Escalators are moving staircases that transport people between floors using a motor-driven chain of connected steps. Nathan Ames invented the first escalator in the 1860s, but was unable to build it. Reno and Otis emerged as the leading developers of escalators in the early 1900s, with Otis installing the first practical escalators in New York City and Paris. Otis went on to become the sole manufacturer of escalators, installing hundreds between 1900-1920 primarily in stores and transportation hubs. Modern escalators consist of steps, tracks, trusses and handrails to safely move people in an endless loop. Future escalators may be spiral to reduce space usage.

1. ESCALATORS.
BY: IRENE JEREZ LÓPEZ 1BACH B.

2. INFORMATION.
 An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport
device for carrying people between floors of a building. The
device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked
steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step
treads to remain horizontal.
 Escalators are used around the world ,the principal areas of
usage include department stores, shopping malls, airports...

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zirp59zm1qE

4. HISTORY.
Nathan Ames invented something he called Revolving Stairs,
recognise as the world’s first escalator. But Ames was unable to
put the invention into practical use; he died in 1860, and in fact
the thing was never built.

5.  Reno and Otis would emerge as
the two driving forces behind
escalator development.
 Reno and Otis would emerge as
the two driving forces behind
escalator development. In 1900
Reno , and succeeded in the
practical installation of cleat-type
moving stairway in an elevated
station in New York City. In that
same year the Otis Company
exhibited a step-type moving
stairway at the Paris Exposition,
and later brought them back to
the US and installed them in a
department store in Philadelphia.

6.  In 1911, Otis absorbed Reno and became the sole manufacturer.
The company sold both step-type and cleat-type escalators and
between 1900 and 1920 installed some 350 units, mainly at
department stores and public transport institutions.

7. COMPONENTS.
 The truss is a hollow metal structure that bridges the lower and upper
landings. It is composed of two side sections joined together with
cross braces across the bottom and just below the top.
The track system is built into the truss to guide the step chain, which
continuously pulls the steps from the bottom platform and back to
the top in an endless loop. There are two tracks: one for the front
wheels of the steps and one for the back wheels of the steps.

8.  The steps themselves are
solid, one piece, die-cast
aluminum or steel. Yellow
demarcation lines may be
added to clearly indicate
their edges.
 The handrail provides a
convenient handhold for
passengers while they are
riding the escalator.

9. FUTURE ESCALATORS
 THE NEXT TO BE BUILT STAIRS MECHANICAL BE SPIRAL. THIS MAKES
LESS SPACE TO OCCUPY THE EXISTING ESCALATORS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qZWOyFCLfw

10. EXTERNAL LINKS
 A videoclip: escalators with transparent sides showing the
mechanism in operation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNiTbP8Vp4g
 Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "How escalators work",
Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 343–348 illustrated
description of escalators on the London Underground and their
advantages over lifts.
http://www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com/escalators.html