Photo from the collection of Michael Smith
This ride is defunct.
The American Caroussel was owned by John Outhwaite, partner of W. G. Bean during the park’s early years. Powered by steam, the ride was an elegant carousel featuring carved horses.
The name of the ride is difficult to ascertain, without websites, park maps and the like, it wasn’t as crucial for rides to have a definitive moniker. The ‘American Carousell’ name is used several times in the press around 1898.
The ride pre-dated the Hotchkiss Bicycle Railway and like the Switchback, was eventually amalgamated into the park as it began to grow.
As would the Derby Racer over half a century later, being of an American design, the ride rotated anti-clockwise unlike most British ‘Galloper’ rides that rotate clockwise.