Escalators do not break down. They just morph into stairs. (Attribution: Mitch Hedburg. 1968-2005)
@neville132bbk
2 жыл бұрын
No...they go into lockstep mode.
@briannem.6787
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Sorry for the convenience.
@Lucius_Chiaraviglio
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Depending upon one's direction of travel a very uplifting story, or one that will get you down
@norryvamp
2 жыл бұрын
I like your style of humour.
@grandsoleil56
2 жыл бұрын
I used to work in the elevator industry, it had its ups and downs though
@Croz89
2 жыл бұрын
The spiral escalators will take you round and round, and hopefully they won't desert you.
@Mustafiz1972
2 жыл бұрын
From your wickedly dry sense of humour, I think you may be the man himself…
@bobwalsh3751
2 жыл бұрын
*Patrick voice* BOOOOOOO!!!!!
@Ypog_UA
2 жыл бұрын
"I assume New York never had a subway ever again" Ah, what a shame.
@tbjtbj7930
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I understand they do have sandwiches.
@lohphat
2 жыл бұрын
Well, it certainly has never been cleaned again.
@stephenlee5929
2 жыл бұрын
@@tbjtbj7930 I think there maybe turtles done there.
@Lucius_Chiaraviglio
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@rewboss
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I love your channel (especially the town-panning ones) but ever considered loosing the mullet? correction: its not a mullet
@robertwilloughby8050
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
they should fix the sign so it says "to the street" (the all caps wasn't helping either)
@rewboss
2 жыл бұрын
@@petitkruger2175 It's not a mullet. :)
@thomasburke2683
2 жыл бұрын
In Ireland we had a station called Street and Rathowen, midway between those two villages. The station closed about 1963.
@johnmurrell3175
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
The varnish that was used was button polish
@lilmizzbieber6
2 жыл бұрын
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
@shavedphil
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
A mistake also made of course by one Paddington Bear.
@ZGryphon
Жыл бұрын
@@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.
@upthebracket26
2 жыл бұрын
The content on this channel is just.... escalating in quality.
@jtsholtod.79
2 жыл бұрын
I'm inclined to give you a thumbs up for that.
@cargy930
2 жыл бұрын
Ascend you a thumbs up for that too!
@YetAnotherGeorgeth
2 жыл бұрын
That is an uplifting joke (depending on direction).
@AaronOfMpls
2 жыл бұрын
Well I'm gonna do more than just stop and stair... Nicely done!
@JanRademan
2 жыл бұрын
It did escalate quickly.
@timsully8958
2 жыл бұрын
“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! 👍🍀🍻
@mortified776
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
Actually, casting my mind back a few decades, I think there may have been wooden escalators at Town Hall station as well.
@ktipuss
2 жыл бұрын
@@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).
@rogerbond2244
2 жыл бұрын
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...
@paulabraham2550
2 жыл бұрын
It's good to see you maintaining tradition with the old Bumper Harris joke.
@hairyairey
2 жыл бұрын
Some see it as a joke, some are genuinely still wondering about the name...
@sbv-zs7wz
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Probably has a pal who'll do it for "mate's rates" (i.e., at least 5x the cost).
@maryapatterson
2 жыл бұрын
@@BroonParker That will make it about 500 billion pounds plus vat
@atraindriver
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
@@atraindriver 😂🤣🤣
@PeterT1981
2 жыл бұрын
“Lehigh”: pronounced … well, precisely as you pronounced it. Well done.
@jtsholtod.79
2 жыл бұрын
Except most Americans would take issue to the pronunciation of "patent." So you win some, you lose some.
@paulabraham2550
2 жыл бұрын
@@jtsholtod.79 They'd probably call it a "universidy" too.
@jtsholtod.79
2 жыл бұрын
@@paulabraham2550 you mean "college" (or caw-lidge)? "University" is such hoity-toity speak...
@narphizoid
2 жыл бұрын
Above the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, PA - founded by Asa Packer to provide engineers (no, not THAT kind) for his Lehigh Railroad.
@iCaveDave
2 жыл бұрын
@@jtsholtod.79 Most Americans are wrong.
