Transportation

Wooden escalators
Wooden escalators
As of 2021, this one was still in operation at Macy's Herald Square in New York City.

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There are 4 comments for this item.

Posted by CJ at 8:48 am (PDT) on Thu June 6, 2024   
@Duff Here is a video that gives interesting tidbits about escalators. At 4:52 is when they explain difference in handrail speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2QBAEjSfNM

My pet peeve are people that walk up/down escalators thinking it's faster. A study was done that showed that in the vast majority of instances, walking up/down regular stairs was faster than walking up/down escalators due to the lack of obstructions (i.e. navigating around people standing in your way). I assume they are same people who'll ride an elevator up one floor to pay money to use a Health Club's "StairMaster" that goes nowhere.
Posted by Duff at 9:08 am (PDT) on Wed June 5, 2024   
Please allow me to air one of my pet peeves. Why can't the engineers who design and maintain escalators make the handrail run at the same speed as the steps? There ought to be some regulation regarding this, pun intended.
Posted by notsteve at 8:45 am (PDT) on Wed June 5, 2024   
A fire under a wooden escalator in London killed over 30 people in 1987. It was known as the "King's Cross Fire" and was the subject of a Forensic Files episode in 2006 ("Flashover")
Posted by Doot at 3:59 am (PDT) on Wed June 5, 2024   
I can remember riding these at The May Co. in downtown Cleveland up until they closed abouttwenty years ago.

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