Up & Down
January 3, 2021 9:10 AM Subscribe
How the Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense of Space. Megan Carpenter at Smithsonian Magazine writes about the history of the escalator, and how the invention not only changed our shopping experience but eventually affected how we think about public spaces.
Mmmmm, that's one perfectly plated pile of beans.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:38 AM on January 3, 2021
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:38 AM on January 3, 2021
My aunt, who grew up in the middle-of-nowhere French-speaking tiny town Ozarks, rode her first escalator on the week of her wedding. After nearly forty years, I still don't entirely know how to reconcile that fact with my knowledge of the woman as a contemporary person who read magazines and drove cars.
I'm still waiting for the Story of the Days to Come graduated moving sidewalks that reach car speeds on the inside track. That commute would be fantastic.
posted by eotvos at 9:49 AM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm still waiting for the Story of the Days to Come graduated moving sidewalks that reach car speeds on the inside track. That commute would be fantastic.
posted by eotvos at 9:49 AM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Escalators on MeFi previously, where I mentioned the continuous elevator called the Paternoster, which also had a (much earlier) previously. Related intermediate technology: the moving sidewalk (with theme song from "Streets of Fire" - I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman). The article ends with the Hong Kong Travelator which IIRC consists of both escalators and moving walkways. One more fun fact: there are 19 escalators in the Pentagon, as well as ramps between the floors broad enough and angled such that couriers can ride bicycles on them.
posted by Rash at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Rash at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Huh. This post just made me realize I never used an escalator in 2020. Strange year.
posted by zsazsa at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [20 favorites]
posted by zsazsa at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [20 favorites]
Only 60 years separate the Luna Park escalator from the Moon landing. Given the current state of things, that's either heartening or terrifying.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Speaking for all architects, escalators are a pain in the ass. Appreciate them when you see them - how did such a big machine get into the middle of a building? How does it not snap in half in an earthquake? Where are the motors and how do they get to them? How does it handle thousands of people a day for years on end without getting slowly destroyed? This goes double if it’s outside.
One of my favorite structural details is how the canopies on the (outdoor) escalators on the Disneyland parking structure attach to the building. It has to take something like two feet of seismic movement in any direction which required this crazy buck rogers socket connection.
Moving walkways are even worse; the IATA actually revised their standards up on the minimum length before moving walkways are required in airports after a multi year study taking into account convenience, maintenance, access, and operations.
TL;DR feet are better than machines
posted by q*ben at 10:09 AM on January 3, 2021 [26 favorites]
One of my favorite structural details is how the canopies on the (outdoor) escalators on the Disneyland parking structure attach to the building. It has to take something like two feet of seismic movement in any direction which required this crazy buck rogers socket connection.
Moving walkways are even worse; the IATA actually revised their standards up on the minimum length before moving walkways are required in airports after a multi year study taking into account convenience, maintenance, access, and operations.
TL;DR feet are better than machines
posted by q*ben at 10:09 AM on January 3, 2021 [26 favorites]
In the 1980s, after we moved out, my mum hosted international students. And there was one student from the US, perhaps Ohio, who had never seen an escalator before she came to O'Hare for her international flight. Which was fun. But I also remember how my brother and I were fascinated by escalators as children, since we only saw them very rarely.
Great post! I always enjoy being reminded how inventions and technology shape our spaces.
posted by mumimor at 10:09 AM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Great post! I always enjoy being reminded how inventions and technology shape our spaces.
posted by mumimor at 10:09 AM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don’t know, q*ben, like anything else, they have their ups and downs.
posted by azpenguin at 10:18 AM on January 3, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 10:18 AM on January 3, 2021 [16 favorites]
When I was a kid, escalators kind of creeped me out a little. It was those teeth that the treads disappeared into. My kid mind imagined how easy it would be to get my foot snagged in the teeth if I didn't leap off in time. Images of my bloody, shredded feet and legs immediately followed. I got better.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:29 AM on January 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 10:29 AM on January 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
A fine place to plug Colson Whitehead's first novel, The Intuitionist, even if it's about elevators and not escalators.
posted by chavenet at 10:30 AM on January 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 10:30 AM on January 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
When I was a kid, escalators kind of creeped me out a little. It was those teeth that the treads disappeared into. My kid mind imagined how easy it would be to get my foot snagged in the teeth if I didn't leap off in time.
