И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

TEXT 12. 21st-CENTURY ESCALATORS

Soviet scientists and engineers in Leningrad have suc­ceeded in designing a new type of escalator to be used both in residential and public buildings. Their operation is based on the running spiral principle. What advantages will they offer?

These escalators are particularly suitable for multi-storey buildings, the escalator girdling round the lift shaft. Thus the construction of such buildings becomes simpler and less costly.
The Soviet Union was the first in the world to initiate the production of superlong escalators, up to 65 metres long. Commercially produced escalators have served as a basis for designing new models which will remain up-to-date even in the 21st century.
For example, travelators—moving pavements—have become a prototype of machines of the future. They have first appeared at the Leningrad Pulkovo Airport. A horizontal belt carries passengers, quickly and comfortably, from the platform to the air terminal. Some time later, parts of a 150m-long travelator were sent from Leningrad to Yerevan, where it was assembled on the site of a new sports and concert complex in the Armenian capital.
The Soviet engineers have begun designing a new gener­ation of travelators that move at a speed of 15 kph. They can be used in streets and on vast exhibition grounds as, for example, the VDNKh. New durable materials will allow this kind of municipal transport to operate outdoors in any weather and season.
The designers are also working to improve metro esca­lators. The performance characteristics of the latest modi­fication that has recently gone into mass production are better than previously produced models. The run between scheduled repairs has been increased by nearly 20,000 km. A wiser arrangement of the units has simplified mainte­nance and the escalator now moves more smoothly and with less noise.
Nearing completion is the designing of a two-speed es­calator. During peak hours it will run at a speed of 0.94 metres per second and slow down at off-peak periods. This will result in energy saving and longer periods between major repairs.
New machines are designed to be assembled from mod­ules. The module principle will make it possible for the escalators already in operation to be reconstructed more efficiently and also for their carrying capacity to be in­creased.