Stepping onto an escalator is an act of faith. From time to time you see people poised at the top, advised by instinct not to launch themselves onto the river of treads. Riding the moving stairs is an adventure for the toddling young and a challenge to the tottering old. Natural hesitancy puts a limit on throughput. London Underground escalators carry passengers at a top speed of 145 feet per minute - close to the maximum allowed under the British Standard specification. There is little temptation to run the machines faster, as trials show that above 160 feet per minute so many people pause timidly that fewer are carried. In the early days they had to be persuaded to get on at all. A one-legged man, 'Bumper' Harris, was hired to ride for a whole day on the first installation - it was at Earls Court - to show how easy it was. Some people were sceptical (how had he lost his leg?) but others broke their journey there just to ride up and down.

LRB 7 March 2002 | PDF Download