@tpaul2866
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Zone 36 - love it!!
@delurkor
2 жыл бұрын
Are there cross platform transfers?
@someonebald2022
2 жыл бұрын
Even so, the climb is equivalent to 15 floors. ;) kzitem.info/news/bejne/0XiK3KGoi3mdlXo&ab_channel=GeoffMarshall
@someonebald2022
2 жыл бұрын
Tube trip to the moon, anyone? kzitem.info/news/bejne/y6t81Kp5sqp-gHY&ab_channel=GeoffMarshall
@fumthings
2 жыл бұрын
@@stepheneyles2198 so you cannot use Oyster as it is incompatible.
@dodgydruid
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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 😉
@ThomasTrue
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@AndreiTupolev
2 жыл бұрын
Well, that escalated quickly
@Peasmouldia
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, that would make an excellent video.
@millomweb
2 жыл бұрын
I've made a list of fictional characters in the TV series Doc Martin.
@ladiorange
2 жыл бұрын
Wasn't there one on the EastEnders square?
@Peasmouldia
2 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@almerindaromeira8352
2 жыл бұрын
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!!
@rogerkearns8094
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Ha, this is dastardly - I love it
@webchimp
2 жыл бұрын
And how would you feel about someone who stands in the middle with a hand on each rail?
@MarkUKInsects
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
@@JasperJanssen Sorry about your back.
@GNTel313
2 жыл бұрын
Battersea power station station station. Just had to laugh at that . Thanks Jago 🤣🤣
@hairyairey
2 жыл бұрын
Well, it was actually two power stations back to back - personally I think Battersea Power Stations Station is more correct.
@susancorvalan6765
2 жыл бұрын
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! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
@vjet
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@johnfry1011
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I miss fixed staircases at least they have flat bits you can rest on. Climbing them was a challenge, now its a chore
@arthurvasey
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
@@arthurvasey It's not just that, the escalator steps are higher and injuries on the sharp edges are common.
@tamarab5751
2 жыл бұрын
I can die happy; I've seen the Americus rail carriage both in person & on the delightful Jago channel!
@MrGreatplum
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
That was sooo bad that your coat is forfeit!
@AaronOfMpls
2 жыл бұрын
Well it certainly didn't let me down
@mcarp555
2 жыл бұрын
Very uplifting video!
@fabrisseterbrugghe8567
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I loved using them and loved the sound they made too!
@nigeldewallens1115
2 жыл бұрын
I loved using them and loved the sound they made too!
@AtoZbyLocalBus
2 жыл бұрын
I was only terrified of wooden escalators after the Kings Cross Fire. Also the last wooden escalator I remember using was at Embankment station.
@wingshad0w00982
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
They still have one on the tube in Sydney/Melbourne (can't remember which) I think.
@dlbstl
2 жыл бұрын
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.😱
@LarsDahlin
2 жыл бұрын
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!
@hythesailor
2 жыл бұрын
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!
@jacobbaer785
2 жыл бұрын
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!
@johnkneeshaw9732
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@g2macs
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Apparently the speeding up the handrail thing might be intentional, to keep passengers alert apparently. www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-2094,00.html
@tonywise198
2 жыл бұрын
Loved the mention of Johnny Cash!
@nigelturner2356
2 жыл бұрын
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!
@imaginox9
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Doesn't the Horta Gallery, an access for Brussels Central station, have a wooden escalator as well, or am I remembering incorrectly?
@imaginox9
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
@nickbarber9502
2 жыл бұрын
Holloway Rd has TWO lifts...and provision for two more...it was here that the experimental spiral thingy was tried out.
@StuartGray100
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
They are quite common in Germany in metro and railway stations. Logical idea as one would expect!
@DanielsPolitics1
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@johntyjp
2 жыл бұрын
At Piccadilly when stiletto heels were in fashion, a girl got stuck in the grooves near the top!! 😲 I can't move, she cried, we told her to step out of them quick . The shoes hit the fork bit and flew six feet in the air!!😆
@tonys1636
2 жыл бұрын
When did they go out of fashion? I think it is a generational thing.
