Escalators:
30 degree incline is standard
Escalators
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An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transporting people, consisting of
individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, which keep the treads
horizontal.
As a power-driven, continuous moving stairway designed to transport passengers up
and down short vertical distances, escalators are used around the world to move
pedestrian traffic in places where elevators would be impractical.
Principal areas of usage include department stores, shopping malls, airports, transit
systems, convention centers, hotels, and public buildings.
Escalators
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The benefits of escalators are many. They have the capacity to move large numbers
of people, and they can be placed in the same physical space as one might install a
staircase. They have no waiting interval (except during very heavy traffic), they can
be used to guide people toward main exits or special exhibits, and they may be
weather-proofed for outdoor use.
As recently as 2004, it was estimated that the United States had more than 30,000
escalators, and that 90 billion riders traveled on escalators each year.[1]
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Escalators are one of the largest, most expensive machines people use on a regular basis, but
also one of the simplest.
Escalators are one of the largest, most expensive machines people
use on a regular basis, but they're also one of the simplest.
At its most basic level, an escalator is just a simple variation on the
conveyer belt. A pair of rotating chain loops pull a series of stairs in a
constant cycle, moving a lot of people a short distance at a good speed.
how escalators work
• Each step in the escalator has two sets of
wheels, which roll along two separate
tracks. The upper set (the wheels near the
top of the step) are connected to the
rotating chains, and so are pulled by the
drive gear at the top of the escalator. The
other set of wheels simply glides along its
track, following behind the first set.
• The tracks are spaced apart in such a
way that each step will always remain
level. At the top and bottom of the
escalator, the tracks level off to a
horizontal position, flattening the stairway.
Each step has a series of grooves in it, so
it will fit together with the steps behind it
and in front of it during this flattening.
individual steps
handrails
• In addition to rotating the main chain
loops, the electric motor in an escalator
also moves the handrails. A handrail is
simply a rubber conveyer belt that is
looped around a series of wheels. This
belt is precisely configured so that it
moves at exactly the same speed as the
steps, to give riders some stability.
escalator speed
• Escalator speeds vary from about 90 feet
per minute to 180 feet per minute (27 to 55
meters per minute). An escalator moving
145 feet (44 m) per minute can carry more
than 10,000 people an hour -- many more
people than a standard elevator.
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Did your old house come "in the mail"? Between 1906 and 1940, thousands
of North American homes were built according to plans sold by mail order
companies such as Sears and Montgomery Wards.
Often the entire mail order house (in the form of labeled timbers) came via
freight train.
Other times, builders used local materials to construct homes according to
the mail order catalog house plans.
Catalog house plans by Sears, Montgomery Wards, Aladdin, and other
companies were widely distributed in the United States and Canada.
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How do you find Sears houses? It's not easy. Start your search with a reference work,
such as "Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company," or
Dover Publishing's reprint of the 1926 Sears Modern Homes catalogue.
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Study front porches and roof lines. Original front porches can have several easyto-spot clues. Look at the stick-work on the front porch columns and the interesting
millwork on the 3-part front porch columns.
Note the small block of wood, centered on the front porch roof's trim. The roof line of
the Sunbeam and Windsor extends much further on the front of the house than the
back.
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‘The Sunbeam’ catalog house.
Note the interesting millwork on the porch of this Sunbeam house in the catalog picture
catalog houses
• Sears Catalogue Homes - Between 1908
and 1940, Sears customers ordered over
75,000 houses from Sears Roebuck and
Company mail-order catalogs. Prices for
these build-it-yourself kit houses ranged
from $600 to $6000.
• The customer selected a house design
from the Sears Modern Homes catalog.
They received a bill of materials list and
full blueprints. A few weeks after the order
was placed, two boxcars containing
approximately 30,000 pieces of house
would arrive at the nearest train depot.
• A 75-page instruction book told
homeowners how to assemble those
pieces. The best way to identify a Sears
home is to obtain a copy of the original
Houses By Mail catalogue.
Millwork:
casework, cabinetry, moldings, veneer
molding: shaped pieces (usually made of
wood) used as trim