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Revision as of 15:00, 4 October 2002 by 217.158.203.2 (talk) (King's Cross fire at King's Cross station in 1987.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)An Escalator is a mechanical device; essentially a staircase whose steps move.
Charles Seeberger developed the escalator and installed the first one as an amusement ride at Coney Island New York in 1897. He joined the Otis Elevator Company and they produced the first commercial escalator which won a first prize at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle in France.
Escalators in the London Underground used to have wooden steps, but this was changed after the King's Cross fire at King's Cross station in 1987. Escalators now have metal steps in a continuous loop that move on tracks. Escalators are typically used in pairs with one set going up and another going down.
Etymology
Escalator was originally a trademark combining the words escalade (an old term for using a ladder to scale a wall) and elevator.