@trickygoose2
2 жыл бұрын
They must have been a pair of court shoes as the heel got 'court' on the escalator tread.
@johntyjp
2 жыл бұрын
@@trickygoose2 very droll !🙄😆
@moaningpheromones
Жыл бұрын
And I'd just like to leave a couple of small points . . .
@RogersRamblings
2 жыл бұрын
The main cause of the King's Cross fire was a lack of cleaning resulting from budget cuts.
@fredturner6535
2 жыл бұрын
And no training of staff of how to use the water fog a manual sprinkler system that was installed in the escalator
@thomasburke2683
2 жыл бұрын
One good thing that happened due to the tragedy, was the prohibition of smoking in the underground.
@RogersRamblings
2 жыл бұрын
@@thomasburke2683 There are many who would disagree that was a good thing. The majority of cars in every train were non-smoking.
@iankemp1131
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@King_K_Rool_
2 жыл бұрын
Oooo Clapham south! Used to work there as a station assistant, absolutely loved that station!
@markbanash921
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@xander333333
2 жыл бұрын
You nailed the pronunciation of the university. Thumbs up!
@davidhugill4668
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian
2 жыл бұрын
Loved the shout out to Greenford and two of its three claims to fame. 👏👏👍😀
@tonyboloni64
2 жыл бұрын
I had to sit down due to the escalating level of excitement.
@rjds1800
Жыл бұрын
I feel uplifted by this splendid presentation
@richardavsmith
2 жыл бұрын
So glad to see that clip from the first train on the Northern line extension, it's a perfect example of escalators going wrong!
@highvoltageswitcher6256
2 жыл бұрын
Seems that this very British institution of the Underground has a lot of American influence. Especially around the turn of the 19th century.
@delurkor
2 жыл бұрын
You would not be trying to Yerke someones chain by chance?
@highvoltageswitcher6256
2 жыл бұрын
@@delurkor no, unless you mean Charles Tyson…? In that case 👍😉
@roamingcurious6730
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
@@josephturner4047 Health and Safety ruins another British pastime!!
@worldcomicsreview354
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I don't recall doing that or seeing it done, but I do recall being disappointed when I first saw the instructions. XD
@Beaula2
2 жыл бұрын
These sharp witted puns are on point.
@kittymervine6115
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@fredcarson2791
Жыл бұрын
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.
@caw25sha
2 жыл бұрын
I remember the "stand on both sides at Holborn" thing. Most people ignored it.
@highpath4776
2 жыл бұрын
it apparently works faster to carry people standing
@niek024
2 жыл бұрын
@@highpath4776 But I feel weird standing still on stairs. I tried it at home once, and I did not like it.
@hairyairey
2 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@stuartmilerosborne
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
I take it no other girl got a Look-In. :D
@jameswilliamson4508
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@baystated
2 жыл бұрын
My knowledge: elevated. This vid: LIKE.
@beachman8106
2 жыл бұрын
Quiet, dry humour from such a prosaic subject. I like it.
@lentulus01
2 жыл бұрын
At about 4:20 in that video there's a clip at a train arriving at a station where a section of platform is raised up to the otherwise absurd height of the carriage door. I have some real mobility issues, so while I can in general deal with the tube when I visit London some aspects can become a tad ... exciting shall we say? My first thought was "I must look for that next trip, which stations have that feature?" My second was "bugger that, why don't all platforms come level with the door?" My third and final thought is "Jago, could you do an episode on the history and future of accessibility and London transport?"
@carolinegreenwell9086
2 жыл бұрын
that's a Harrington Hump - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrington_Hump - I only know this from Geoff Marshall's videos
@johnmurrell3175
2 жыл бұрын
Most of the tube stations prior to the Jubilee line extension have a raised section which was added to provide level access to comply with the disability discrimination act. It was not possible to raise the whole problem due to cost and also the difficulties with the height of adits and other doors leading onto the platforms.
