Jesse Reno's Magical Staircase (Or, Escalators on the Underground)

[@PeterT1981]

Escalators do not break down. They just morph into stairs. (Attribution: Mitch Hedburg. 1968-2005)

[@neville132bbk]

No...they go into lockstep mode.

[@briannem.6787]

IDK, there are some pretty bad videos of Chinese escalators failing (they always are in China too, I suppose they have a lot of escalators though) I saw somebody fall into the end as a panel wasn't bolted down correctly. They threw their kid to a staff member who was about to inspect the escalator due to a prior report of a loose panel, and she went in... There was also one where something on an up escalator broke due to overloading and everyone went straight to the bottom rapidly, and made a massive pile of people...

[@tonys1636]

Mainly because someone thinks it funny to hit the emergency stop and hope they are not seen, impossible not bring seen today with the number of CCTV cameras.

[@porcelainthunder2213]

Sorry for the convenience.

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

I WISH that was true here (Boston, MA). It used to be true. Unfortunately, now, usually when an escalator breaks down, it gets cordoned off quickly, so that you can't even use it as stairs, even when it is just sitting there for a long time with nobody is working on it.

[@18robsmith]

Depending upon one's direction of travel a very uplifting story, or one that will get you down

[@norryvamp]

I like your style of humour.

[@grandsoleil56]

I used to work in the elevator industry, it had its ups and downs though

[@Croz89]

The spiral escalators will take you round and round, and hopefully they won't desert you.

[@Mustafiz1972]

From your wickedly dry sense of humour, I think you may be the man himself…

[@bobwalsh3751]

*Patrick voice* BOOOOOOO!!!!!

[@Ypog_UA]

"I assume New York never had a subway ever again" Ah, what a shame.

[@Julius_Hardware]

Yes, it seems like the sort of place that would benefit from one. Apparently it even has a network of subterranean tunnels, which I assume is where the alligators live.

[@delurkor]

I understand they do have sandwiches.

[@lohphat]

Well, it certainly has never been cleaned again.

[@stephenlee5929]

@@Julius_Hardware I think there maybe turtles done there.

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

Sadly, this is actually true for the great majority of cities in the Americas (both North and South), except that they never had one in the first place, but then to make things worse, they also threw away their streetcar/tram systems.

[@shavedphil]

Watching took me back to being a boy, some 50+ years ago. I was in London with my Dad and on an escalator. I suddenly realised that he hadn't got on it, when I looked back he called that he was waiting for a dog.... There was a sign that said, "Dogs MUST be carried!" 😂

[@stepheneyles2198]

That's like the three guys waiting in front of a lift for the fourth to turn up - sign on the door says "4 people"...

[@Gmackematix]

A mistake also made of course by one Paddington Bear.

[@ZGryphon]

@@stepheneyles2198 The elevator in the history department building at my alma mater has a sign on it that says "ONLY FOR" and then a graphic of three "universal stick figure" people, two men and a woman. It's such a pain waiting around for the demographics to be right.

[@timsully8958]

“Which raises the obvious question: what was the name of his other leg?” 🤣😂😊 Brilliant 😜 The story of Harris always makes me think of my visits to the London Transport museum cos they had a model of him (standing on his unnamed leg) which for some reason stucco in my mind 😄 I still have vivid memories of Kings X happening. I knew the station well having used it many times with my dad and later as a solo passenger, so to see it engulfed was a shock. My Clair (I didn’t know her then of course) worked with a lady who regularly used the station on her commute. There was a birthday drinks do for a work colleague and she had planned to catch a train at about 8pm but was persuaded to stay later. This might well have saved her life or at least meant she avoided getting caught up in it 🙁 Fascinating stuff as ever, cheers! 👍🍀🍻

[@rewboss]

Having grown up in Glastonbury, which is just next door to the town of Street (where Clark's shoes come from), I am legally obliged to do a double take whenever I see that "TO STREET" sign.

[@petitkruger2175]

I love your channel (especially the town-panning ones) but ever considered loosing the mullet? correction: its not a mullet

[@robertwilloughby8050]

There's a fairly good actress that comes from Street. I was going to say something else, but I don't want to make myself a hostage to fortune, despite only having the best intentions.

[@fumthings]

they should fix the sign so it says "to the street" (the all caps wasn't helping either)

[@rewboss]

@@petitkruger2175 It's not a mullet. :)

[@thomasburke2683]

In Ireland we had a station called Street and Rathowen, midway between those two villages. The station closed about 1963.

[@upthebracket26]

The content on this channel is just.... escalating in quality.

[@jtsholtod.79]

I'm inclined to give you a thumbs up for that.

[@cargy930]

Ascend you a thumbs up for that too!

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

That is an uplifting joke (depending on direction).

