richardj@library.tmc.edu wrote:
> We went to Atlanta this weekend to visit the loinfruit et al. Friday
> we went downtown and played tourist, checking out Underground and
> doing the CNN tour.
>
> We hadn't been to Underground in eons; unfortunately, it's just as
> pointless now as it was then. The CNN tour, on the other hand, was
fun
> and entertaining, albeit somewhat short.
>
> The building called "CNN Center" was built in the early 1970s,
several
> years before CNN got off the ground. At the time it was called the
> Omni Center, so named for the Omni Hotel and the Omni Arena, which
the
> Center connected. When I first visited Atlanta in 1977 or thereabouts
> Omni Center still functioned as a mall / office complex, although the
> indoor amusement park had already vanished by that time.
>
> The tour starts with a trip up CNN Center's atrium escalator, which,
> we found out, is the tallest freestanding escalator in North America.
> It's 180 feet long and 98 feet tall, which we calculated was
something
> like eight stories high. Somewhat dizzying if you turn around and
look
> at where you've come from!
>
> If you're ever in downtown Atlanta and have a couple hours of
freetime
> it's a great place to spend it.
>
> rpj

From:	Joe Fineman
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 14:39:17 GMT

coren@panix.com (Robert S. Coren) writes:

> The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
> believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
> escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise
> it takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be
> vertigo-inducing.

Adding to its impressiveness is that it has four parallel moving
stairways (which occasionally are all working at once), in addition to
the stationary ones on the sides.

It is odd that it does not scare me, tho I am a steadily worsening
acrophobe.
--
--- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net

||: Love makes strange bedfellows. :||

From:	Robert S. Coren
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	21 Jan 2005 10:50:14 -0500

In article , Joe Fineman wrote:
>coren@panix.com (Robert S. Coren) writes:
>
>> The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
>> believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
>> escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise
>> it takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be
>> vertigo-inducing.
>
>Adding to its impressiveness is that it has four parallel moving
>stairways (which occasionally are all working at once), in addition to
>the stationary ones on the sides.

Three, actually. And on the way down the southeasternmost one you can
be amused by the bronze gloves on the shelf between the railings.

>It is odd that it does not scare me, tho I am a steadily worsening
>acrophobe.

I think the fact that they've put artwork on panels hanging from the
ceiling, thereby directing the passenegers' eyes upward, is a big
help.
--
---Robert Coren (coren@panix.com)------------------------------------
"I'm not as dainty as AnnB." --Gwengolyn

From:	Arne Adolfsen
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Thu, 20 Jan 2005 08:00:28 GMT

chris forwarded:

> richard wrote:
> > We went to Atlanta this weekend to visit the loinfruit et al. Friday
> > we went downtown and played tourist, checking out Underground and
> > doing the CNN tour.

[...]

> > The tour starts with a trip up CNN Center's atrium escalator, which,
> > we found out, is the tallest freestanding escalator in North America.
> > It's 180 feet long and 98 feet tall, which we calculated was something
> > like eight stories high. Somewhat dizzying if you turn around and look
> > at where you've come from!

Madrid's Cuatro Caminos subway station is a horror for those with fear
of heights (which I do fear) and borderline sufferers from vertigo
(ditto). It's the junction of four separate subway lines in the
northwest of Madrid, each line's tunnel built under the other. I've
twice experienced traveling by escalator from the top tunnel to the
bottom on four several-story-tall escalators for each level, not to
mention the one bringing you underground in the first place.

Terrifying is the only word I can think for it.

Arne

From:	Robert S. Coren
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	20 Jan 2005 10:56:46 -0500

In article <41EF715E.D317EE60@earthlink.net>,
Arne Adolfsen wrote:
>chris forwarded:
>
>> richard wrote:
>> > We went to Atlanta this weekend to visit the loinfruit et al. Friday
>> > we went downtown and played tourist, checking out Underground and
>> > doing the CNN tour.
>
>[...]
>
>> > The tour starts with a trip up CNN Center's atrium escalator, which,
>> > we found out, is the tallest freestanding escalator in North America.
>> > It's 180 feet long and 98 feet tall, which we calculated was something
>> > like eight stories high. Somewhat dizzying if you turn around and look
>> > at where you've come from!
>
>Madrid's Cuatro Caminos subway station is a horror for those with fear
>of heights (which I do fear) and borderline sufferers from vertigo
>(ditto). It's the junction of four separate subway lines in the
>northwest of Madrid, each line's tunnel built under the other. I've
>twice experienced traveling by escalator from the top tunnel to the
>bottom on four several-story-tall escalators for each level, not to
>mention the one bringing you underground in the first place.
>
>Terrifying is the only word I can think for it.

