Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'

Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'
[ Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum' ]

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End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Peter on 3/12/2024, 8:03 pm

I've just read online that the wooden escalators will no longer be used at the pedestrian tunnel and are to be replaced by lifts. It's a shame as I think they were one of the longest wooden escalators in the world at one time.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Liz Dance on 4/12/2024, 8:55 am, in reply to "End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

I could be a Health and Safety issue as I seem to recall that in 1987 at Kings Cross Station there was a fire that started under the wooden escalators but as the escalators were wooden the fire caught quite quickly.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Sheila on 4/12/2024, 9:40 am, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

Liz, I read the official report for that , the size of about three box files. You are correct about the wooden escalator and it was a discarded cigarette, that caused the rubbish underneath to catch fire. They have taken a long time to decide. The Kings Cross fire was 1987.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by John Shearer on 4/12/2024, 2:42 pm, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

I suppose the logic blame would have been a cigarette, wot else?

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Liz Dance on 4/12/2024, 4:25 pm, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

Apparently they recreated this fire twice, they thought that the cause was a discarded match that dropped through the escalator which ignited when it fell onto grease and other debris, the fire resulted in 30 plus fatalities. Living in London at the time of the fire made me very nervous when travelling on the underground.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Sheila on 4/12/2024, 5:50 pm, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

Liz in the official report after the enquiry, I’m sure the words said a discarded cigarette.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Malcolm on 4/12/2024, 6:20 pm, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

Sheila/Liz, I didn't read the full report, but I DO recall that a discarded cigarette was probably to blame as the source of ignition.
However, I recall that the major cause was the lack of scheduled maintenance, i.e. cleaning.

Below the escalator, and others found on the network, was a massive build up of grease, and other flammable rubbish, paper, etc, that had never been removed.

What they call a "ticking time-bomb".

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Liz Dance on 4/12/2024, 7:05 pm, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

Yes it would seem it was a ticking time bomb which unfortunately 30 plus people lost their lives, hopefully by removing the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel is a positive step forward, thank goodness there have been no fires or the like.

Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel

Posted by Ray Forster on 5/12/2024, 11:02 am, in reply to "Re: End of the wooden escalators at the pedestrian tunnel "

One original escalator at each end of the tunnel has been retained with the wooden treads. They are stationary and there is no access to them.
The kit to drive them is so out of date (DC drives via Mercury arc rectifiers).

Went on a field trip from Hebburn Tech and went got shown around.

The rectifiers were huge, glowed purple in the dark. They were like something out of Doctor Who.

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[ Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum' ]

Rules! No Party Politics,swearing,derogatory remarks or we will delete. Anyone sharing our content on Face Book must credit 'Hebburn and our Neighbours'.