[@AaronOfMpls]

Well I'm gonna do more than just stop and stair... Nicely done!

[@JanRademan]

It did escalate quickly.

[@johnmurrell3175]

The reason that the early escalators had a shunt landing was that the escalator comb to separate moving steps from the fixed landing had not been invented. It is also worth pointing out that the brushes at the side of the steps to discourage people from getting caught in the step was a LU invention now used worldwide. A little known fact is that heavily loaded down escalators actually regenerate electricity. You have to be careful using the description 'wooden escalator' as people take this to imply the structure was wooden. This was not the case the structure is steel however the cleats on the steps were made of fireproof rock maple the same as the train floors. The panelling on the escalators was made from wood and the many layers of varnish put on over the years together with the unknown at the time trench effect were major reasons for the fire at Kings Cross.

[@fredturner6535]

The varnish that was used was button polish

[@lilmizzbieber6]

A noteable (but often unreported) factor in the Kings Cross fire was the reduction of daily cleaners, called “fluffers” at the time, meaning there was far more dust and debris contaminating the grease underneath the top-side steps. Thatcher’s penny pinching at the day-to-day level contributed to major incidents and tragedies which ended up costing significantly more in lawsuits, damages and inquiries

[@dodgydruid]

In the 70's, us daring kids with recently snaffled Traveller's Fare plastic trays used to ride the metal casing between the handrails on many a station prompting LT fitting those silly little stanchions to spoil our fun. By time you got to bottom you were doing an insane turn of speed and it was exhilarating fun.

[@edwardoleyba3075]

There used to be the odd drunken person doing this in some west end stations in the 80’s. Trying to impress their mates and usually coming a cropper 😉

[@rogerbond2244]

If there are five potential plays on words in the set-up part of a sentence, and another five in the pay-off, how many of these delicious linguistic challenges escaped Mr Hazzard's attention? No pun in ten did. My dear Jago, you turn the subterranean environment into sublime entertainment; thank you...

[@GNTel313]

Battersea power station station station. Just had to laugh at that . Thanks Jago 🤣🤣

[@hairyairey]

Well, it was actually two power stations back to back - personally I think Battersea Power Stations Station is more correct.

[@mortified776]

On the Sydney rail network there were still four wooden escalators at Wynyard until 2017. They've been preserved as an art installation called "Interloop" hanging above their replacements.

[@lyndamck3446]

I remember those wooden elevators - I'm surpised they were still opertating in 2017. Many a time I caught my stilleto heels in them and lost the rubber tip from the end of the heel.

[@darylcheshire1618]

I’m from Melbourne and when I read about the London Underground fire, I though “Wow wooden escalators” the I went to Sydney and was surprised to see them there, I forget which station, Town Hall or Wynyard.

[@lyndamck3446]

@@darylcheshire1618 It was Wynyard station - I got my heels caught in them many times when I used them. I was surprised when moving to Melbourne how steep and how long the escalators were at the underground stations. On another train related subject - moving from Sydney to Melbourne I was surprised about your train doors. They don't open automatically. I still find my self sometimes standing absent mindedly in front of them waiting for them to open - then remembering I have to push the button. At least VIC and NSW now have the same rail gauge so there's no changing at Albury to get on another train.

[@lyndamck3446]

Actually, casting my mind back a few decades, I think there may have been wooden escalators at Town Hall station as well.

[@ktipuss]

@@lyndamck3446 On the rare occasions (usually trackwork) when V sets use the North Shore Line, people will stare at the doors wondering why they don't open. They don't see the wording next to the door handles "Pull to open" and indeed the fact that there ARE doorhandles! Once on a Blue Mountains outing someone was supposed to get off at Springwood, and stared at the V set door wondering why it didn't open by itself. She waited too long and got carried on to Hazelbrook. (Sadly the V sets are about to be replaced by trains designed for English travel conditions and not Australian - but that is another story).

[@sbv-zs7wz]

A friend who works in the cabinet office has told me that Boris is planning to scrap HS2 and instead build a giant escalator between London and Leeds to help levelling up

[@BroonParker]

Probably has a pal who'll do it for "mate's rates" (i.e., at least 5x the cost).

[@maryapatterson]

@@BroonParker That will make it about 500 billion pounds plus vat

[@atraindriver]

@@maryapatterson Yeah, but it'll be a bung so BoJo and his mate will pocket the VAT between them. And then get parliament to change the law to make it OK.

[@maryapatterson]

@@atraindriver 😂🤣🤣

[@AndreiTupolev]

Well, that escalated quickly

[@ThomasTrue]

I love the escalators on Waverley Steps here in Edinburgh. An idea first mooted during the 1894-97 rebuilding of Edinburgh Waverley, and only took 120 years to actually be installed.

