The Reno Circular 'Escalator'

This is another photograph of part of the Reno Circular 'Escalator, taken when it was still in place at Holloway Road.
You can get an idea from this of just how narrow it was. During the inspection, I saw no indications that side protection or handrails had ever been fitted. Along with the fact that it was never approved for public service, this serves to reinforce the view that it never carried passengers.
The two areas where wood is fitted beneath the structure in the first photograph, could be associated with a side barrier/handrail but there are a variety of reasons that suggest that this was either not the case, or that the work was not completed. If this device did operate, it probably did so only to demonstrate the open moving footway that you see.
If you go back to the description that I gave of the operation, we can now take this a stage further. Those of you who are technically minded will appreciate that there is a potential problem in the operation that I have described. If the footway swung inwards and outwards at the upper and lower points in a way that altered the radius of the curve, there was a real possibility that the whole mechanism would lock-up.
Unfortunately, only the lower part of this device survived, together with a sketch which can only be described as 'extremely imaginative', so we cannot be 100% certain how this problem was avoided. What seems likely is that Reno created eccentric spirals - the upward and downward ones of which rotated around their own axis, and each of which was off-centre in relation to the shaft and to each other. Regardless of this, the driveshaft that operated this mechanism was in a central position. This means that someone ascending would at first be in a position close to the side of the shaft, would swing away from it as they moved upwards and would then find themselves moving back towards it as they ascended further. A person descending would mirror these movements in exactly the opposite way, depending on their position in the shaft. This would allow the structure to maintain a constant curve and, although it is difficult to describe, the mechanics are reasonably simple.
Now, with passengers swinging into the shaft and back towards the wall, and with those going in the opposite direction doing the same, plus a rotating driveshaft and spindles in the centre, the whole thing must have looked like something out of a Victorian horror novel. This place cannot have been the most pleasant of environments. In addition, we should remember that there was the drop down the shaft, through the moving mechanism. There are contemporary suggestions that it was planned to enclose the escalator within walls to conceal all of this, but it appears that this was not done. If it had been installed it would certainly have created an environment that was extremely claustrophobic. It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of some passengers enclosed in such a narrow space, with no sight of where they were going to or coming from and with a lot of frightening mechanical noises coming through the wall.
When deciding whether such a device would be practical, perhaps it is worth thinking exactly how maintenance would have been carried out? There is also the matter of what would happen in the event of a breakdown. From my experience on a very short section, I can confirm that it was not the easiest of things to walk up.
Reno might be considered ahead of his time. The basis of the idea was sound, but the technology of the period was lacking. Using a wider version of his design, coupled with modern materials and electric drive, this could work well. It would also be relatively easy to convert it into a true escalator (a moving staircase) by adding double faced risers; something that Reno did not have access to.

Thanks for that link Oracle.
It looks like Figure 2 on Page I partly illustrates the eccentric axis principle that I was trying to explain.

Yes, I noticed that.
I am sure that a conspiracy theorist at some future date will use this to show that Reno built a giant three-dimensional replica of a DNA module in an unused lift shaft at Holloway Road many decades before science had identified such a structure. The potential inflammatory nature of such a discovery on society in the early 1900s, may also be used to explain why it was hidden away for so many years.

It would be wey interesting to see someone try to recreate a model, detailing its use and how it all worked... then we can get a greater idea of how it all worked... as we don't have much to go by, in the way of pictures, a little imaginative workmwill have to go into it...
I think I am right in saying that the 'steps' on this were wooden slats...

Might I second that opinion? I am dying to see a real working prototype actually being built. It sounds so hare-brained that it would be wonderful if it was. Unfortunately, would never get past HSE, mind you.

That looks ever such a steep incline... the worker on the left, he's holding on to a bolt or summat... would this have been used for a handrail to be fitted later?

That section of text just about sums it up CSLR, this thing looks amazingly scary! Only when I saw the photos in this thread did the whole horror (I can't think of another way to put it) of this invention actually come together. ATO has a good idea, in that a model of this piece of machinery would be useful, but again, I can't get away from looking at those photos - frightening stuff!

I see what you mean! It would have been a simple matter to bolt a wooden circular-section rail to the segments. As regards the upwards one, I wonder if the guy is indeed holding a metal dowl to which an internal handrail would have been bolted? That "thing" makes me shudder just looking at it. It must have made a cacophany of noise when it worked, and I just cannot see how anyone could remain upright: the angle is too steep. Phew!

So's having a wisdom tooth pulled without anaesthetic...much more fun that the "helter-skelter from hell".

So was the Sinclair C5 (the 'vehicle'..). But would you have used one (if you're old enough to remember them)?

This is a speculative illustration of what the Holloway Road contraption was expected to look like when completed.
If we note the artistic license that is apparent from the cathedral like proportions of the booking office to the basement circulating area a few feet from the platform edge, then we must also accept that other aspects of this picture are highly suspect. However, if you study the right hand picture, you will see how the offset double helices are laid out (ignore the left hand side as the artist appears to have got completely lost when trying to add sections of the proposed enclosing walls. These walls could never actually have been built in the way shown as there would have been conflict at the point where the double helices crossed. They may also have created a barrier that would have prevented the connection of the central drive mechanism that was supposed to keep the bits and pieces moving.
The artist has coveniently left out the central drive shaft and spindles, possibly to make the whole thing look more spacious and welcoming, but also because the alignment error that he has made to the left of this illustration would have their connection physically impossible.





You might like to note the man at the top who appears to be placing a suitcase or trolley in front of him. Consider the steep downhill slope ahead, the narrow moving pathway between two side barriers, the passengers trying to maintain their dignity and their balance. Now spend a few moments pondering the word 'skittles'.

Another photo:
photos.ltmcollection.org/images/max/1d/i000041d.jpg

I've just send CSLR a message on the forum, as he has been known to respond to such in the past. As his account has not been pruned for inactivity, its possible that he has been in touch with forum staff more recently than his last message would indicate - in any case its worth a try!

I guess CAD software has advanced over the past 14 years. Is anyone now able to meet the challenge of producing a model to show how this was supposed to work, for those of us less mechanically minded and unable to follow the descriptions provided.