Yeah, I used to have the same fear about my feet until fell down an escalator and discovered you can also get snagged in the escalator's teeth by your coat sleeves. I still have all my fingers, but I am actually more concerned about them now than I was as a child.
posted by pangolin party at 10:52 AM on January 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yeah, I used to have the same fear about my feet until fell down an escalator and discovered you can also get snagged in the escalator's teeth by your coat sleeves. I still have all my fingers, but I am actually more concerned about them now than I was as a child.
posted by pangolin party at 10:52 AM on January 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
How does it handle thousands of people a day for years on end without getting slowly destroyed? This goes double if it’s outside.
If we're talking about San Francisco and the escalator at the Embarcardero BART station (north side of Market Street, closest to the Ferry Building) the answer is: through sheer force of will, labor and money. That escalator (connecting the street to the concourse) has been rebuilt at least twice in the last five years and is probably out of service at least 50% of the time. This includes replacing all of the 'steps' at least once.
My personal theory is that the framing is bent, likely as the result of seismic forces. And not necessarily earthquakes. It could be from all of the new buildings that have sprung up south of Market in the last 10 years. Tall buildings with deep foundations.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:54 AM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
If we're talking about San Francisco and the escalator at the Embarcardero BART station (north side of Market Street, closest to the Ferry Building) the answer is: through sheer force of will, labor and money. That escalator (connecting the street to the concourse) has been rebuilt at least twice in the last five years and is probably out of service at least 50% of the time. This includes replacing all of the 'steps' at least once.
My personal theory is that the framing is bent, likely as the result of seismic forces. And not necessarily earthquakes. It could be from all of the new buildings that have sprung up south of Market in the last 10 years. Tall buildings with deep foundations.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:54 AM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Moving walkways are even worse
Aww, but they're so much fun! Even as an adult, it's always hard to decide whether to keep my walking pace and zoom along twice as fast, or pose frozen in place like a mannequin as I'm whisked along.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:18 AM on January 3, 2021 [18 favorites]
Aww, but they're so much fun! Even as an adult, it's always hard to decide whether to keep my walking pace and zoom along twice as fast, or pose frozen in place like a mannequin as I'm whisked along.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:18 AM on January 3, 2021 [18 favorites]
The DC Metro escalators. Spare parts are getting scarce. For the longest time the outdoor sections were not covered. And as always stand right, walk left!
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:27 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 11:27 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Moving walkways are even worse...
The Roads Mustnot Roll, then.
posted by y2karl at 11:46 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
The Roads Must
posted by y2karl at 11:46 AM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
And as always stand right, walk left!
The DC Metro doesn’t want you to do that. The unbalanced loads of standers and walkers can cause increased wear and tear, causing the escalators to prematurely break.
posted by jmauro at 11:46 AM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
The DC Metro doesn’t want you to do that. The unbalanced loads of standers and walkers can cause increased wear and tear, causing the escalators to prematurely break.
posted by jmauro at 11:46 AM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
The DC Metro escalators.I spent an escalator ride with a fairly high-ranking US government official who decided to spend the travel time bragging about just how very tall the DC escalators were. He was really proud of it. I didn't tell him it was a very strange thing to brag about. I also did not mention the Moscow metro.
I think we should take advantage of the static shocks we all get on escalators hand rails and turn them into Van de Graaff generators with lightening bolts accumulators at the top.
Also, riding escalators barefoot reveals temperature differences that one might not immediately expect. I recommend it.
posted by eotvos at 11:57 AM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Even as an adult, it's always hard to decide whether to keep my walking pace and zoom along twice as fast, or pose frozen in place like a mannequin as I'm whisked along.
No, it's not hard to decide -- listen to Jerry and do the right thing. It's moving more slowly than a walking pace - how can you tolerate it, just standing there? "Mannequin" is not what we're thinking of you, as we're trying to get by.
posted by Rash at 12:25 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
No, it's not hard to decide -- listen to Jerry and do the right thing. It's moving more slowly than a walking pace - how can you tolerate it, just standing there? "Mannequin" is not what we're thinking of you, as we're trying to get by.
posted by Rash at 12:25 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is not exactly the point but "kitty litter" was once a trademark?
posted by jeather at 12:33 PM on January 3, 2021
posted by jeather at 12:33 PM on January 3, 2021
Also, riding escalators barefoot reveals temperature differences that one might not immediately expect. I recommend it.
posted by eotvos
OTOH I do not.