[@tpaul2866]

Sigh. We have no railway based escalators over here on the Isle of Wight. But we do now have an hourly train service with the refurbished D stock. Maybe Mr Hazzard will do a video on us? Please? I think we're in zone 36. Keep up the good work.

[@stepheneyles2198]

Zone 36 - love it!!

[@delurkor]

Are there cross platform transfers?

[@someonebald2022]

Even so, the climb is equivalent to 15 floors. ;) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnO3p6Coh6yfmKc&ab_channel=GeoffMarshall

[@someonebald2022]

Tube trip to the moon, anyone? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKapn6l5rt2Ag6M&ab_channel=GeoffMarshall

[@fumthings]

@@stepheneyles2198 so you cannot use Oyster as it is incompatible.

[@PeterT1981]

“Lehigh”: pronounced … well, precisely as you pronounced it. Well done.

[@jtsholtod.79]

Except most Americans would take issue to the pronunciation of "patent." So you win some, you lose some.

[@paulabraham2550]

@@jtsholtod.79 They'd probably call it a "universidy" too.

[@jtsholtod.79]

@@paulabraham2550 you mean "college" (or caw-lidge)? "University" is such hoity-toity speak...

[@narphizoid]

Above the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, PA - founded by Asa Packer to provide engineers (no, not THAT kind) for his Lehigh Railroad.

[@iCaveDave]

@@jtsholtod.79 Most Americans are wrong.

[@susancorvalan6765]

I did not know that I needed to see your vids until one popped up. I have watched a few and now feel so glad I found you! 🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@LarsDahlin]

I met a Swedish gentleman, Stefan, in the Stockholm Subway system. He was very engaged in the construction of escalators and recommended me a visit to the escalator at the Mariatorget (Maria Square) subway station that is one of a kind by his means. Thank you for a moving video!

[@vjet]

When I was a younger lad I was fortunate enough to see the underneath workings of an escalator at Town Hall station in Sydney. Amazing bit of engineering that is very much taken for granted these days but you can see why it would have been greeted with wonder when they first came out.

[@almerindaromeira8352]

You know it is a quality escalator when the handrail moves at exactly the same speed as the stairs.... .... I'm looking at you Kyiv!!

[@tamarab5751]

I can die happy; I've seen the Americus rail carriage both in person & on the delightful Jago channel!

[@Peasmouldia]

Watching a TV movie earlier, Piccadilly Third Stop, and noticed a fictional Belgravia tube station. Wiki has a list of fictional underground stations. There's a shedload. Might be a video somewhere in that lot Jago. Excellent offering as ever. Elevated my knowledge of escalated stairways. Ta.

[@caw25sha]

Yes, that would make an excellent video.

[@millomweb]

I've made a list of fictional characters in the TV series Doc Martin.

[@ladiorange]

Wasn't there one on the EastEnders square?

[@Peasmouldia]

@@ladiorange Walford East. Takes the place of Bromley-by-Bow on their fictional tube map. My favourite is Hobs End from Quatermass and the pit.

[@HROM1908]

I well remember back in the days of wooden steps on the escalator. I was being elevated up to ground level whilst leaning casually on my umbrella. There was an almighty BANG and the end of my umbrella was bitten off, brass ferule and all !

[@ChakatSandwalker]

I have learned the word 'ferrule' today. Don't confuse it with the word 'ferule' (one R), as that's an instrument used to punish children.

[@johnmurrell3175]

They were well known for defrocking ladies with long dresses. Also they were very unfriendly to dog paws and lots were injured hence the signs that said 'Dogs must be carried on the escalator' . I tried to get the concession to hire out dogs to people so they could meet the conditions on the sign but was not successful !

[@HROM1908]

@@ChakatSandwalker Thanks for that. Always good to learn a new word. How interesting.

[@moaningpheromones]

Are you ferule?

[@jacobbaer785]

Hi Jago, you mentioned my university! Yes you pronounced it right. No wonder the inventor of the escalator came from Lehigh, it's literally on the side of a mountain. It's very annoying when you have to walk from the bottom to the top in only 10 min between classes!

[@Beaula2]

These sharp witted puns are on point.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Loved the shout out to Greenford and two of its three claims to fame. 👏👏👍😀

[@MrGreatplum]

I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but this latest video from Jago has certainly raised me up… Anyone… hello?… I’ll get my coat! 😆

[@cargy930]

That was sooo bad that your coat is forfeit!

[@AaronOfMpls]

Well it certainly didn't let me down

[@xander333333]

You nailed the pronunciation of the university. Thumbs up!

[@hythesailor]

1:47 Ah, yes! That was at my old college, Royal Holloway, London University. Every summer when exams are held in the Picture Gallery, the painting which apparently drove said student to suicide during his exam is covered up with a curtain to prevent future recurrences!

