Mechanical Memories Magazine

The Arcade
My trip to Battersea enabled me to see the new arcade for the first time, and I
instantly thought that there were fewer machines . I soon realised that this is not the
case; there 's just more space because the arcade is much, much bigger. In fact, it is
so big that I was unable to take a picture of the front 'head-on'. It's only a guess,
but I reckon it must be 40ft. wide by 24ft. deep, which must make it one of the
largest travelling arcades on our fairgrounds today, and certainly puts most modern
arcades to shame!
The large number of wall machines seems to be much the same as before,
many of which are duplicated (wouldn ' t it be nice to have an arcade so big, you
cou ld have two of everything), including: Conveyor; Circle Skill; Payramid; Double
Decker .. .... . most of us would give our 1ight arm just to have one each of these!
There is a really good selection of allwins, with most of the well known makers
represented, including: Bryans; Wonders; Whales; Parker; Kraft etc., all being
enthusiastically played on my visit.
Above: Carters' arcade at Battersea Park, with the Grand Prix just visible.
Opposite Page: A nice selection of allwins at the back of the arcade, and three very
desirable wall machines toward the front: Conveyor; Steeplechase and Extrawin.