Passenger Life for the Eiffel Tower.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 211, 16 July 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Passenger Life for the Eiffel Tower.

The enormous height of this proposed French Exhibition Tower renders a hydraulic lift, in which passengers could perform the whole journey in one operation, quite impossible ; and a succession of shorter lifts, requiring frequent changes, would naturally be considered too cumbersome by the public who will use the tower. On the other hand, the employment of a winding engine and a lift similar to those used in mines would not be sufficiently safe, and for these reasons M. Eiflel has devised a new type of lift, in which the whole ascent can be made in one journey, while at the same time it presents absolute safety. The main idea of the lift is that of a huge screw and nut. Below the lift cage is placed a trolley, with three or more wheels running upon an equal number of rails, which ascend spirally, and thus form a screw having so many threads. The trolley will be revolved either by an electric motor or by a water engine ; but the cage will be prevented from revolving by gilted bars. Thus the passengers will not feel anything of the rotary motion of the trolley underneath ; and by selecting the screw sufficiently small, any degree of safety against a too rapid descent may be obtained.—" Glasgow Herald."