TW, escalators literally harming people.
posted by Splunge at 12:38 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by eotvos
OTOH I do not.
TW, escalators literally harming people.
posted by Splunge at 12:38 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
I spent an escalator ride with a fairly high-ranking US government official who decided to spend the travel time bragging about just how very tall the DC escalators were
I admit that the one time I went to the Pentagon, I was astonished at the length of the escalator ride. But I'm sure there are many longer ones.
(My favorite thing about the Pentagon Metro stop was the sign telling staff from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take off their badges before leaving the station.)
posted by suelac at 12:44 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I admit that the one time I went to the Pentagon, I was astonished at the length of the escalator ride. But I'm sure there are many longer ones.
(My favorite thing about the Pentagon Metro stop was the sign telling staff from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take off their badges before leaving the station.)
posted by suelac at 12:44 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I was astonished at the length of the escalator ride. But I'm sure there are many longer ones.
Wheaton is the longest, I've not been on it but have been on Pentagon, Rosslyn and other pretty long rides. The deepest station though Forest Glen has no escalators, just elevators.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:04 PM on January 3, 2021
Wheaton is the longest, I've not been on it but have been on Pentagon, Rosslyn and other pretty long rides. The deepest station though Forest Glen has no escalators, just elevators.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:04 PM on January 3, 2021
Macy's in NYC still has their original wooden escalators (with updated insides). They used to be really noisy (not sure if they still are; I haven't been there in a long while), and just like with a wooden roller coaster there's this great sense of terrifying exhilaration when you first step on - I always wonder deep down if it's really safe. Seconding that you shouldn't google escalator injuries - they can be terrifying.
The article sounds a bit hyperbolic, but I think it's really true that having an escalator made shopping easier and better - and changed everything. About 25 years ago, a Bed Bath and Beyond opened in Chelsea with the first cart-escalators so you could shop on multiple floors with a shopping cart, and it was immediately apparent that things were about to change. People talk about the mallification of NYC all the time, and I think that part of the reason it happened was those bigger escalators. Suddenly bigger-box stores could rent larger underground spaces (at cheaper rents) so they could approximate the selection you get in the suburbs, and do it in a way that felt modern instead of descending to the basement. I'm sure that's true in other cities as well.
posted by Mchelly at 1:09 PM on January 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
The article sounds a bit hyperbolic, but I think it's really true that having an escalator made shopping easier and better - and changed everything. About 25 years ago, a Bed Bath and Beyond opened in Chelsea with the first cart-escalators so you could shop on multiple floors with a shopping cart, and it was immediately apparent that things were about to change. People talk about the mallification of NYC all the time, and I think that part of the reason it happened was those bigger escalators. Suddenly bigger-box stores could rent larger underground spaces (at cheaper rents) so they could approximate the selection you get in the suburbs, and do it in a way that felt modern instead of descending to the basement. I'm sure that's true in other cities as well.
posted by Mchelly at 1:09 PM on January 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Those spiral escalators look special!
Speaking of wooden escalators, the Maastunnel Rotterdam is a set of wonderful wooden bicycle escalators from the 1940s that descend to a 585 meter long, bike-only tunnel below the Maas river. The steps are large enough that you can fairly comfortably ride the escalator while also wrangling a twenty kilo omafiets, although it takes a bit of practice.
posted by autopilot at 1:17 PM on January 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
Speaking of wooden escalators, the Maastunnel Rotterdam is a set of wonderful wooden bicycle escalators from the 1940s that descend to a 585 meter long, bike-only tunnel below the Maas river. The steps are large enough that you can fairly comfortably ride the escalator while also wrangling a twenty kilo omafiets, although it takes a bit of practice.
posted by autopilot at 1:17 PM on January 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
An uplifting quote:
An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an "Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order" sign, just "Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience."posted by jeremias at 1:41 PM on January 3, 2021 [16 favorites]
- Mitch Hedberg
When I was a kid, escalators kind of creeped me out a little. It was those teeth that the treads disappeared into. My kid mind imagined how easy it would be to get my foot snagged in the teeth if I didn't leap off in time. Images of my bloody, shredded feet and legs immediately followed. I got better.