@atraindriver
2 жыл бұрын
@@carolinegreenwell9086 Nah. A Harrington hump is a dodgy-looking wooden thing bolted onto a flat platform, which'll flex up and down with even a bit of weight on it. They're cheap (by railway standards, so bloody expensive by anybody else's), shoddy and are mostly avoided by passengers - at least on the routes I work which have stations fitted with them - who presumably don't trust them not to collapse underfoot. LUL/TfL do the job properly and actually build a raised section of platform, which is what Network Rail should do except they're forever reducing budgets for actually doing useful things whilst (I assume) increasing budgets for bureaucrats to do bureaucratic things (all that money must be going *somewhere*).
@worldcomicsreview354
2 жыл бұрын
Meanwhile railways in Japan just have a bloke with a folding ramp who comes out to let wheelchairs on or off. But imagine such a common sense and flexible solution in the UK!
@hairyairey
2 жыл бұрын
@@worldcomicsreview354 For the London 2012 games those ramps were put into several stations - there was a campaign to keep them afterwards although I am not sure that made any more step free stations (since that was only part of the accessibility problem).
@TadeuszCantwell
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Only a lecture? You got off very lightly. The statutory punishment is ten years hard labour without parole.
@cargy930
2 жыл бұрын
@@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
2 жыл бұрын
@@cargy930 Dammit! You made me spray prawn cracker all over myself! 🤣🤣
@kevinmartin2516
2 жыл бұрын
It is the worst crime you can commit in London!
@plaws0
Жыл бұрын
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!
@jeremypreece870
2 жыл бұрын
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
@alanlittle4589
2 жыл бұрын
I always prefer to walk on escalators. I'm one of those people who get frustrated that people queue to stand, but the left hand side is free for walking and then I bound up/down wearing them out! Sorry TfL!
@johnmurrell3175
2 жыл бұрын
Never heard that walking wears them out - people standing on the right wear the step chain on the right faster so the stairs start to crab causing all sorts of problems.
@paulhaynes8045
Жыл бұрын
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...
@wayneavrili2463
2 жыл бұрын
I saw a sign saying dogs must be carried on the escalator, it took me half an hour to find one
@AcornElectron
2 жыл бұрын
Always interesting and informative. Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.
@naurrr
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
Green line is older than the brown line.
@arthurvasey
Жыл бұрын
You know how to start saying “station”, but you don’t know how to stop saying it - think “banananananananananananana” or the former superstore “Debenhamanamanamanamanamanams!”.
@TroyVan6654
2 жыл бұрын
How about this, new rule: If there's congestion on the escalator, it's OK to stand on both sides. The way to measure when this rule kicks in is this: If you're standing on the left, and there's a gap in the right lane within 2 steps, up or down, from your position, slip into that gap. If there's no space on the right, you're entitled to stay where you are.
@camberweller
2 жыл бұрын
How 'bout folks who don't want to walk up the escalator just wait another four seconds, then stand to the right in the first place and not block the way for the rest of us? (It they were in a hurry then they wouldn't be standing, would they?)
@camberweller
2 жыл бұрын
Your proposed rule basically makes "smug, slow, clueless git blocking the passing lane on a motorway" the rule for frustrating tube passengers. ;)
@TroyVan6654
2 жыл бұрын
@@camberweller The facts are, (1) only a minority of passengers want to walk on the escalator, and (2) having passengers stand on both sides boosts capacity. Because a majority of passengers want to stand, forcing them on one half of the escalator reduces throughput. It's not just one person waiting 4 seconds: the passenger behind will have wait 6 seconds, the next one behind 8 seconds, and so on. Before the crowd from this train clears up, the next train arrives, and the crowd size snowballs. In times of heavy traffic, moving the most possible amount of passengers must take priority over allowing those who want to go fast to do so. So my rule institutes both-side-standing when there's congestion, and allows for fast traffic to pass when the extra capacity is not needed.
@camberweller
2 жыл бұрын
@@TroyVan6654 - A considered and reasonable and useful reply.
@MarkyFormula1
2 жыл бұрын
@@TroyVan6654Well put. I for one would have been happy to see the rule rolled out across the network. The theory is sound. Not only would it improve flow, it'd reduce wear on the escalators and one of the other comments says that heavily laden escalators could be used to generate power!