[@richardavsmith]

So glad to see that clip from the first train on the Northern line extension, it's a perfect example of escalators going wrong!

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

I remember being terrified of the wooden escalators at Leicester Square when I was a child in London. As a short 7 year old, it seemed infinite.

[@nelliemelba4967]

You and me both! I always missed my footing at the top as a little kid - mum or dad had to drag me over top!

[@webchimp]

I remember first encountering an escalator at the local Woolworths as a little kid in the '70s. I was fascinated, but I always did an exaggerated extra large step to get off at the end.. just in case.

[@nigeldewallens1115]

I loved using them and loved the sound they made too!

[@nigeldewallens1115]

I loved using them and loved the sound they made too!

[@AtoZbyLocalBus]

I was only terrified of wooden escalators after the Kings Cross Fire. Also the last wooden escalator I remember using was at Embankment station.

[@tonywise198]

Loved the mention of Johnny Cash!

[@nigelturner2356]

My Mum & Dad (both born in the 30's) always called them moving stairs and it's been hard to get out of the habit!

[@StuartGray100]

I have seen many escalators that change their direction when I went to Munich. When nobody uses it, it is on standby, and when a person gets onto it on the top or bottom, it will start to move into the direction, the person wants to go, and when it is free again, it will go into standby again. I haven't seen any in London

[@damianpenfold3314]

They are quite common in Germany in metro and railway stations. Logical idea as one would expect!

[@DanielsPolitics1]

I think few if any London Underground stations would ever be quiet enough for that to be useful or even viable. There would be far too many conflicting movements, with people trying to go up and down at the same time. Our escalators are reversible though, which we use to ensure that during maintenance, which renders one escalator unusable, the remaining one is always the up escalator.

[@g2macs]

Escalators have known to gain sentience and to start playing tricks on passengers, their favorite is speeding up the handrail so that your top half is faster than your legs.

[@denisoleary5302]

Yes I was at Marble Arch in the 70s and noticed the handrail moving slower than the stairs. people instinctivle held on to the handrail, which resulted with people tumbling back on each other. Not boasting, but I shouted to people at the bottom to push the emergency stop button to no effect, so jumpped over, to the fixed stairs , ran down and pushed the emergency stop. This happened just after the Ibrox disaster, where many died, after people being crshed on stairs

[@scythal]

Apparently the speeding up the handrail thing might be intentional, to keep passengers alert apparently. www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-2094,00.html

[@johnfry1011]

Having mistakenly irrevocably lined up for a stationary escalator at Holborn, I can attest that they are quite long (the ones to street level) and that standing and letting the electric motor take the strain is much easier! PS another great video.

[@highpath4776]

I miss fixed staircases at least they have flat bits you can rest on. Climbing them was a challenge, now its a chore

[@arthurvasey]

Many is the time I have seen people walking up or down an escalator - why bother? Would you step into a lift and proceed to climb up the shaft,or abseil down it? No! Just stand on it and let it take you up or down! You can get a free shoeshine as well - those little furry things on the sides - you can clean your shoes on them - not recommended if you wear lace-up shoes! Another good way of getting exercise - works best if nobody is using it - walk up the down escalator or walk down the up escalator! Same with moving pavements - “flat escalators” that you often see at airports!

[@iankemp1131]

@@arthurvasey If you're at Tottenham Hale and have 1 minute or less to catch a half-hourly surface train then walking (or trotting) up the up escalator definitely becomes worthwhile.

[@arthurvasey]

@@iankemp1131 Problem is that you can sometimes trip - going up is dangerous enough - run down and trip and it will be the last thing you will ever do!

[@hairyairey]

@@arthurvasey It's not just that, the escalator steps are higher and injuries on the sharp edges are common.

[@beachman8106]

Quiet, dry humour from such a prosaic subject. I like it.

[@fredcarson2791]

A very interesting video Jago. My first acquaintance with escalators was a cigarette card which showed how they work.. My next was at the 1951 Festival of Britain where I and some friends, on a school trip, spent so much time riding the escalator in the Dome of Discovery that we didn't see much else and the required essays next day didn't have much content. I was also enchanted by the Tube and could have written more about that. Now, at age 85 the Tube still fascinates me. Thanks for your videos, much appreciated.

[@mcarp555]

Very uplifting video!

[@plaws0]

Lehigh was pronounced correctly. When I moved to Boston, Mass, their transport infrastructure was largely worn out having been early adopters of subways and parkways, and then not having money to maintain them. From the Red Line Subway (c.1912) platforms at South Station (1899), there was still a wooden, cleat escalator ... in 1985-86. There were others, too, including one at the original Forest Hills Elevated station (1909 and an "intermodal" station with streetcars beneath) but I think that had "regular" steps of wood vs cleats. All those were replaced by 1990 with the entire Elevated line to Forest Hills replaced by a new line in a trench shared with Intercity and Regional conventional trains. LOVE your shows!

