ABOLISHING STAIRWAYS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVIII, Issue XIII, 27 March 1897, Page 394

ABOLISHING STAIRWAYS.

The buildings of the future may have neither elevators nor stairways, as those devices are understood now, says the lowa State Register. The latest invention is an inclined elevator. It is practically a moving incline plane, running on sprocket wheels at the top and the bottom, with a hand rail moving at the same rate of speed. It is built like an ordinary stairway. The person who wants to go from a higher to a lower floor or contrariwise simply steps on the incline plane and is carried upward or downward without jarring or uncomfortable sensations of any kind. They are so constructed that it is not necessary to step off. The passenger is literally * delivered ’ without any effort on his part and without any danger of accidents. It is an application of the moveable sidewalk, which has been much discussed since the World’s Fair. It is believed with this device upper stories will be made as accessible and as agreeable as the lower stories. The incline elevators are completely under the control and are started or stopped at the pressing of a button. In buildings in which the stream of people is continuous the incline plane can be kept continually moving. In others they can be run only when needed. The device of merely pressing a button does away with the necessity for elevator men and boys. They are believed to be less dangerous than the ordinary elevator boxes which slide up and down in grooves. Whether the inclined plane could be used for twenty-storey buildings or even ten-storey buildings is another question. It would necessitate a great many changes and would consume too much time. The inclined plane is a good device to connect first and second stories or to facilitate entrance to the ele rated railways in the city.