Why does the handrail on an escalator go faster than the steps?

[daan]

Well?

Sometimes its very noticeable, others less so, but its always there.

 

[TopHat]

Must be a UK thing. It doesn't work like that here.

 

[Sage]

Is this a UK thing? I’ve never noticed anything like that.

[edit]: Tree’d.

 

[daan]

I wouldn't know. Never tried them anywhere else.

I'm usually aware of having to reposition my hand as its moved further away from my body. Maybe I'm just a funny shape or something...

 

[Danoff]

I've had that happen here. I always figured it was just improperly calibrated

 

[Pako]

Isn't the hand railing larger in circumference than the steps? Depending on what drives the railing, it could cause a different speed if not calibrated correctly.

 

[wfooshee]

I walk up (or down) them rather than wait to be deposited, so I haven't really noticed a discrepancy.

 

[Loon]

This is definetly a Euro thing. Handrails on escalators here in the U.S., or at least the ones I've been on stay still. Only the steps move.

@Daan- You have to reposition your hand because it's staying where you put it and your body is moving along with the stairs. I suppose it's sort of like an illusion, your mind is being tricked.

 

[TopHat]

You must have some ass-backwards escalators then.

 

[Loon]

I'm pretty sure I'm right. Someone needs to take a trip to the mall and just put their hand on the railing but not get on the steps. I'm very confident I'm right on this.

 

[MistaX]

As I've noticed they're usually in sync with the stairs. If not in sync then the rail is slower than the stairs.
Never seen one that's faster, though.

 

[land sea air]

Daan is reading my mind....

I often notice this on escalators in the DC area Metro system and I was just pondering it today on a particularly long escalator ride

my theory is that the same motor the steps are rotating around is also somehow driving the handrail, since the handrail is running on a different circumference it moves at a slightly different speed




EDIT: oh and Daan STOP READING MY MINDS!!! :: puts on tinfoil hat::

 

[MistaX]

As I just posted in the Premium Conversation thread:

"Escalators are required to have moving handrails that keep pace with the movement of the steps. The direction of movement (up or down) can be permanently the same, or be controlled by personnel according to the time of day, or automatically be controlled by whoever arrives first, whether at the bottom or at the top (of course the system is programmed so that the direction is not reversed while a passenger is on the escalator)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator

 

[Loon]

Damn....

 

[land sea air]

upon reading the article for the Metro it seems that some of the longest escalators in the world are the ones that I use every week


kind of ironic considering what MistaX discovered about the shortest escalator in the world

 

[MistaX]

upon reading the article for the Metro it seems that some of the longest escalators in the world are the ones that I use every week


kind of ironic considering what MistaX discovered about the shortest escalator in the world

Yeah, the fact that I've been on them before. And I see them every time I go buy a video game. They aren't the shortest, but they are the shortest pair

 

[land sea air]

I actually spit water on my desk when I saw the picture in the wiki article just now.

 

[Freddie]

Yeah, the fact that I've been on them before. And I see them every time I go buy a video game. They aren't the shortest, but they are the shortest pair

Aside from you, have you actually seen anyone use them? I cannot simply comprehend how they would be of use to anyone.

And don't say old people, because then they might as well have installed walkways, which can move wheelchairs as well.

 

[Famine]

Answer: Because it's funny.

There's a guy with a handrail-speed-control-knob watching you all as you clamber aboard, and he adjusts the handrail speed in accordance with what will be the funniest reaction.

 

[MistaX]

Aside from you, have you actually seen anyone use them? I cannot simply comprehend how they would be of use to anyone.

And don't say old people, because then they might as well have installed walkways, which can move wheelchairs as well.

Of course people use them, as they're situated between the stairs. You arguably have to go out of your way to use the stairs, since the escalators are dead center to the store's entrance.

 

[Keef]

Answer: Because it's funny.

There's a guy with a handrail-speed-control-knob watching you all as you clamber aboard, and he adjusts the handrail speed in accordance with what will be the funniest reaction.

That sounds very reasonable, actually. Sage, I'd love to see the handrail zoom full speed all the sudden on a scared little kid who was hanging on for dear life. BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I could also understand that they'd speed up the hand rail during the busiest times to get people up in a hurry. Lines at escalators are not fun.

 

[daan]

Handrail going at a different speed is the least of this guy's problems.

 

[Slick Rick]

WTF happened there?!




I used an ecelator today, instead of walking up it like i normally do I just stood on it (just for you daan) and the handrail and escalator moved at the same speed. Amazing.

 

[Dougboy]

Some of you might think its a euro thing but ive noticed it on every escaladtor ive been on. Im a lazy person so i tend to lean on the rails and the rails do indeed go faster.

 

[MP]

The only times I've noticed a difference in speed is when there is some smart-ass kid yanking on the rail, causing it to suddenly move forward/backward's about 30 centimeters or so.

Do you think if someone was leaning on the rail there would be enough pressure on it to slow it down?

 

[Gashlycrumb]

New Zealand's escalators seem to have handrails out of sync with the steps. I tried standing on the one at work today with my hand on the handrail. By the time I got to the bottom my hand was ahead by about 2-3 steps. This did mean that I had to lean forward in an awkward manner and got some very strange looks.

 

[Turbo Lag]

The Melbourne escalators are never faster or slower than each other 👍

 

[UnoMOTO]

All this escalator talk makes me think of the coolest escalator that I have ever been on. At Maceys in NYC the have one made of WOOD! It's the bomb of vintage vertical transportation!

 

[djblackmon]

I've tested this theory in about 5 different places, and they are all synced for me.

@Unomoto: Of all my time living in Jersey City, and working in NYC, I have NEVER seen that, well maybe because I only went to the Macy's at Newport Mall...

 

[Famine]

All this escalator talk makes me think of the coolest escalator that I have ever been on. At Maceys in NYC the have one made of WOOD! It's the bomb of vintage vertical transportation!

They used to have them at London King's Cross underground station. One slight problem - and you'll note I said "used to"...

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