[@rogerkearns8094]

Visitors to London should be aware that it is considered to be a virtue for couples to stand fixedly side by side on the escalators so as to obstruct any such scoundrels as try to gain unfair advantage by pushing past.

[@jamiebirley]

Ha, this is dastardly - I love it

[@webchimp]

And how would you feel about someone who stands in the middle with a hand on each rail?

[@MarkUKInsects]

I found it interesting that on the Russia escalators that couples stand on the same side, the leading person would turn round to face the other. Can't recall seeing this too often in London?

[@JasperJanssen]

Just doing our best to increase efficiency on your backwards habits. No need to thank us. PS: if I’m using both handrails simultaneously, it’s because my back is killing me, no, I can’t just use one. F off.

[@rogerkearns8094]

@@JasperJanssen Sorry about your back.

[@wayneavrili2463]

I saw a sign saying dogs must be carried on the escalator, it took me half an hour to find one

[@davidhugill4668]

So the Holborn experiment lasted only 3 weeks - I never knew that. I was living in Spain and travelling periodically back to work in the office of a bank in London ... and I now know that, in that week, by dumb luck I was part of that experiment. I just thought it was the new way things were being done on the Underground.

[@paulhaynes8045]

Very interesting. It's odd just how common and 'normal' escalators now are - to the point where we expect them even in shops and get annoyed if we have to use stairs! But not all escalators are the same... My only frequent experience of escalators abroad is on the Metro in Budapest, where they go much faster than UK ones! This is quite scary at first, but you get used to it, and then London's escalators seem positively pedestrian by comparison (maybe why so many people walk?). My other memorable escalator moment was in Barcelona, on the way to Parc Guell, which is up a very steep hill. To our amazement, we discovered open-air escalators running up the middle of the street, but - typically Spanish, I thought - they weren't working. So we trudged up the street next to the escalator - only to be surprised when it suddenly started to work and a young woman went sailing past us! At the top of that section, we were even more puzzled to find the escalator once again not working - and the next one up the hill - the very one we'd seen the woman disappear up! Then, at last the penny dropped and we realised they were on standby and only worked when you stood on them!! Had it not been for that young lady, we would have walked all the way up the hill, right next to a perfectly good escalator...

[@markbanash921]

As someone from that section of the American state of Pennsylvania, I can tell you that you are spot on with your pronunciation of Lehigh. Lehigh was and still is a noted engineering school, with one well-known alumnus being Lee Iacocca, the father of the American muscle car Mustang and the subsequent head of Chrysler who saved that company from bankruptcy in the 1980s.

[@wingshad0w00982]

Amusingly the Macy’s in herald square New York still has wooden escalators on the lower floor. It’s a rather unique setup now a days, but it works just fine.

[@webchimp]

They still have one on the tube in Sydney/Melbourne (can't remember which) I think.

[@dlbstl]

When I was a child 60 years ago a department store called Stix, Baer & Fuller, in St Louis, MO had the wooden type escalators on the upper few floors. They were really loud with a lot of clacking. They scared me have to death.😱

[@rjds1800]

I feel uplifted by this splendid presentation

[@brian13105]

Wow, I am amazed to hear that wooden escalators were still around so recently . The one and only one I recall was in our Eaton's Department Store's Annex Building in Toronto which was closed in the early seventies . I would love to be able to see one once again .

[@imaginox9]

Great video ! I always assumed the term "escalator" came from the French verb "escalader" ("to climb") as it makes quite a bit of sense ! Also fun little fact: here in Belgium, the only wooden escalators remaining are in the St Anna pedestrian tunnel in Antwerp, they're preserved as far as I know.

[@barvdw]

Doesn't the Horta Gallery, an access for Brussels Central station, have a wooden escalator as well, or am I remembering incorrectly?

[@imaginox9]

@@barvdw The sides of the escalator look like they're made out of wood but I'm pretty sure it's just for the looks and not actual wood (I might check by myself just to be sure it is or isn't wood), and the steps are the regular metal steps

[@tonyboloni64]

I had to sit down due to the escalating level of excitement.

[@Derek_S]

My eldest brother was an engineer for Otis Elevators his whole working life. When he first started there in the 1950's, it was called Waygood Otis Elevators. Apparently, they dropped the Waygood part of the name soon after. He worked on the London Underground escalators for many years.

[@caw25sha]

I remember the "stand on both sides at Holborn" thing. Most people ignored it.

