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How an Escalator Works
By Joan L. James

The escalator was invented by Jesse W. Reno in 1891. Click Here to see a mechanical drawing that shows how an escalator works.

An escalator, or moving stairway, carries passengers from one level to the next. They can move up or down. Usually you will see an up and down escalator side by side. Sometimes they have a real stairway between them or nearby as an alternative.     The up and down escalators shown on the left have a stairway between them.

How to Use an Escalator

The passenger must step on the lowest stair platform, then grab the hand rail, which also moves. The passenger then stands on that stair and is carried by the escalator to the next level. At the end of the trip, the passenger's stair platform appears to level out even with the floor and the passenger must step off as the stair tread appears to disappear into the floor, letting go of the moving handrail.

Safety tips

It is a bit scary when you first try one, but I promise you won't be sucked into the floor, but don't put your hands or other objects on the stair platform.

Watch children carefully and always hold onto the moving handrail once you are on the stairway platform, just in case the escalator stops suddenly.

Most escalators have an emergency stop button at the top and bottom.

Always move away from the exit point as quickly as possible. If there are a lot of people on the stairway and someone falls at the exit point, they can be injured by the other passengers as they attempt to exit the escalator.

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