In 1993 there was a highly publicized (non-fatal) accident where a boy's jacket sleeve got caught in an escalator. Here's a link to Rescue 911 coverage about it. I was around 6 years old at the time, and I VERY VIVDLY remember seeing this footage on the news. From then on I would brace myself and then leap off of escalators a step or two before they got to the end, because I was terrified of the same thing happening to me. If you're anywhere near my age I wonder if you also saw this same news story and it spooked you.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:42 PM on January 3, 2021
In 1993 there was a highly publicized (non-fatal) accident where a boy's jacket sleeve got caught in an escalator. Here's a link to Rescue 911 coverage about it. I was around 6 years old at the time, and I VERY VIVDLY remember seeing this footage on the news. From then on I would brace myself and then leap off of escalators a step or two before they got to the end, because I was terrified of the same thing happening to me. If you're anywhere near my age I wonder if you also saw this same news story and it spooked you.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:42 PM on January 3, 2021
When my six year old friend was around one and started to walk around I introduced him to what we called “magic stairs.” He loved them and got the knack for getting on and getting off really quickly. Our first time lasted almost twenty minutes as we had to go up and down repeatedly while his mother was shopping. He still likes them.
Meanwhile, the escalators at all the downtown BART / Muni stations in San Francisco have been universally unreliable. The reason given wasn’t seismic stresses. It was human #2 as the cause since they seemed to be popular as restrooms.
posted by njohnson23 at 1:47 PM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Meanwhile, the escalators at all the downtown BART / Muni stations in San Francisco have been universally unreliable. The reason given wasn’t seismic stresses. It was human #2 as the cause since they seemed to be popular as restrooms.
posted by njohnson23 at 1:47 PM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'm still waiting for the Story of the Days to Come graduated moving sidewalks that reach car speeds on the inside track. That commute would be fantastic.
The Moving Walkway Story
posted by fairmettle at 2:14 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Moving Walkway Story
posted by fairmettle at 2:14 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
"Mannequin" is not what we're thinking of you, as we're trying to get by.
Oof, harsh much? Well, you can rest easy tonight (or get wound up about some other inconsequential joke instead, whatever floats your boat) - I am the last person who'd want to restrict anyone else's movement through a busy airport. I reserve The PoseTM for low-traffic circumstances.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:16 PM on January 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
Oof, harsh much? Well, you can rest easy tonight (or get wound up about some other inconsequential joke instead, whatever floats your boat) - I am the last person who'd want to restrict anyone else's movement through a busy airport. I reserve The PoseTM for low-traffic circumstances.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:16 PM on January 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
It's 33 years since the Piccadilly Line escalator at King's Cross station in London caught fire and killed 31 people.
posted by cyanistes at 2:32 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by cyanistes at 2:32 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
When I was working in Mumbai it was common to see families in shopping malls trying to persuade elderly parents or relatives from the country to get onto the escalator, and they sometimes had a shop assistant stationed at the top or bottom to show them what to do. This was in 2015-16.
And in the hotel I once met a puzzled elderly couple in the elevator who'd been going up and down for a while, having no idea what they were supposed to do once they'd got in and the doors had closed.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 2:54 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
And in the hotel I once met a puzzled elderly couple in the elevator who'd been going up and down for a while, having no idea what they were supposed to do once they'd got in and the doors had closed.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 2:54 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
eotvos > I'm still waiting for the Story of the Days to Come graduated moving sidewalks that reach car speeds on the inside track. That commute would be fantastic.
The Roads Must Roll by Robert Heinlein (scan with full text and illustrations in Astounding Science Fiction, June 1940, pp. 9-37).
[On preview, I didn't see y2karl's earlier comment.]
posted by cenoxo at 2:56 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Roads Must Roll by Robert Heinlein (scan with full text and illustrations in Astounding Science Fiction, June 1940, pp. 9-37).