[@highpath4776]

it apparently works faster to carry people standing

[@niek024]

@@highpath4776 But I feel weird standing still on stairs. I tried it at home once, and I did not like it.

[@hairyairey]

@@highpath4776 Faster to what though? There are only so many barriers and as we haven't found a way to humanely dispose of those who only reach for their Oyster or payment card when stood directly in front of said barrier there is a limit to how many people can exit at once.

[@kittymervine6115]

those posters are a safety feature! As someone a bit nervous on escalators, I enjoy the posters to look at but also, it helps stop accidents, as it reminds your brain that you are ON AN INCLINE, and don't lean the wrong way. A badly designed escalator can mess with human brains and cause anxiety.

[@RogersRamblings]

The main cause of the King's Cross fire was a lack of cleaning resulting from budget cuts.

[@fredturner6535]

And no training of staff of how to use the water fog a manual sprinkler system that was installed in the escalator

[@thomasburke2683]

One good thing that happened due to the tragedy, was the prohibition of smoking in the underground.

[@RogersRamblings]

@@thomasburke2683 There are many who would disagree that was a good thing. The majority of cars in every train were non-smoking.

[@iankemp1131]

@@RogersRamblings But it only takes one dropped match or discarded cigarette ... And it's rather like pubs and restaurants, the sheer pleasure of coming home not having one's clothes and hair smelling of stale smoke.

[@RogersRamblings]

@@iankemp1131 If proper cleaning is carried out a dropped match is of no consequence. It was quite easy to avoid the smokers by travelling in a non-smoking car which were in the majority on most trains. I was train crew for nearly eight years before the ban and I didn't go home smelling of tobacco smoke.

[@jeremypreece870]

What an up lifting video this one is. BTW the joke about "what was the name of his other leg" probably pre dates wooden escalators

[@johnkneeshaw9732]

The 'spiral' escalator was, of course, helical. If you got on a spiral escalator you would ascend (or descend) in ever decreasing circles until you disappeared into your own A... station on the Piccadilly line.

[@foamer443]

Hmm, there should be a good tie-in to Hitchikers or Who but I can't quite see it yet. I'll just have to keep an eye open for a towel or a scarf.

[@jameswilliamson4508]

Another great video! Minor detail: Holloway actually has two lifts next to one another today (although one is frequently out of commission. The shaft for the spiral escalator is in a different location - if you walk down the spiral stairs and look to the right before heading on down the short straight staircase you'll see an access door - the shaft for the spiral escalator is behind there.

[@stuartmilerosborne]

The escalators at Greenford were unusual as you mentioned as they only went up to the CL platforms . I am not sure why as the station was pretty new . Another interesting fact is that just opposite the facility is a closed off subway that I would imagine served the now closed GWR station ....My wife's Grandfarher used to work there in the 1960s which added to my interest. I also worked in the station newsagents for a short while and sold the magazine Jackie to my future wife each week long before we got together. ...

[@cargy930]

I take it no other girl got a Look-In. :D

[@MichaelWillis]

On good form today with some delightful humour! Enjoyable as ever.

[@daveconyard8946]

Thanks Jago I Just met my self going up the down stairs no wonder everyone was looking at me ? Keep safe

[@johnm2012]

Otis's head office in the UK was in Winnersh, which an area of Reading. Another elevator manufacturer is Schindler, as in Schindler's Lifts.

[@roamingcurious6730]

This reminded me of my early schooldays long long ago, when there were no obstacles placed in the central space between the up and down escalators. Or maybe it was only in some stations, can't remember exactly. Anyway, we kids had lots of fun sliding down the middle aisle - he who slid farthest won the game. Amazingly there were never any broken bones...

[@josephturner4047]

I actually saw someone doing this maybe in the 70's. Didn't live in London but crossed it from time to time. I remember when seeing the obstructions and thinking, aha! Spoilsports.

[@stepheneyles2198]

@@josephturner4047 Health and Safety ruins another British pastime!!

[@worldcomicsreview354]

They ought to just install slides. Maybe have a turnstile at the top that locks for a few seconds to give the previous person time to get to the bottom and out of the way... hopefully.

[@eekee6034]

I don't recall doing that or seeing it done, but I do recall being disappointed when I first saw the instructions. XD

[@baystated]

My knowledge: elevated. This vid: LIKE.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I remember being surprised to find wooden escalators on the Underground when I visited in 1986, about a year before the King's Cross fire.

[@martinh4982]

I remember those strange public safety videos with a wellington boot being crushed on an escalator. Still makes me wary of them to this day.