The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
that station frequently).
--
---Robert Coren (coren@panix.com)------------------------------------
"The optative passive rocks!" --Jeffrey William McKeough

From:	chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:51:38 +0000

Robert S. Coren wrote:

[]
> The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
> believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
> escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
> takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
> was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
> quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
> that station frequently).

It was my local station for a year. I'm sure longer subway escalators
exist in the world, but I can't think of one I've been on that's longer
than that one.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

From:	Michael Thomas
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	20 Jan 2005 14:35:00 -0800

this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com (chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) writes:
> Robert S. Coren wrote:
>
> []
> > The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
> > believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
> > escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
> > takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
> > was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
> > quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
> > that station frequently).
>
> It was my local station for a year. I'm sure longer subway escalators
> exist in the world, but I can't think of one I've been on that's longer
> than that one.

Even than in the tube system? Some of those escalators
ought to have feature length films to keep you occupied on
your way up from bowels of hell.
--
Michael Thomas (mike@mtcc.com http://www.mtcc.com/~mike/)
E Unum Pluribus: California out of the US.

From:	chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Thu, 20 Jan 2005 23:11:19 +0000

Michael Thomas wrote:

> this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
> th' barn) writes: > Robert S. Coren wrote:
> >
> > []
> > > The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
> > > believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
> > > escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
> > > takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
> > > was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
> > > quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
> > > that station frequently).
> >
> > It was my local station for a year. I'm sure longer subway escalators
> > exist in the world, but I can't think of one I've been on that's longer
> > than that one.
>
> Even than in the tube system?

Yup. The longest in London is at Angel (which I was on only a few weeks
ago) and it doesn't seem as long. Can't confirm it though. There are
some very deep stations, but they usually either use lifts, or a series
of escalators.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

From:	Linda Yanney
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 01:06:28 +0000 (UTC)

I believe--and Wikipedia agrees--that the longest escalator in the Western
Hemisphere is Wheaton Station on the DC Metro.

Linda
--

From:	Christian Hansen
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:33:13 +0000 (UTC)

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 23:11:19 +0000, this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:

>Michael Thomas wrote:
>
>> this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
>> th' barn) writes: > Robert S. Coren wrote:
>> >
>> > []
>> > > The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
>> > > believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
>> > > escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
>> > > takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
>> > > was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
>> > > quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
>> > > that station frequently).
>> >
>> > It was my local station for a year. I'm sure longer subway escalators
>> > exist in the world, but I can't think of one I've been on that's longer
>> > than that one.
>>
>> Even than in the tube system?
>
>Yup. The longest in London is at Angel (which I was on only a few weeks
>ago) and it doesn't seem as long. Can't confirm it though. There are
>some very deep stations, but they usually either use lifts, or a series
>of escalators.

Even Angel has a set of two escalators. The deepest station is Hampstead, but
it uses lifts.

From www.e-paranoids.com/e/es/escalator.html :

An extensive system of escalators and moving sidewalks form a public transport
system in Hong Kong; see conveyor transport. This includes the
Central-Mid-Levels escalator, the world's longest escalator system (not a
single escalator span) at 800m.

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere is at the Wheaton station of
the Washington Metro subway system. It is 230ft (70m) long.

***************

A .pdf file with a picture that may give you a bit of vertigo mentions that
the longest escalator in Europe is in Prague:

http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/documents/kampagne/print_motive/fahrtreppe_en.pdf

Chris "Escalators don't seem to give me the heebie-jeebies as much as that
horrific elevator at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, where you shoot out of
a tube and up the side of the building encased in nothing but glass." Hansen
--
Chris Hansen | chrishansenhome at btinternet dot com
| http://www.hansenhome.demon.co.uk or
| http://www.livejournal.com/users/chrishansenhome/

From:	Robert S. Coren
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	21 Jan 2005 10:47:34 -0500

In article ,
Christian Hansen wrote:
>On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 23:11:19 +0000, this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com
>(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:
>
>>Michael Thomas wrote:
>>
>>> this_address_is_for_spam@yahoo.com (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
>>> th' barn) writes: > Robert S. Coren wrote:
>>> >
>>> > []
>>> > > The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
>>> > > believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
>>> > > escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
>>> > > takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
>>> > > was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
>>> > > quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
>>> > > that station frequently).
>>> >
>>> > It was my local station for a year. I'm sure longer subway escalators
>>> > exist in the world, but I can't think of one I've been on that's longer
>>> > than that one.
>>>
>>> Even than in the tube system?
>>
>>Yup. The longest in London is at Angel (which I was on only a few weeks
>>ago) and it doesn't seem as long. Can't confirm it though. There are
>>some very deep stations, but they usually either use lifts, or a series
>>of escalators.
>
>Even Angel has a set of two escalators. The deepest station is Hampstead, but
>it uses lifts.