[On preview, I didn't see y2karl's earlier comment.]
posted by cenoxo at 2:56 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I miss my days in Montreal, especially the escalators in the metro. Lucien L'Allier station is some 27 metres underground, so that's about nine floors worth of escalators, in four stages. It can try one's patience
As well, there is a station on the green line east of Berri-UQAM (Pie-IX? Joliette? Prefontaine?) that has or had a long inclined moving walkway between upper and lower level. I discovered one evening on my first visit to the station that if you ran down the moving sidewalk, the extra speed imparted by the incline and the device itself meant that by the time your foot had made solid contact with the ground, it was already passing beneath your centre of gravity and you were obliged to keep running.
Thus, any attempt to run down the walkway ended with either throwing yourself to the ground or accelerating ever faster into a sprint which ended with slamming into the wall opposite the base of the escalator. A friend and I did this about five times, gleefully. Note that there may have been some alcohol involved. (It was late in the evening and no one else was around, so nobody else had to deal with the maudits anglais ivres.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:11 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
As well, there is a station on the green line east of Berri-UQAM (Pie-IX? Joliette? Prefontaine?) that has or had a long inclined moving walkway between upper and lower level. I discovered one evening on my first visit to the station that if you ran down the moving sidewalk, the extra speed imparted by the incline and the device itself meant that by the time your foot had made solid contact with the ground, it was already passing beneath your centre of gravity and you were obliged to keep running.
Thus, any attempt to run down the walkway ended with either throwing yourself to the ground or accelerating ever faster into a sprint which ended with slamming into the wall opposite the base of the escalator. A friend and I did this about five times, gleefully. Note that there may have been some alcohol involved. (It was late in the evening and no one else was around, so nobody else had to deal with the maudits anglais ivres.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:11 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Two escalator facts I know:
When the original escalator at the Earl's Court Underground station in London was installed, they hired a one-legged man named "Bumper" Harris to ride it up and down all day, to show everyone that it's safe.
The Prince of Monaco (a small country built on the side of a steep hill) loves to build outdoor escalators for his people.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 3:39 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
When the original escalator at the Earl's Court Underground station in London was installed, they hired a one-legged man named "Bumper" Harris to ride it up and down all day, to show everyone that it's safe.
The Prince of Monaco (a small country built on the side of a steep hill) loves to build outdoor escalators for his people.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 3:39 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Moving walkways are nice in theory, but they are almost always so bouncy that they make you have to think to walk. Great fun when you're 16 and believe yourself invulnerable, less so as you get older. I'm not sure whether the extra drag on a wheelie bag is a good thing or just a pain in the ass.
Thankfully, as someone who grew up in the south and has never had a penchant for loose clothing, escalator fear has never been part of my life despite my parents' constant admonishments as a young child. I think they may have taken done delight in warning me of the danger of dismemberment.
posted by wierdo at 3:42 PM on January 3, 2021
Thankfully, as someone who grew up in the south and has never had a penchant for loose clothing, escalator fear has never been part of my life despite my parents' constant admonishments as a young child. I think they may have taken done delight in warning me of the danger of dismemberment.
posted by wierdo at 3:42 PM on January 3, 2021
The long conveyor is in Beaudry station; Daniel Boucher filmed a music video in the conveyor. There are also long conveyors going from the Université de Montréal station to the base of the main hall. Back in the early 2000s, only one of the two conveyors would be active (going up) at a time, until they renovated them in 2005 or thereabouts.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:46 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:46 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
My cousin got his shoestring stuck in the side of the risers in a mall in the 80s and they had to turn the escalators off and it was a whole big thing. Also I have a bit of vertigo and even at 52, I have to pause and take a deep breath before stepping onto a down escalator.
