Wednesday, July 07, 2010
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21 comments:
Although still a 3 ring format
I would tend to call these trusses
king poles (opinion NOT A FACT)
Cap Curtis did this with the Sells-Floto center poles about 1915. It was then judged to be too risky and perhaps it was, given the power unit technology and the use of ropes.
Chic, I would call them towers or columns, trusses run horizontal, not vertical, Just an opinion from an old retired building inspector. Notice I said retired which means I don`t know much anymore and don`t want to ! I always thought a pole would be round.
The term "truss" actually refers
to the details of triangulation
in the design of the structure
and not to it's position of use
Trusses can indeed be utilized
in vertical applications (often)
I'm sure you were following the
guidelines intended for whatever
you were inspecting however
I only used the term "King Pole"
as that is what I have mostly
heard them refered to in Europe
and many of them were trusses
I guess we call them king poles out of habit. But the are for sure a lot stronger than poles. Here in New Zealand we get winds of 150km all the time and the tent gets a petty good beating. I have seen poles snap at a lot less wind then that.
On Big Apple Circus they were always referred to as "masts" rather than poles.
Don Covington
Wow Henry that reminds me of an
artist's painting of a set of
poles and cable lacing nearly
intact but with almost all the
canvas blown off leaving only
small shreds at the edges
Although it was quite a visual
image it probably never could
have happened that way
I believe 150 KM = 94 MPH
I was on a show that had an old tent and I remember Shorty Lynn saying, "With this top I like soft lots, if it blows down we can sew it up.
If the stakes hold it will be blown apart."
King pole is the British term for what we know as a center pole and it was an old and accepted term in the 1930s judging by the casual way it was used by a number of British writers of circus books (including show people themselves) from that decade. It was adopted as the title for the British circus fans publication beginning in 1938, certainly an indication of standard and accepted use for some time. And that is long before any truss system was used to support most circus tents! Perhaps Henry Schroer can explain to us the old German term for the "main mast" and someone might know the French term.
Dick Flint
Baltimore
Any of us that have been through
a blowdown most likely remember
many of the details of the event
in 1972 on Carson & Barnes we had a blowdown in central Illinois from a tornado (apparently, they have lots of them in that part of the country)--frightening stuff...amazing that the 30+ bulls we had didn't bolt but the elephant guys kept it together--hats off to them. the tent was a mess, everything was slammed about...tornado just lifted that huge tent off the ground--as i remember, we sidewalled for a few days until they could get a replacement tent. fortunately no serious injuries but one and only tornado experience i've had and what a sight to witness--taking cover in the trailer you didn't know what to expect, it happened so quickly!
On the Beatty show, I heard King Pole designating the first pole up, the one at the front end, and the others were 2, 3, and 4 poles.
The German term is Masten, doesn't madder if the poles or square. The main poles are Haupt Masten and the smaller ones are Neben or Seiten Masten. Some of the Tents for instance have 4 or 6 Haupt Masten and 4 Seiten Masten, 2 on each site of the Haupt Masten sitting in an Angle.
The vinyl the use today is so strong that with the right pitch on the tent you need a lot more then 150KM to rip one. The Capitol of NZ is Wellington and there it is always windy. We had
a 180km strong wind and no damage on the tent. The best vinyl comes from France and is called Ferrari.
I had always hears that if they are round..they are poles, if they are square such as these...they are "masts", and if they are of a frame configuration (like Carson & Barnes(...they are "towers".
They were masts with Big Apple and they never "set up" the tent, they would "build" it up.
Henry -
Are you retired now, or are you still with a show and if so, in what capacity? ~frank
"Build Up" sounds something like
the term some photographers use
when "Making" a picture instead
of "Taking" a picture
"Build up" is the British term.
I don't know what the common term was when you were on Ringling, Buckles, but these last few years the two units don't set up or tear down but rather "load in" and "load out" which reflect the influence of the theater world on the Ringling circus. You might still "tear down" a concession stand (perhaps the influence of a few older circus people still working in concessions) but the whole show will "load out."
Dick Flint
Baltimore
"King pole" was in use on British show grounds by the 1860s; Mayhew uses it in his book "London Poor . . .," in 1861. It also designated the first center pole to be erected in an American big top.
The Americans introduced the performance pavilion to the British in 1842, who later took it to the continent.
The now common four mast tent did not go into frequent use until Sarrasani introduced it in 1927.
Yes Dick "Load In" & "Load Out"
are the most commonly used terms
in the theater but there are a few
remaining old time road stagehands
that say "Drag In" & "Drag Out"
Johnny would be REALLY wealthy if
he had a nickel for every stitch
he put in canvas over the years
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