Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 10:15 29 Mar 2024
* Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
* Easter getaway begins with flood alerts in place
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
09:00 Gatwick Airport to Reading
09:46 Westbury to Swindon
10:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
10:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
11:05 Swindon to Westbury
11:29 Newbury to Bedwyn
11:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
12:17 Westbury to Swindon
12:52 Bedwyn to Newbury
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
06:37 Plymouth to London Paddington
07:03 London Paddington to Paignton
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
09:30 Weymouth to Gloucester
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
Delayed
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington
06:05 Penzance to London Paddington
07:10 Penzance to London Paddington
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 29, 2024, 10:30:21 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[140] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[60] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[56] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[54] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
[49] Return of the BRUTE?
[34] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1 [2] 3
  Print  
Author Topic: Interesting transport modes  (Read 15135 times)
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17865


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« Reply #15 on: December 17, 2017, 20:37:06 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
University closes rare lift 'with a heavy heart'

A rare Paternoster lift - which has no doors and moves continually without stopping at floor level - is to be removed by a university.

Installed in the Attenborough Tower of the University of Leicester in the late 1960s, the lift was one of the last in the UK (United Kingdom).

While acknowledging the device will be missed, officials said it had become too expensive to maintain.  A replacement standard lift is due to be installed by September 2018.

A petition to save the lift, which has attracted more than 2,000 signatures, described it as a "fundamental part" of Attenborough Tower, and a "piece of engineering history".

The University confirmed the news "with a heavy heart".  In a statement it said: "We have done our best to maintain and update the lift, but unfortunately it has reached the end of its working life. We've looked at a range of options and thought carefully about this, but it would be both impractical and uneconomic to attempt to fix it or replace it. Spare parts for Paternosters are no longer available and need to be manufactured each time they are needed."

Before it closed Professor Gordon Campbell, from the University, said: "There are loads of safety features, there is a cord to pull, a button to press and you can also bang on the sides. Although it looks deeply dangerous, it isn't - and of course it moves at a very sedate pace."


Quote
What is a Paternoster lift?
- Invented in the 1860s by Peter Ellis, an architect from Liverpool.
- Uses open compartments on a continuously moving loop, one side going up, the other down.
- Name comes from system's resemblance to rosary prayer beads and Latin for ''Our Father', which begins the Lord's Prayer.
- Other surviving UK examples are in the University of Sheffield Arts Tower and University of Essex Albert Sloman library.

Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Kempis
Transport Scholar
Full Member
******
Posts: 71


View Profile
« Reply #16 on: December 17, 2017, 22:05:48 »

A rare Paternoster lift - which has no doors and moves continually without stopping at floor level - is to be removed by a university.

Installed in the Attenborough Tower of the University of Leicester in the late 1960s, the lift was one of the last in the UK (United Kingdom).

While acknowledging the device will be missed, officials said it had become too expensive to maintain.  A replacement standard lift is due to be installed by September 2018.

A petition to save the lift, which has attracted more than 2,000 signatures, described it as a "fundamental part" of Attenborough Tower, and a "piece of engineering history".

The University confirmed the news "with a heavy heart".  In a statement it said: "We have done our best to maintain and update the lift, but unfortunately it has reached the end of its working life. We've looked at a range of options and thought carefully about this, but it would be both impractical and uneconomic to attempt to fix it or replace it. Spare parts for Paternosters are no longer available and need to be manufactured each time they are needed."

Before it closed Professor Gordon Campbell, from the University, said: "There are loads of safety features, there is a cord to pull, a button to press and you can also bang on the sides. Although it looks deeply dangerous, it isn't - and of course it moves at a very sedate pace."

That's sad. I remember using the Paternoster when going to Leicester for an interview. It's an efficient and elegant piece of engineering. (By coincidence, Gordon Campbell was on the interviewing panel.)
Logged
trainer
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1035


View Profile
« Reply #17 on: December 17, 2017, 22:10:01 »

We had one of those 'Our Father' machines in the Arts Tower at Sheffield University.  Don't know whether it's still there.  Great fun...and probably not allowed to be installed these days with more stringent H&S (Health and Safety) rules.  No issues with doors to open of course.  Roll Eyes
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40691



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2017, 22:23:18 »

We had one of those 'Our Father' machines in the Arts Tower at Sheffield University.  Don't know whether it's still there.  Great fun...and probably not allowed to be installed these days with more stringent H&S (Health and Safety) rules.  No issues with doors to open of course.  Roll Eyes

Rumour has it that it might be ...

Quote
What is a Paternoster lift?
- Invented in the 1860s by Peter Ellis, an architect from Liverpool.
- Uses open compartments on a continuously moving loop, one side going up, the other down.
- Name comes from system's resemblance to rosary prayer beads and Latin for ''Our Father', which begins the Lord's Prayer.
- Other surviving UK (United Kingdom) examples are in the University of Sheffield Arts Tower and University of Essex Albert Sloman library.


Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2017, 23:52:09 »

I worked in a building with a paternoster in the 80s. It had just been upgraded with trip boards as someone had an accident involving their feet being positioned over the open part of the compartment. As well as the lack of parts they have been replaced by conventional lifts as they cannot be used by people in wheelchairs or even a bit unsteady on their feet.
Logged
froome
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 901


View Profile Email
« Reply #20 on: December 18, 2017, 09:27:53 »

I also remember a paternoster lift when I went to interview for university (January 1970 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne). Interviewees were to gather in the foyer and we were met by a university staff member, who said follow me, and promptly jumped onto one of these lifts and disappeared from view. We all looked at each other very nervously, and it took a while before anyone took enough courage to follow him. We had no idea which floor we were going to, or indeed how to get off (and going through my head was what happened if we didn't get off before it got to the top). We ended up on the top floor of the building, and my main memory is of then being regaled by the same staff member who told us they had had one suicide from this floor on each of the last 3 years!

Not surprisingly I didn't get through that interview.  Angry
Logged
eightf48544
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4574


View Profile Email
« Reply #21 on: December 18, 2017, 11:12:29 »

Munich Hbf signal box had a paternoster lift in the early 60s none of the visitng party used it!
Logged
stuving
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7156


View Profile
« Reply #22 on: December 18, 2017, 11:45:26 »

I've always understood Paternoster lifts to be German thing - meaning they are commoer there than anywhere else. As to why that might be, I've no idea. Wikipedia confirms their survival there, but says that new ones were banned in 1974. I guess they've come to be seen by Germans as a defining national feature, hence to be protected for that reason alone.
Logged
Oxonhutch
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1244



View Profile
« Reply #23 on: December 18, 2017, 12:57:12 »

I guess they've come to be seen by Germans as a defining national feature, hence to be protected for that reason alone.

A bit like:-



Men in Hats - East Germany
Logged
eightf48544
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4574


View Profile Email
« Reply #24 on: December 18, 2017, 15:31:09 »

Unusual trasnport:

Isle of Man

Horse Trams https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/bus-and.../horse-trams/
Snaefell Fell tram and Manx Electric Railway Snaefell Mountain Railway | Manx Electric Railway Online
https://manxelectricrailway.co.uk/snaefell/

Laxey www.laxeyminerailway.im/ mines railway

Wales Snowdon Mountain Railway http://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/
Logged
TeaStew
Sr. Member
****
Posts: 148


View Profile Email
« Reply #25 on: December 18, 2017, 18:40:44 »

I met somebody who went to Leicester and told tales of "overriding" the paternoster despite numerous warning signs. Apparently once you go past the top floor it is completely dark as you move laterally before reappearing on the down side.
Logged
Brucey
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2260


View Profile WWW
« Reply #26 on: December 18, 2017, 18:59:13 »

I met somebody who went to Leicester and told tales of "overriding" the paternoster despite numerous warning signs. Apparently once you go past the top floor it is completely dark as you move laterally before reappearing on the down side.
There's actually quite a few YouTube videos of this:
Leicester University - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upgVoZKvP3M
Vienna City Hall - https://youtu.be/bCmGz8zgGJc?t=90 (sign says something like "get off, last floor"
Logged
martyjon
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1941


View Profile
« Reply #27 on: December 18, 2017, 19:14:53 »

Any members of this forum remember the department store in Bristols Broadmead shopping area which had one of these contraptions installed within the store. It was the Bristol Co-operative Society's Fairfax House which at some time caught fire, fire investigators apparently concluded that it started in a store room. The store itself no longer exists, The Galleries now occupying the site.
Logged
Western Pathfinder
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1528



View Profile
« Reply #28 on: December 18, 2017, 22:44:44 »

Any members of this forum remember the department store in Bristols Broadmead shopping area which had one of these contraptions installed within the store. It was the Bristol Co-operative Society's Fairfax House which at some time caught fire, fire investigators apparently concluded that it started in a store room. The store itself no longer exists, The Galleries now occupying the site.

A Local Shop for Local People.
Logged
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #29 on: December 19, 2017, 13:48:29 »

Any members of this forum remember the department store in Bristols Broadmead shopping area which had one of these contraptions installed within the store. It was the Bristol Co-operative Society's Fairfax House which at some time caught fire, fire investigators apparently concluded that it started in a store room. The store itself no longer exists, The Galleries now occupying the site.

I do! As I recall, the Paternosters were removed in the refurbishment which followed the fire.

Fairfax House was the most confusing place to navigate, largely because there was a big hole right through it, through which the access road to the car park passed. It was also much, much thinner in the middle, in almost exactly the way that brontosauruses aren't, which didn't help.
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 [2] 3
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page