The Porter Square station has two escalators[1] as well -- a fairly
short one between street level and turnstile level (at which there is
also an entrance to the commuter rail station) and the very long one
down to train level. Come to think of it, there's another short one
between the inbound and outbound train levels.

[1] Well, actually, six: two (up and down) between street and
turnstile; three (normally two up and one down[2], but I think the
middle one may vary depending on time of day) between turnstile and
inbound levels, and (I think) one (up only) between the two train
levels.

[2] On those rare occasions when none of the three is shut down for
maintenance.

--
---Robert Coren (coren@panix.com)------------------------------------
"It seemed unimaginable to me that adults would conceive of an entire
contraption, at once huge and respectable, whose sole function was to
make noise." --Thad Carhart [describing childhood impression of a piano]

From:	Tony P.
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:34:04 -0500

In article , coren@panix.com says...
> In article <41EF715E.D317EE60@earthlink.net>,
> Arne Adolfsen wrote:
> >chris forwarded:
> >
> >> richard wrote:
> >> > We went to Atlanta this weekend to visit the loinfruit et al. Friday
> >> > we went downtown and played tourist, checking out Underground and
> >> > doing the CNN tour.
> >
> >[...]
> >
> >> > The tour starts with a trip up CNN Center's atrium escalator, which,
> >> > we found out, is the tallest freestanding escalator in North America.
> >> > It's 180 feet long and 98 feet tall, which we calculated was something
> >> > like eight stories high. Somewhat dizzying if you turn around and look
> >> > at where you've come from!
> >
> >Madrid's Cuatro Caminos subway station is a horror for those with fear
> >of heights (which I do fear) and borderline sufferers from vertigo
> >(ditto). It's the junction of four separate subway lines in the
> >northwest of Madrid, each line's tunnel built under the other. I've
> >twice experienced traveling by escalator from the top tunnel to the
> >bottom on four several-story-tall escalators for each level, not to
> >mention the one bringing you underground in the first place.
> >
> >Terrifying is the only word I can think for it.
>
> The Porter Square station on the (Boston-area) MBTA's Red Line is (I
> believe) the deepest one in the system, and has one very long
> escalator -- I usually walk on the escalator just because otherwise it
> takes so damn long -- and looking down it can be vertigo-inducing. I
> was reminded of this yesterday, when I was there for the first time in
> quite a while (there was a period in my life in which I passed through
> that station frequently).

Yep.. that one qualifies. That and the shaky elevators in the Hancock
Tower. Those babies wobble all the way.

From:	Tony P.
Subject:	Re: Escalators
Date:	Thu, 20 Jan 2005 20:33:12 -0500

In article <41EF715E.D317EE60@earthlink.net>, adolfsen@earthlink.net
says...
> chris forwarded:
>
> > richard wrote:
> > > We went to Atlanta this weekend to visit the loinfruit et al. Friday
> > > we went downtown and played tourist, checking out Underground and
> > > doing the CNN tour.
>
> [...]
>
> > > The tour starts with a trip up CNN Center's atrium escalator, which,
> > > we found out, is the tallest freestanding escalator in North America.
> > > It's 180 feet long and 98 feet tall, which we calculated was something
> > > like eight stories high. Somewhat dizzying if you turn around and look
> > > at where you've come from!
>
> Madrid's Cuatro Caminos subway station is a horror for those with fear
> of heights (which I do fear) and borderline sufferers from vertigo
> (ditto). It's the junction of four separate subway lines in the
> northwest of Madrid, each line's tunnel built under the other. I've
> twice experienced traveling by escalator from the top tunnel to the
> bottom on four several-story-tall escalators for each level, not to
> mention the one bringing you underground in the first place.
>
> Terrifying is the only word I can think for it.

Oh I love those. The closest thing we have her in Providence are the
inter-level escalators. But no sheer drops or inclines damn it.