[@patrickjmorgan]

Good history lesson and as tomorrow after 50 years, I retire from the lift and escalator industry, I learned a lot from this KZbin vid and refreshed my memory with some of the discussions. Fwiw, I was working as a supervisor for Otis the morning after Kings Cross fire and the press were calling us for a statement or snippets. The fact was that we did not and had not been contracted by LT for years in that service as they had their own direct crews working on the systems. I have my own ideas as to what happened. What I’d not realised is that the matter hadn’t been published. I wonder why or what it discovered ?

[@KarlBunker]

I'm kinda old, and in my youth I lived near an elevated train station in Boston (US) that had an escalator with inclined wooden cleats for steps. I remember it made a distinctive "clip-clop" sound, and it was only wide enough for one person on each step. It was obviously ancient -- I don't think any other station on the transit system still had an escalator like it -- but it worked okay.

[@highvoltageswitcher6256]

Seems that this very British institution of the Underground has a lot of American influence. Especially around the turn of the 19th century.

[@delurkor]

You would not be trying to Yerke someones chain by chance?

[@highvoltageswitcher6256]

@@delurkor no, unless you mean Charles Tyson…? In that case 👍😉

[@jgodfrey546]

An interesting look at the ups & downs of escalators..

[@lawrencelewis2592]

There was a wooden escalator here in Toronto until about 10 years ago but was in an old department store, not in the subway. I was in London when the experiment of not walking up the escalator was tried. People did what they did anyway but they did take away the "stand right, walk left" signs.

[@peterjohncooper]

Not afraid of an old gag, Jago. Well done, again.

[@sarahlouise7163]

having trapped and in my panic, torn free, my long summer dress on the escalator at st. paul’s once, i dread to think of the accidents involving those heavy, cumbersome gowns the ladies used to wear i lived that dress

[@sarahlouise7163]

* loved that dress ☹️

[@richardcrossley5581]

Here in Hong Kong, not only do they transport people inside buildings, say from trains to shopping malls, but are a form of transport in themselves. The most well known is the Central to MId-Levels Escalator which takes travellers from lower "Central", "Downtown" perhaps, area of Hong Kong to the Mid Levels residential area about halfway up The Peak, passing bars and restaurants along the way. At the Central end, they connect to the Central Elevated Walkways, something you would recognise as "Pedways", yes seen the video. Happy New Year

[@roberthuron9160]

An American aside- the main plant of Otis Elevators was in Yonkers,New York,on the Hudson Line[ formerly,the New York Central mainline],out of Grand Central Terminal! A suggestion,Jago,since we are talking about the technology of the Tube,how about a dissertation on the various third rail systems,still in use?? Both Chicago and Boston,have an exposed third rail system,versus the NYC,covered third rail,also used by the Long Island,and the under-running third,used by the old NYC,and the Berlin subway/ S-bahn,for examples! Thank you for a trip far afield,yet close to the heart of the Underground 🚇! Thank you,😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

[@JasperJanssen]

On the one hand, my preservation heart wants the wooden escalators conserved - but after the King’s Cross fire even I can’t maintain that.

[@kingoliever1]

Sounds like you just need to clean them and when there is anyway a sprinkler should be fine.

[@stephenpegum9776]

Another really fascinating tale Mr H - cheers ! As someone who's lived in London since 1977, I've used Tube escalators probably as often as I've had hot meals, but until watching this I'd never given much thought to their origins, although I did know about Bumper Harris at Earl's Court.

[@robbiewales3007]

I understand that from the 1960s, the UK started using a invention called the travOlator or travelator, a escalator without steps. The travelators in the subways became a hit that they installed some at Bank Station. However the inclined travelators at Bank Station are pretty steep

[@Aarontlondon]

I lived in Holborn in 2015 during that escalator trial… it was bizarre, that’s for sure! 😂

[@AcornElectron]

Always interesting and informative. Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

[@roxannepearls901]

Your pronunciation of Lehigh was spot on

[@scottn7cy]

When I hear that train coming I hang my head and cry.

[@TadeuszCantwell]

When I was in London as a fresh faced youth in times of yore I annoyed many people by ignoring the stand on the right etiquette and I think I mentioned something to a flatmate and got lecture on how I was doing it wrong.

[@caw25sha]

Only a lecture? You got off very lightly. The statutory punishment is ten years hard labour without parole.

[@cargy930]

@@caw25sha Indeed, most people have no idea that the escalators are actually powered by people who failed to stand on the right, who now endlessly walk a giant hamster wheel beneath the machine.

[@bentilbury2002]

@@cargy930 Dammit! You made me spray prawn cracker all over myself! 🤣🤣

[@kevinmartin2516]

It is the worst crime you can commit in London!

[@adamcrofts58]

Thanks again Jago, very interesting. I have to admit I am not a fan of escalators myself, for some reason I always seem to wrong foot myself when getting off them. As for standing on both sides that just silly what if you are in a rush? It's the same with geared lawn mowers, who ever set the speed on those things, are, to say the least not in a hurry to mow lawns.