Also the ones in my work building are Schindler, he main competitor to Otis, and heaven help me I can’t stop thinking “Schindler’s Lifts.”
posted by freecellwizard at 3:58 PM on January 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
Also the ones in my work building are Schindler, he main competitor to Otis, and heaven help me I can’t stop thinking “Schindler’s Lifts.”
posted by freecellwizard at 3:58 PM on January 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
I would brace myself and then leap off of escalators a step or two before they got to the end--showbiz_liz
I did this when I was a kid. It reminds me of this.
posted by eye of newt at 4:11 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I did this when I was a kid. It reminds me of this.
posted by eye of newt at 4:11 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs.Check out videos of escalators failing - some of them linked on this very page - and you'll see lots of very exciting ways that an escalator can break beyond simply 'becoming stairs'.
posted by Hatashran at 4:14 PM on January 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
From the Smithsonian article:
posted by cenoxo at 4:22 PM on January 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
...Perhaps the movie Elf best encapsulates our relationship with the escalator. In that movie, Will Farrell plays a human raised by elves, who visits New York City to find his biological father. Alien to modern technology, he does not know how to step on an escalator at a department store and, after several aborted attempts that interrupt the flow of traffic and irritate those around him, he steps on with one foot, holding onto the rails with his arms. His front foot escalates while the rest of him drags behind. The scene is a reminder of the strange wonder that is the escalator; one we now take for granted.See YT: Elf (2003) Buddy's first encounter with an escalator.
posted by cenoxo at 4:22 PM on January 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
The long conveyor is in Beaudry station
Thanks! I moved away from Montreal not long afterwards and while I have been back many times, I have never had the free time and opportunity to systematically search for which station it was.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks! I moved away from Montreal not long afterwards and while I have been back many times, I have never had the free time and opportunity to systematically search for which station it was.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Once on a business trip to Syracuse (home of other architectural sights such as the Art Deco Niagara Mohawk Power building) I visited an office in a building that was converted from a cavernous mid-twentieth-century multi-floor department store, the escalators still intact but inoperable and used as staircases. It was super cool.
posted by XMLicious at 4:39 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 4:39 PM on January 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Hip woman walkin' on the movin' floor
Trippin' on the escalator
There's a man in the line and she's blowin' his mind
Thinkin' that he's already made her
posted by TedW at 4:51 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Trippin' on the escalator
There's a man in the line and she's blowin' his mind
Thinkin' that he's already made her
posted by TedW at 4:51 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Typically, assuming they don't catch on fire because they are made of flammable material or full of decades of lint, grease, etc, and the pins in the steps don't break, escalators do just become stairs.
But, as with every technological item, including modern elevators, it is indeed possible, if incredibly rare, for them to fall catastrophically. As with elevators, it isn't the catastrophic failure modes that are most deadly, it's the mundane "getting clothing stuck in the mechanism" that kills people. In either case, all that is needed to save a life is to activate a switch. The emergency stop switch isn't there just for looks.
posted by wierdo at 5:29 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
But, as with every technological item, including modern elevators, it is indeed possible, if incredibly rare, for them to fall catastrophically. As with elevators, it isn't the catastrophic failure modes that are most deadly, it's the mundane "getting clothing stuck in the mechanism" that kills people. In either case, all that is needed to save a life is to activate a switch. The emergency stop switch isn't there just for looks.
posted by wierdo at 5:29 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
My personal theory is that the framing is bent, likely as the result of seismic forces.
My understanding of BART escalator outages is that they're due to bring peed on a lot.
posted by GuyZero at 5:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
My understanding of BART escalator outages is that they're due to bring peed on a lot.
posted by GuyZero at 5:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
did we ever figure out whether there's any escalators in wyoming?
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 5:37 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 5:37 PM on January 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
My understanding of BART escalator outages is that they're due to bring peed on a lot.
I can certainly believe this...along with a wide variety of sticky beverages being spilled on them, et al. However, it's hard not to wonder about this particular escalator and why it's so often out of service when others in the same area remain in operation. I watched it be rebuilt twice over the course of five years w/ brand new steps (out of the box) each time.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:59 PM on January 3, 2021
I can certainly believe this...along with a wide variety of sticky beverages being spilled on them, et al. However, it's hard not to wonder about this particular escalator and why it's so often out of service when others in the same area remain in operation. I watched it be rebuilt twice over the course of five years w/ brand new steps (out of the box) each time.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:59 PM on January 3, 2021
did we ever figure out whether there's any escalators in wyoming?
