Handrail inlet switches Escalators— located at the bottom and top of the unit. These sensors guard the opening where the handrail enters and exits the escalator. If something gets caught between the handrail and the opening, a hard fault is generated in the controller and the escalator shuts down.
Skirt brush — a long continuous brush made of stiff bristles runs up the sides of the escalator just above the step level. This helps keep loose garments and curious hands away from the dangerous gap between the moving stairs and the side panel.
Raised edges — the sides of the steps are raised slightly to discourage standing too close to the edge.
Flat steps — the first two or three steps at either end of the escalator are flat, like a moving walkway. This gives the passenger extra time to orient him/herself when boarding, and more level time to maintain balance when exiting. Longer escalators, especially those used to enter a subterranean metro station, often have four or more flat steps.
Antislide devices — Escalators these are raised circular objects that often stud the escalator balustrade. They are sometimes informally called "hockey pucks" due to their appearance. Their purpose is to prevent objects (and people) from precipitously sliding down the otherwise smooth metallic surface.
Emergency Stop button — At each end of the escalator (in the London Underground also on the balustrade), a large red button can be pressed to stop the escalator. A transparent plastic guardplate (usually alarmed) often covers the button, to avoid the button being pressed accidentally, or for fun by children and casual vandals. Restarting requires turning a key.
Safety instructions — posted on the balustrades at either end. Formerly, the only warning usually given was "PLEASE HOLD HANDRAIL" or some variation thereof (and, in models that used now-rare smooth step risers, had such a message right on the step face). Now, a series of instructions are given (see below) Escalators.

[edit] Safety tips
While some escalator accidents are caused by a mechanical failure, most can be avoided by following some simple safety precautions.

Hold the handrail Escalators
Do not use the escalator when transporting any large package or when pushing a device with wheels (moving sidewalks and ramps usually excepted — look for signs). This includes: baby strollers, baggage carts, hand trucks, or shopping carts. Also, the escalator should not be used by someone with a walker or on crutches.
Check for loose garments. These may include: long dresses, scarves, trench coats, or loose belts. Also, loose shoelaces are particularly notorious for getting caught in escalator machinery, so make sure that shoes are tied.
Keep footwear away from the side panels — especially shoes with traction.
Children under the age of 7 should be accompanied by an adult when riding.
Do not ride barefoot.
Face forward.
Carry dogs up or down (or use the elevator).
Keep walking after exiting the escalator to prevent a pile-up.
Stand to one side of the escalator to allow others to pass you Escalators.

[edit] Longest escalators and systems

A long escalator in the Rosslyn Station, a part of the Washington Metro.In Hong Kong, tens of thousands of commuters travel each work day between Central, the central business district, and the Mid-levels, a residential district hundreds of feet uphill, using a long distance system of escalators and moving sidewalks called the Central-Mid-Levels escalator. It is the world's longest outdoor escalator system (not a single escalator span), at a total length of 800 m. It goes only one way at a time; the direction reverses depending on rush hour traffic direction. The Ocean Park in Hong Kong also has a long escalator system connecting two parts of the Park, with an overall length of 224 m (745ft). In the Times Square shopping centre in Causeway Bay there is a bank of four spiral escalators, Escalators each of which turns through about 180 degrees — by necessity, the undersides of these escalators are thicker as the step return mechanism needs to be more complex than on a straight escalator.

The longest single span uninterrupted escalator in the Western Hemisphere is at the Wheaton station of the Washington Metro subway system. It is 70 m (230ft) long, and takes almost 2 minutes and 45 seconds to ascend or descend without walking. Four of the five longest escalators in the Escalators Western Hemisphere are in the Washington Metro system (the fifth is at Porter Square station in Boston) including what was formerly the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere, located at the Bethesda station (213ft 10in), and also those at Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan (204ft) and Medical Center (202ft 6in) Escalators.

The metro systems in several cities in Eastern Europe (including St. Petersburg, Kiev and Prague) have Soviet-era escalators up to approximately 100 m (330ft) long. Those at the Náměstí Míru station in Prague were rebuilt to the same length in 1998–9 by ThyssenKrupp. The longest in the famously deep Moscow Metro is the Park Pobedy station. Opened in 2003, these escalators are 126 m long and take nearly three minutes to transit, making them the longest single-section escalators in Europe.

The longest escalator on the London Escalators Underground system is at Angel station with a length of 60m, and a vertical rise of 27.5m.

The longest freestanding escalator in the world is inside a huge atrium at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It rises 8 stories and is 205 ft (62 m) long. Originally built as the entrance to the Krofft-themed indoor amusement park The World of Sid and Marty Krofft, the escalator is now used for CNN studio tours Escalators.


[edit] Science Fiction
The concept of a megalopolis based on high-speed walkways is common in science fiction. The first work set in such a location is When The Sleeper Wakes (1899) written by H. G. Wells (also republished as The Sleeper Awakes), and takes place in London around the year 2100. Escalators Later The Roads Must Roll (1940), written by Robert A. Heinlein, depicts the risk of a transportation strike in a society based on similar speed sidewalks. The novel is part of the Future History saga, and takes place in 1976. Isaac Asimov, in the novel The Caves of Steel (1954) and its sequels, uses similar enormous underground megalopolies with a similar sidewalk system as a background for the early adventure of Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, first heroes of The Foundation Series. The period described Escalators is about the year 3000.

The supposed transportation system is a massive network of parallel moving belts, the inner ones quicker. Screen and windblowers protect the passenger, chairs and even mall centre are realized on the belt. In the Heinlein work the fast lane run at 180 km/h, and the first "mechanical road" was built in 1960 between Cincinnati and Cleveland. The relative speed of two adjacent belts is up to 20km/h (in the book the fast lane stops, and the second lane run at 160km/h), far too much for a realistic system. In the Wells and Asimov works there are more steps in the speed scale and the speeds are less extreme.


[edit] Etymology
Escalator was originally a combination Escalators of the word 'scala', which is Latin for steps, and the word 'elevator', which had already been invented. The verb form of the word is (to) escalate and is commonly applied to the use of increased force in warfare.

The word Escalator started out as a trademark of the Otis Elevator Company. Otis, however, failed to police its usage sufficiently, so escalator became a generic term in 1950. But until then, other manufacturers had to market their escalators under different names. The Peelle Company called theirs a Motorstair Escalators, and Westinghouse called their model an Electric Stairway. The Haughton Elevator company (now part of Schindler Group) referred to their product as simply Moving Stairs.