Why Don't Escalators Work?

Subject: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Peter T.
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:08 PM

There must be an engineer here who can answer this dogday question. I notice that of all the splendid inventions of our time, the one that seems to be down the most is the escalator. Everywhere I go, escalators are stopped, barricaded off, in pieces with guys working on them. The same is true of those moving staircases. Can anyone shed light on this? Are we dealing with an invention with so many moving parts that it just breaks down a lot? An invention that hasn't had any improvements since 1910? Overambition? Just curious

(famous Canadian poem quote: "This elevator does not work on Ascension Day")

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: MMario
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:12 PM

I find elevators to be out of order far more often. But all an out of order esxcalator does is make you walk up or down yourself.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:29 PM

Well, isn't that what at out of order elevator does?

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: JenEllen
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:43 PM

Because it's just an illustration of the great cosmic joke and an affront to the church of BiggerBetterFasterMore. When stairs aren't enough, and you all of the sudden feel the 'need' for an electric can-opener, the smackdown cometh. You see it in airports. The moving floor-trams? When those freeze up, the occupants get the look of so many cattle, and somewhere, someone is smiling.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 04:50 PM

In Wash DC, we have MANY long escalators in the subways , including 2 of the longest in the world. Yes, they are down all too often, but these MUST go, as the elevators just can't handle the load, so they are worked on overnight and much money is spent on the best hardware available....plus they just let a contract for extra covers to keep weather out. Some of the shorter ones are actually turned off during slack times to keep wear down.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: SeanM
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 05:51 PM

Most 'down' escalators that I've seen are either down for maintenance (a monthly affair, I believe), or shut down by local kids as a 'joke'.

Some brands seem to require a specific repair expertise to get them restarted once someone hits the 'e-stop' button. If it's a holiday, or busy, or the repairman has to be called in at an extra fee, it may be a while before it runs again.

Some places just seem to say 'forget it' and leave it as large and overly elaborate stair systems.

M

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 06:03 PM

We have no escalators in Casper, that I know of, nor the long riding walks. The ones I knew of back East always seemed to work pretty well, as well as the elevators. We do have elevators here. I suspect they do not get anywhere near the wear and tear of the city ones you all might be used to, though.:-) Sometimes it pays to live in the hicks!

kat

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Amos
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 06:04 PM

That's the great thing about them -- instant fail-safe default to an earlier, more robust technology -- stairs!

A

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: mousethief
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 07:21 PM

An escalator has a hell of a lot of moving parts. Thousands of steps, each of which has 4 wheels, very small (less than 2 inches (about 5cm) across, I believe), and thus the bearings are very small and thus hard to keep lubricated.

It's a wonder they work at all, actually.

Alex

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: GUEST,Wedding
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 07:54 PM

And then there was this blackout in New York where six members of the Ethnic Delegation were trapped for eight ours on an escalator...

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: rangeroger
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 10:03 PM

Mrrzy,it's a lot harder to walk up and down an out of order elevator than it is to do the same on a out of order escalator.BG

rr

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 10:43 PM

I don't think we have any escalators in Hilo. Wait, check that: the airport has a few. There are probably fewer than a dozen buildings in this town of 60,000 that are over 2 stories tall, nearly all hotels or apartment buildings. Sure is different from Philadelphia! Speaking of Philadelphia, and escalators, I remember one of the downtown department stores (it might have been Lit Brothers) had old escalators with large wooden slats -- I'm not sure if they are still there....probably had to remove them for liability reasons. Anybody else remember those? And I've not been particularly impressed with how often escalators are out of service, especially compared with other items, such as Microsoft operating systems!

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Bert
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 12:28 AM

Ahh! it's a long sad story. It goes back to just after WWII when companies got the bright idea of breaking down the work of skilled trades into small sub-tasks that could be handled by lesser skilled personnel.

So concerned were they with their immediate bottom line that they didn't foresee (or ignored) what would happen.

The skilled trades were lost. Most of the skilled workers now are retired. SO, no one can do anything any more.

Not only were the trades lost, but along with them went the dedication to quality and workability.

Companies now are only concerned that they have a warm body to fill a slot. Whether or not that person can do the job is irrelevant. The game now is not workmanship, it's empire building. An modern organization is judged by the NUMBER of it's employees. No one cares if they can't perform.

So now, no one can do ANYTHING. Just look at the state of the software industry.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 12:51 AM

Escalators steps are deeper than ordinary steps with no halfway resting point (or 'landing' as we call them) so it is harder to walk up or down an escalator - not to mention the way the grooves on it make you want to fall forwards all the time because you're having to look at them whilst walking. It's OK for those mutants over 5'6" with legs to match, but if your inside leg measures less than 25" you're stuffed. It's knackering!!

And as for the wooden slatted variety? There are still a couple lurking on the newly PPP (Part Private - Public) owned London Underground, which I daresay will still be there until we have another fire like the Kings Cross disaster 20 years ago.

LTS

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: JenEllen
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 09:12 AM

LOL kat, we had that discussion too. If you want an escalator, it's driving either 35miles east, or 49miles west. It's not so bad.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Peter T.
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 10:11 AM

So how could they be improved? yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Gervase
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 10:49 AM

Aye, all too often there's that familiar sign: Miss Otis regrets....

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 12:58 PM

I'd like to throw in a brief word about how dangerous escalators in need of maintenance are.

I work downtown Chicago and use them daily.

I also trek up and down freight elevators with computer gear and have met people who maintain this stuff in commercial buildings.

It seems, per what I've been told, the moving steps are under constant pressure to get misaligned and have to be adjusted to "track" smoothly so the gap on either side is equal and the space between the step and "walls" is in kept to a minimum.

When you use them get in the habit of watching that gap for signs of misalignment.

Occasionally the gap gets large enough to catch a pants cuss or loose shoelace.

When it grabs onto something in can suck it and anything attached to it in with a force that can cut right through the muscle to bone - and even crush bone - in an instant.

Per scuttlebutt, some have fail-safe devices and some do not.

I worry when I see kids playing on them, which down here is constantly, and wish I knew more about this.

Bob P

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: GUEST,Celtic Soul
Date: 02 Aug 01 - 02:54 PM

Moving Stairways? Is this not the same thing as an escalator?

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: pattyClink
Date: 03 Aug 01 - 09:39 AM

I saw my 3rd busted escalator in my long life this year, so I don't think they're prone to fail. That one is in a dying mall they aren't investing money in any more.

I agree with Bert. It's about companies spending as little as possible to keep the doors open and money coming in. Clearly preventive maintenance is needed on these things, by skilled folks, and where you see all the failures is wherever they haven't been getting it.

Subject: RE: Why Don't Escalators Work?
From: Mr Red
Date: 04 Aug 01 - 05:05 AM

I worked on "Lifts" once.
I designed a monitor to ring the security or maintainence depending on the type / time of movement.
you wouldn't believe the safety measures. Unless you were in a lift that fell to the basement suddenly.
We British have lifts not escalators and escaltors not moving staircases.
As GBS said "US & GB are separated by a common language".