There are a few, but they have to be huge to accommodate the horses folks ride everywhere.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
There are a few, but they have to be huge to accommodate the horses folks ride everywhere.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:34 PM on January 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
There is one subway escalator in DC that is so long, and in its own tunnel, that you lose sight of any outside reference points. There is a stripe painted along the tunnel matching the angle of the escalator (about 30°). I was going up. At some point, my eyes recalibrated to start telling my brain that the wall stripe, and thus my plane of motion, was on a flat horizontal… meaning that I must somehow be standing tilted about 30 degrees forwards. I had to close my eyes to avoid stumbling and falling with vertigo. It hasn’t put me off escalators, but it has made me nervous about the long ones. I need a plumb bob, I think.
posted by snowmentality at 7:36 PM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by snowmentality at 7:36 PM on January 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Megan Carpenter at Smithsonian Magazine writes about the history of the escalator
I enjoyed this article although with a last name of Carpenter, wood staircase builders across the world must feel let down.
posted by mundo at 11:08 PM on January 3, 2021
I enjoyed this article although with a last name of Carpenter, wood staircase builders across the world must feel let down.
posted by mundo at 11:08 PM on January 3, 2021
But when rendered stairs through malfunction, they are always bad stairs, with weird spacing and a tactile surface that communicates "escalator" to one's feet. Same thing with moving sidewalks. There's a long slightly sloping one in Stockholm's central station that is out of service about 1/3 of the time. My body always tries to reflexively compensate for movement from the sensation of feeling that unique grated surface underfoot, and the first few steps can be kind of herky-jerkey as a result. It's even worse during crowded tush hour when you can't even see the mechanism or get a feel for if it's moving or not.
posted by St. Oops at 11:34 PM on January 3, 2021
posted by St. Oops at 11:34 PM on January 3, 2021
There was a really tragic incident in the 80s in the DC metro, where a young girl got the strings of her hoody caught in the treads as they went under and it ended up strangling her. Always made me a bit wary of the last bit of the ride.
posted by tavella at 11:49 PM on January 3, 2021
posted by tavella at 11:49 PM on January 3, 2021
My personal theory is that the framing is bent, likely as the result of seismic forces.Yeah, it's definitely seismic forces, we'll say that...
posted by wesleyac at 12:24 AM on January 4, 2021
Moving walkways are nice in theory, but they are almost always so bouncy
In my only visit to the US, this was something my colleague and i remarked upon when we're at the SF airport, because the bounciness is unlike other walkalators we're used to (west europe/asia). I used to chalk it up to an airport-specific thing, but is this another american design choice?
posted by cendawanita at 4:24 AM on January 4, 2021
In my only visit to the US, this was something my colleague and i remarked upon when we're at the SF airport, because the bounciness is unlike other walkalators we're used to (west europe/asia). I used to chalk it up to an airport-specific thing, but is this another american design choice?
posted by cendawanita at 4:24 AM on January 4, 2021
You know the reversible escalators, that can be switched to go up or down? It turns out that if you don't switch them very regularly when first installed (daily? ) or if you leave them in one direction for too long, they get worn in and can no longer be switched. Very strange machines.
posted by sepviva at 4:29 AM on January 4, 2021
posted by sepviva at 4:29 AM on January 4, 2021
This guy was a really nice surprise in the article, fairly early on. :)
posted by lokta at 4:46 AM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by lokta at 4:46 AM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
i read the headline as "...Excavator..." and got really excited. then the article, not so much. ;(
posted by danjo at 4:56 AM on January 4, 2021
posted by danjo at 4:56 AM on January 4, 2021
And let us not forget the greatest ascendant/descendant of them all: Jacob’s Ladder and the stairway to heaven, The Eclectic Light Company, 12/5/2016.
posted by cenoxo at 5:06 AM on January 4, 2021
posted by cenoxo at 5:06 AM on January 4, 2021
It's interesting how I stumble a bit when the escalator is shut off and I try to use it as if it's a normal set of steps. My foot automatically expects the step to have moved by the time I reach it, even though I can see it's fixed in place.
posted by jjj606 at 5:42 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jjj606 at 5:42 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
...with the first cart-escalators so you could shop on multiple floors with a shopping cart,...