[@herbertgearing1702]

I'm not sure if many of my countrymen here in the states would follow your sense of humor but I laughed my way to subscription sir. Well done. I've always wondered why in the cramped busy stations that have two sets of escalators on each side, they didn't make one set up and one down. In the ones I've seen it's always one of each unless there is another level below. It seems like the foot traffic would move more smoothly but I'm sure there is some practical reason that escapes my casual observation.

[@nigeldewallens1115]

I remember the old wooden ones! they used to have a lovely sound! Then when I lived down in Penzance in the seventies! They had a store! Which said Come and ride the Escalator! The street had long ques for folks to do just that! they had not been to London ;)

[@mikecawood]

Quite fascinating about escalators.

[@stuartcastle2814]

Regarding standing on both sides of the escalator, there was apparently a sound theory behind TFL wanting to stop people walking on the escalator. According to a friend whose job involves modelling pedestrian movements, they've long considered restrictions like being required to stand on escalators as being a good thing in building design because it helps predict potential traffic flows, and can help reduce bottlenecks. In short you *know* roughly how fast people will travel around the station, and you can use that knowledge to design the station to minimise traffic bottlenecks. This is why, I believe, the signposted routes around stations aren't always the most direct routes.

[@amitbasu8159]

I've always thought that the problem with the experiment to have everyone stand on both the left and right hand sides of the escalator was that they chose the wrong site at Holborn as it is an intersection of the Central and Piccadilly lines, the latter meaning that it carries people who may be in a hurry to catch the tube to Heathrow or King's Cross as well as people who wish to leave the station or are not in a hurry to board their train. Had they tried it at a station with no intersection, and particularly not the Piccadilly Line, the experiment may well have worked. Anyway, thank you for another enjoyable video.

[@SuburbanDon]

I remember being there in 1971 and saw wooden steps in the Tube.

[@MasterOfTheLemons]

The comedy in these videos just keeps getting funnier and more frequent. Love your style of presentation, keep it up!

[@helenejampierremarsh1896]

The Angell escalator is quite freaky actually. Thank you for this. I did not know the reasonning behind ' stand on the right'. Funny enough in some stations past the escalator they say ' walk on the left' :)

[@naurrr]

hi I am an uninformed American but I love the channel, can somebody explain the station station station joke to me please 😂 it's been funny to see previous videos mention developers of Chicago's rail lines as I grew up taking the CTA and the Brown Line, being the oldest route on the L trains, has a number of quirks due to the city being smaller at the time it was built, if you did a video about it that would be super interesting.

[@watson956]

The new station is located near to Battersea Power Station, so in effect the tube station itself must be "Battersea Power Station station". The joke kind of takes off from there :)

[@johnplampin7274]

Green line is older than the brown line.

[@arthurvasey]

You know how to start saying “station”, but you don’t know how to stop saying it - think “banananananananananananana” or the former superstore “Debenhamanamanamanamanamanams!”.

[@richardcrossley5581]

Escalators, such a wonderful invention. The etiquette in Hong Kong is the same as London, stand on the right, walk on the left. If you stop on left, will be informed of your poor decision. Etiquette in the PRC is, everybody stands, 2 abreast on each step, but I guess that is the volume of people.

[@bruce8443]

Thanks for doing the research. It was interesting to learn about.

[@GeorgeChoy]

I love the old wooden escalators.

[@gedbyrne8482]

5:58 I don’t know why but I still get a bit excited seeing the police box outside Earl’s Court. Will there ever be a Police Box video?

[@davidholmes2283]

It won't be there, it will be at another time and dimension in space.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Although maybe if there is a video on the topic, that nice man with the brown coat and the converse would like to contribute...

[@oldschool1993]

In Tacoma, Wa USA back in the early 60's they installed escalators ( they were not stairs, but just inclined ramps like the people movers in airports) out doors between the streets. Downtown Tacoma is hilly like San Francisco and downtown shopping was struggling against the newly built Tacoma Mall and they hoped that making it easier to move from one street level to another would keep people shopping downtown. Alas, malls were the thing of the future and the effort did not save downtown.

[@Satters]

i saw one recently in a two storey supermarket to enable shopping trollies to be moved

[@foamer443]

Well you do have a truck named after the town.

[@oldschool1993]

@@foamer443 Yes, the Port of Tacoma was the main import point for Toyota trucks and they had a huge yard there where they added certain options. Toyota decided to name the trucks after the city.

[@barbaralamson7450]

Always an enjoyable journey. Thank you for taking the time to share it.

[@zebedep]

Really interesting and informative video, thanks.