@daveconyard8946
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Jago I Just met my self going up the down stairs no wonder everyone was looking at me ? Keep safe
@MichaelWillis
2 жыл бұрын
On good form today with some delightful humour! Enjoyable as ever.
@johnm2012
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@Derek_S
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@brian13105
Жыл бұрын
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 .
@adamcrofts58
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@bruce8443
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for doing the research. It was interesting to learn about.
@stephenpegum9776
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@peterjohncooper
2 жыл бұрын
Not afraid of an old gag, Jago. Well done, again.
@jgodfrey546
2 жыл бұрын
An interesting look at the ups & downs of escalators..
@patrickjmorgan
2 жыл бұрын
Good history lesson and as tomorrow after 50 years, I retire from the lift and escalator industry, I learned a lot from this KZitem 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 ?
@barbaralamson7450
2 жыл бұрын
Always an enjoyable journey. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
@HauntedXXXPancake
2 жыл бұрын
I'm happy to report, that the spiral escalator did in fact not die with this one attempt. Mitsubishi Electric developed one in 1985 and it has been installed in several, often upmarket Buildings - Mainly in Asia, but also the U.S.
@sarahlouise7163
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
* loved that dress ☹️
@oldschool1993
2 жыл бұрын
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
2 жыл бұрын
i saw one recently in a two storey supermarket to enable shopping trollies to be moved
@foamer443
2 жыл бұрын
Well you do have a truck named after the town.
@oldschool1993
2 жыл бұрын
@@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.
@matthew-Williams
2 жыл бұрын
This errm person who was taking an exam, and placed a couple of pencils up his nose. Did he also have a pair of pants on his head, and would occasionally go "WIBBLE" every so often.
@jerribee1
2 жыл бұрын
Yes. it was all part of a cunning plan.
@KarlBunker
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@barbaraprest783
2 жыл бұрын
You are amazing as always ☺️
@MasterOfTheLemons
2 жыл бұрын
The comedy in these videos just keeps getting funnier and more frequent. Love your style of presentation, keep it up!
@richardcrossley5581
Жыл бұрын
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.
@amitbasu8159
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@richardcrossley5581
Жыл бұрын
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
@stuartcastle2814
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@roberthuron9160
2 жыл бұрын
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,😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂
@nigeldewallens1115
2 жыл бұрын
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 ;)
@BombsGaspan
2 жыл бұрын
Very enjoyable one Jago. A lot of interesting facts to complement the history of them. I had no idea the ones at Earl's Court (which I often use) were the oldest! If I recall, that experiment of having people side-by-side was actually a success in indicating it would actually help with people flow, no? Keep up the good work as always :)
@WifeMamaArtist
2 жыл бұрын
I went flying on a escalator once (can’t remember which station), when a drunk knob head idiot thought it would be fun to press the emergency stop!! (Not for an emergency obvs.) Thankfully it was winter and I was wearing trousers, (which the metal escalator tore through easily). I dread to think how bad the scarring would uneven if id been wearing a summer dress….
@caw25sha
2 жыл бұрын
I think there is a "penalty for improper use". The penalty used to be having a group of people tutting at you for ten minutes but it was abolished as being too inhumane and a violation of human rights.
@johnmurrell3175
2 жыл бұрын
That is why the instructions are to hold the handrail. You now see lots of people looking at their phones and the are not holding the handrail and are not aware of their surrounding so are an accident waiting to happen.
@moaningpheromones
Жыл бұрын
'please hold handrail in case of emergency or drunk knobhead idiot.'
@herbertgearing1702
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@PodgyAsthmatic
2 жыл бұрын
Another uplifting video again Sir, well done and thank you.
@lawrencelewis2592
2 жыл бұрын
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.
@davidyoung5114
2 жыл бұрын
As seen in this clip, you were on an escalator that broke down. Now I'm wondering...have you ever been on an elevator that got stuck between two floors going up or down? I had that happen to me years ago, and I actually got to use the phone in the little compartment to call down to the front desk of the hotel I was staying at to let them know that myself and another person were stuck between two floors! It took about 20 minutes until someone fixed it, and I'm glad that neither one of us were claustrophobic!
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