharaoh's Fury *GXL200* Observation Wheel *R60 Giant Wheel * R80XL Giant Wheel *Revolution 20 *Revolution 32 *Tramstar HD *Tramstar LFT * UniCoaster * Unicoaster 2.0 * Wipeout *

Yo Yo ''Yo Yo'', original title ''Yoyo'', is a 1965 French comedy film directed by and starring Pierre Étaix. The story follows the son of a millionaire from the 1920s to the 1960s. After losing his fortune in the stock-exchange crash, he teams up with ...

Zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...

Past models

*Alpine Bobs (also available in Rock and Roll/Swingin' Safari/Thunder Bolt themes) *Astro Wheel *Casino (variation of the Trabant) *Chaos * Falling Star *Flying Bobs (originally by Herschell)/Thunderbolt (rethemed Bobs) *Inverter *Music Fest (variation of the Flying Bobs) *

Observation Tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

*Olympia Bobs (originally by Herschell) *Pump-It Handcar *Radar *Rok-N-Rol (originally by Herschell) *

Rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

*Sea Dragon (predecessor to the Pharaoh's Fury) *Sidewheeler *

Skydiver Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

*Sky Wheel (originally by Herschell) *Slingshot *Space Shuttle *Star Fighter *Suspended Family Coaster *Toboggan *

Trabant Trabant () is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. In total, four different models were made, the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Tr ...

*Tumbler (a lifting, double-wheel version of the Skydiver- was known as Wheel Barrow. Only one built) *Turbo *Twister *Wagon Wheel (variation of the Trabant) *Wagon Wheeler * The Zipper *Zumur

References

External links

*
Chance Rides listing at Roller Coaster DataBase
{{Amusement rides Amusement ride manufacturers Roller coaster manufacturers Companies based in Wichita, Kansas Tram manufacturers Rolling stock manufacturers of the United States Amusement rides manufactured by Chance Rides Roller coasters manufactured by Chance Rides Carousels fr:Chance Morgan