OT:The Schmid people mover

[Jethro_uk]

For Brian, it's a look at a vertical and horizontal people mover for getting people over the road. German and ingenious.

[newshound]

Isn't that clever!

[Max Demian]

I would have thought the throughput is quite limited, as there is just one car with limited capacity. All right (but expensive) for non-train travellers to cross a railway line, but what about a whole trainful of people? For able bodied people stairs and a footbridge will carry loads of people; for others supplementary lifts and even a travelator on top; for everyone, escalators.

[Tim+]

Probably really intended for wheelchair users and buggy pushers. As you say, that one has limited capacity but I suppose it wouldn?t be that hard to scale up and have a much larger lift compartment.

Tim

[jkn]

The counterweight bit reminded me of the weighted rope idea that is/was used by balloonists, to come to a gentle rest after a descent. I always thought that was very elegant

J^n

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Have they not heard of bridges and underpasses?

As we in Kingston have a Pegasus crossing which I gather is for riders of horses, so it has two boxes one at the height a rider can reach, I thought of the Tarzan crossing where you swing over on a rope. Brian

[Steve Walker]

Underpasses are expensive to build and many people don't like using them, as they are risky places.

Both underpasses and bridges require much more land area, needing steps and ramps - the latter taking a lot of space, as they cannot be too steep for a wheelchair user and each section cannot be too long - and can be difficult for many people to drag luggage up and down.

The people mover is quite a good solution, but it could be extended further, by making the cars move off horizontally at ground level as well, rather than just vertically, before rising. That would allow a double track (one above the other) and multiple cars, so reducing waits at busy times.

It would also provide some redundancy - with a failed car being quickly moved (maybe a manual winder) out of the way, other cars moved onto the same track section automatically and reverting to a single car continuing to run on the one unoccupied track.

Alternatively, as above, but with two sets of doors at each end. Allowing a failed car to remain where it is (if unoccupied), even if it is at a set of doors, and the remainder of the system to revert to single car running automatically.

The double set of doors would also speed things up at busy times, as two cars could be unloading or loading at the same time, at the same end.

[Tim+]

What?s needed is a paternoster variant! Lots of ?elevators? moving continuously in a circuit on ?up and over? tracks. ;-)

Tim

[Steve Walker]

That did cross my mind and I can see no end of fun with elderly and disabled people trying to get in and out!

[Chris Bacon]

It crossed my mind too, however, as you say, there are big problems. If you have been on the lift at Sheffield, which function[s|ed] quite well, you will know. So, something like the "expressways" from Asimov's Sci-Fi tale "The Naked Sun", perhaps of some conveyer belt system/escalator/airport-luggage carousel design, would be good.

[newshound]

And mine! There was one that I used very occasionally in the 1970's, I was never quite comfortable with the timing.

[newshound]

I think as the reviewer said that the issue was "critical mass"; if they had caught on, the cost would fall and also "regular" elevator repair guys would be able to fix them. But paired units might be more acceptable.

[Chris J Dixon]

As I have said before, we had one at Salford University, commissioned in 1967, after quite a delay whilst the fire authorities sorted out necessary precautions. The chemistry students had to be forbidden from jumping on with arms full of glassware.

The cars were only supposed to carry a maximum of two passengers. It would have been a challenge (which some no doubt accepted) to get more on and off in the time available.

The biggest problem with flow was that, since lecture times were pretty standard, everyone wanted to move at the same time. At intermediate floors it could be rather like trying to spot a gap on a busy motorway. They would no doubt have been much better in locations which had less peaky demand.

Going over the top, though frowned upon, _had_ to be done It was a little unnerving, as it got noisier and there was a bit of vibration, being near the drive motors, but not actually as hazardous as getting on and off normally. On each floor, and on the cars, there was a hinged flap. so that overhanging feet were not chopped. As the top area was solid, there was a flap which operated a trip switch, which was regularly operated.

Some wag went over the top and emerged standing on his head.

The whole block is now demolished, the space left appearing far too small ever to have contained it, (1) whilst the Sheffield Arts Tower is listed!

(1)

Chris

[Bob Eager]

I used one at Essex University (in the Library) when doing my Master's in

1973-74.

[Andy Burns]

There were several paternosters at both the uni and the poly in Leicester, other than the one in our building (James Went) being out of commission more often than working, I never had a problem using it, including going over the top.

The whole building, most of those roads and the pedestrian underpass long gone now