Magnificent Steam Machines
Come and explore the country’s finest collection of steam traction engines and get up close and personal with these magnificent machines of yesteryear. Steam power on the land, the roads, and eventually on the fairground did not have a very long life. From the middle of the last century until the First World War it enjoyed its heyday, developing superlative engineering skills and techniques which are still admired today. But by the 1920’s, steam was faltering before the challenge of diesel and petrol engines. By the 1940s steam vehicles were heading in their thousands to scrap yards.

Climb On-board!

There is an additional charge of £3 per ride, per person.

When you walk into the Thursford Fairground Collection, the colour, the lights, the movement, the music and all the magnificent machinery on display makes it hard to know where to look first! The two large fairground rides are inevitably very popular with our visitors who seek to experience the delight of riding on these magnificent machines! Our ‘1896 Savages 3-abreast set of Gallopers’ is a truly wonderful fairground ride for all the family to enjoy. Meanwhile, our very special Venetian Gondola Switchback Ride is true to its’ name! As ‘switchback’ suggests, the rider is taken over two hills and dips down into the following valleys whilst sitting in richly carved cars shaped like Venetian Gondolas. We also have a small hand cranked carousel perfect for children!

The Mighty Wurlitzer Show
The Mighty Wurlitzer is the centrepiece of the Collection! There are two half hour shows with our resident organist, Robert Wolfe, performing each day during the Summer Season at 12.30pm and 2.00pm.In the days of silent movies, when there was no soundtrack on film, the atmosphere was created “on the spot” by the pianist improvising a mosaic of mood music. In due course the pianist was replaced by the more chic, up market cinema organist, and the cinema organ par excellence was undoubtedly the Mighty Wurlitzer.