If, like me, you're unfamiliar with these, here's a video which blew my mind. I was imaging an extra-deep escalator step which would fit both you and a cart, but I imagine that would run into a lot of 'runaway cart falling down the escalator' events.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:22 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
If, like me, you're unfamiliar with these, here's a video which blew my mind. I was imaging an extra-deep escalator step which would fit both you and a cart, but I imagine that would run into a lot of 'runaway cart falling down the escalator' events.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:22 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh, the only trolley escalators I've ever seen are sloping travelators . They grip the trolley's castors in their tread grooves, which isn't very well shown here.
posted by ambrosen at 6:38 AM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ambrosen at 6:38 AM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
during crowded tush hour
I really must visit Stockholm one of these days.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:35 AM on January 4, 2021 [8 favorites]
I really must visit Stockholm one of these days.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:35 AM on January 4, 2021 [8 favorites]
One thing I appreciate with the cart escalators is they always seem to be timed to be just a bit slower than the people escalator alongside them - so you're always off the escalator in time to grab your cart just as it arrives at the top.
What's scary are the signs that warn people not to leave their kids in the cart when they put it in the cart escalator.
posted by misskaz at 7:38 AM on January 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
What's scary are the signs that warn people not to leave their kids in the cart when they put it in the cart escalator.
posted by misskaz at 7:38 AM on January 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
The Provigo supermarket at Jean-Talon Street and Parc Avenue in Montreal has a flat escalator/moving walkway/motorized ramp that takes people and their carts up from the parking level to the shopping level. I don't know exactly how it works but I suspect there is some kind of magnetized system in place that grabs onto the carts as soon as they are rolled onto the escalator. In reality, that means the shopper doesn't need to actually hang onto the cart as you are moved up the ramp. I'll admit, it was a bit of a kick to be able to let go of the cart and not have it roll back the first time I shopped there.
posted by sardonyx at 10:17 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 10:17 AM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
here's a video which blew my mind
It's blowing mine too. Why tf would you put your cart on the escalator and then use the elevator.
posted by solotoro at 1:25 PM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's blowing mine too. Why tf would you put your cart on the escalator and then use the elevator.
posted by solotoro at 1:25 PM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Those spiral escalators look special!
The Westfield mall in San Francisco has those! The first time I saw them, I didn't even know such a thing was possible and my mind was appropriately blown. They're unfortunately not as fun to use as they are to look at -- they're pretty slow and the curve just adds to the ride time and no one walks because it's a mall so what's the rush? And they're positioned to force you to walk past a bunch of stores to get to the next tier -- which means that if you're tired of mall shopping but are with someone who keeps doing the "just one more store!" thing, the journey from the top floor to the bottom is going to be excruciatingly long.
posted by treepour at 1:45 PM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Westfield mall in San Francisco has those! The first time I saw them, I didn't even know such a thing was possible and my mind was appropriately blown. They're unfortunately not as fun to use as they are to look at -- they're pretty slow and the curve just adds to the ride time and no one walks because it's a mall so what's the rush? And they're positioned to force you to walk past a bunch of stores to get to the next tier -- which means that if you're tired of mall shopping but are with someone who keeps doing the "just one more store!" thing, the journey from the top floor to the bottom is going to be excruciatingly long.
posted by treepour at 1:45 PM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks to my Dad, we called them 'upalators' and 'downalators' when I was a kid. Took a long time to train myself out of the terms after I left home.
posted by ainymeek at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by ainymeek at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
US Navy Aircraft Carriers Had Escalators Just Like At The Mall — Instead of carrying shopping bag toting consumers, these escalators carried fully geared-up aircrews on the way to their aircraft. The War Zone, Tyler Rogoway, 7/24/2017:
posted by cenoxo at 12:43 AM on January 12, 2021
Over a dozen Essex and Ticonderoga class carriers were deeply refitted after World War II to handle heavier and higher performing aircraft, including jets, and to make them more survivable based on lessons learned the hard way during combat operations. Part of these extensive refits included moving squadron ready rooms from just under the carriers' relatively unarmored teak flight decks to deep in the ships' hulls, underneath their fortified hangar bays.Details and photos in the article.
The escalators were installed as a relatively high-tech solution that was supposed to solve the logistical nightmare of getting crews to their aircraft after being suited up for flight. And they did just that, albeit only when they were functioning...
posted by cenoxo at 12:43 AM on January 12, 2021
« Older Open a can and put it in pot | You better not stop them 'cause they're coming... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by glonous keming at 9:36 AM on January 3, 2021 [16 favorites]