S&T RAILROAD

  THE FLYING SANTA - ACROSS THE STREET

    Sangster and Thornton spent a lot of time planning and sketching out the new creation.  Not only was the project going to be technically difficult and expensive, but there was the safety issue of having it go over the street and the risk of it falling on cars or people.  The sleigh and reindeer totaled 12 lbs. and had to be supported over a 110' span.

    They built two 4x4 towers which rose 26' high in their backyards.   The towers were made to swivel up and down by means of rope and winches.  The Thornton tower was cemented in the ground.  The Sangster tower was attached to a motor gear box bolted to the roof.  Two large 4' diameter wood pulley wheels were constructed and placed on the towers.  A 220' steel cable loop was wrapped around the pulley wheels.


 
    First one tower was raised and then the other with a winch until the cable was very taut.  The reindeer and sleigh were hung from the main cable with smaller cables.  The switch was turned on and away it went and broke.  The Flying Santa continually got caught up in the pulley wheels or the cable would slip out and hang up on the towers.  Sangster and Thornton worked every night and available day trying to perfect the rickety structure.

    The weight and sag of the cable refused to give in to Sangster and Thornton's efforts.  Secondary pulley wheels were installed in front of the main pulley wheels to support the cable weight for its feed into the main pulley.  This was short lived however and the Flying Santa - Across the Street was deemed a miserable failure.   The Flying Santa flew across the street for 3 hours on 12-22-96 and 2 hours on 12-24-96.  The project cost was $750 or $150 per hour of flight.

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