Fair ground and circus

In the sixties GMC's were a common phenomenon on fair grounds. The Riddering family from Garmerwolde, for instance, have transported their cakewalk 'Broadway Trip' for many years with a GMC (source: www.riddering.nl & www.adrillen.nl).
       

The Gigengack family from Hengelo also transported their equipment with two GMC´s. In this picture from June 1955
the trucks are ready for departure (courtesy F. Gigengack)

Two other examles of fairground transport in The Netherlands by GMC's
(courtesy of Stichting Kermiscultuur / www.historisch-kermistransport.nl)

The picture below was taken during preparations for the annual Palmgracht fair in Amsterdam (1968). In between
a Swing Mill under construction and the turntable of 'De Spin' (click here for more information) without any doubt
another GMC. This does not belong to De Spin of Dries van Dam, but probably to the Swing Mill.

The archives of the council of Groningen contain a short movie showing a GMC trying to find his way amidst the public watching how the annual fair (probably 1952 or 1953) was built up. A direct link to the movie does no longer work. Go instead to the Groninger Archives by clicking on the picture below. Do not change the language to English but stick to the standard Dutch. Type the words kermis and opbouw in the box  click the search ('zoek') button. Subsequently you will be shown a table with the words 'film fragmenten' at the bottom end. Click that line and choose 'Kermis II, Hömen'. It will bring you to the movie with the GMC-truck.

This GMC was photographed in 1967 in Amsterdam, next to a Para Trooper under construction, as is the GMC of the Van Dam family neither.

 

Hard to find, maybe, but at the left and beyond doubt another GMC at the fair in Utrecht in 1968. Philippe Kessels reckognized the truck as it also frequented the fairs in his hometown Baarn between 1965 en 1974. The GMC had a winch, a post-war greyish-blue closed cab with white roof and a dark brown canvas tarp. Its main cargo was an electric power station. The GMC pulled a wooden cargo trailer/caravan combination (right hand side of picture) and transported a merry-go-round.

Kobus van Dam, too, conveyed his merry-go-round by a GMC and trailer, as shown by the next two pictures (courtesy of Ton Coljée and Jaap Buijs); click here for more details of the Van Dam family.
  

The next picture shows a GMC that has been active as a road train (pulling a combination of two 2 axle trailers and one 1 axle trailer) in the 50s in France and is/was on sale on www.leboncoin.fr in February 2010.

This fairground GMC featuring the Fichaux family, was published in the French journal Charge Utile No. 57 (1997)

A GMC 'forain' towing three trailers; this type of road trains are still permitted for fairground and circus transport

Rare but cherished by fair ground travellers because of its gigantic loading capacity, a GMC AFKWX
(courtesy of Alex Vallentgoed en Adam van der Veen)

Another example from Italy: in the 1950s Edoardo Sansottera transported his bumper cars and merry-go-round with a GMC (courtesy of Riccardo
and Roberto Sansottera)

A Belgian 'road train'-GMC transporting a merry-go-round with aeroplanes (courtesy of Marcel Turelinckx)

The French circus Pinder has also used various GMC's. The left picture shows a workshop. Its main task was to recover other members of the Pinder fleet or to repair them underway. The black and white picture shows a cargo version that could well have inspired the modelers of Dinky Toys France when designing their famous No 881.
   

The most left of the next two GMC's had a similar recovery task in 'Le Grand Cirque de France'.  Next to it two GMC's of the circus Radio Circus, followed by to GMC's of circus Demuynck (pictures taken by H. Linssen, courtesy Henk van den Berg, author of the books 'Circustransport 1950-1970 (3 volumes), www.hollandcircus).
   

In volume 3 of Circustransport, Henk van den Berg's Circus included the following four GMCs pictures from the collection of H. Linssen. The first one shows one of the GMC's owned by the Amar circus. The next one shows
three GMCs of the Pinder circus: the one used for erecting the poles, the 'Dinky Toys France' cargo, and the back
of the mobile workshop. The next two pics shows the public watching the erection of the poles and front and back of
the 'Dinky Toys France' and pole erector, respectively.
   

According to http://pinder71.skyrock.com/3009627815-les-GMC-Pinder.html the Pinder Circus has used 8 diferent GMC's:

1 GMC CCKW 352, closed cab, pole puller (number plate: 279 HD5, Pinder fleet number ?)
2 GMC CCKW 353, open cab, truck with high panels (number plate: 31 J 37, Pinder fleet number 48)
3 GMC CCKW 353, closed cab, mobile workshop (number plate: 32 J 37, Pinder fleet number 34)
4 GMC CCKW 353, open cab, pole puller (number plate: 33 J 37, Pinder fleet number 28)
5 GMC CCKW 353, open cab, tanker truck (number plate: 34 J 37, Pinder fleet number 52)
6 GMC CCKW 353, open cab, pole puller (number plate: 375 LF 37, Pinder fleet number 26)
7 GMC CCKW 353, closed cab without winch, mobile workshop (number plate: 646 HF 37, Pinder fleet number 24)
8. GMC CCKW 353, closed post-war cab, generator truck (number plate: 871 AQ 37, Pinder fleet number 130)

At the end of the 70s beginning of 80s the workshop body of Pinder fleet number 24 has been mounted on another chassis with winch and
open cab, whilst keeping its original number plate and Pinder fleet number. This version still belongs to the oldtimer collection of the firm.
 

webmaster: J. Schröder

Gelanceerd / first launched: 7 January 2005

Laatst herzien / last revised: 6 February 2013