Chance Rides is an American amusement ride manufacturer based in Wichita, Kansas, founded by Harold Chance in 1961. What began as a small manufacturing operation grew out of Chance’s earlier work building miniature trains for the Ottaway Amusement Company, which also operated Wichita’s Joyland Amusement Park. By the 1960s, Chance had shifted from steam power to gasoline-powered train models and struck out on his own, establishing Chance Manufacturing Company at a small facility on Irving Street with just a handful of employees.
Over the following decades, Chance expanded well beyond trains into Ferris wheels, carousels, and spinning rides like the Zipper and Trabant, while also building roller coasters starting with the portable Toboggan model in 1969. The company has weathered a bankruptcy reorganization in 2002, a 2001 acquisition of D.H. Morgan Manufacturing’s coaster designs, and a 2023 sale to the Missouri-based investment firm Permanent Equity, but it remains one of the amusement industry’s most recognizable ride builders, with products installed in parks and fairs around the world.
Stats at a Glance
- Headquarters: Wichita, Kansas
- Founded: 1961
- Founder: Harold Chance
- Flagship product: C.P. Huntington train (over 400 built)
- Carousels produced: More than 300
- Roller coasters built: About 44 total since 1969, including roughly a dozen since the 2001 D.H. Morgan acquisition
- Current owner: Permanent Equity (since 2023)
From Miniature Trains to a Full Product Line
Chance Rides built its reputation on the C.P. Huntington, a replica narrow-gauge locomotive modeled after a Civil War-era train, which became the best-selling park train in the industry after Chance absorbed the Allan Herschell Company’s assets in 1970. That acquisition also brought carousel manufacturing into the fold, and Chance went on to become the largest carousel builder in the United States, alongside Ferris wheels ranging from portable fair rides to towering observation wheels like the Capital Wheel at National Harbor.
Chance’s coaster business dates back to the portable Toboggan model in 1969, with dozens built over the following decades. The company deepened its coaster lineup in 2001 when it purchased the designs of California-based D.H. Morgan Manufacturing and formed Chance Morgan Coasters, later introducing its own Hyper GT-X model, whose first installation, Lightning Run, opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 2014.
A Survivor in a Consolidating Industry
Few mid-sized American ride manufacturers have survived as long as Chance Rides, which navigated a 2002 bankruptcy reorganization that reformed the company as Chance Rides Manufacturing, Inc. Under the continued leadership of the Chance family, including Dick, Michael, and John Chance, the company kept building trains, wheels, and coasters through the 2000s and 2010s, even converting its classic C.P. Huntington train to an electric drivetrain in 2016.
In 2023, the Chance family sold the business to Permanent Equity, a private investment firm based in Missouri, marking the end of the family’s direct ownership after more than six decades. The company continues to operate from its original home base of Wichita, Kansas, still manufacturing many of the same ride categories that built its reputation.
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Chance Rides FAQs
Where is Chance Rides based?
Chance Rides is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, where the company has operated since its founding in 1961.
What is Chance Rides best known for?
Chance Rides is best known for the C.P. Huntington, a replica narrow-gauge train that has become one of the most popular amusement park trains in the industry, along with its carousels and Ferris wheels.
Does Chance Rides still build roller coasters?
Yes. Chance has built roller coasters since 1969, including the Toboggan model, and expanded its coaster designs in 2001 by acquiring D.H. Morgan Manufacturing’s assets, later adding its own Hyper GT-X model.
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Photo: Unknown / CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.