Did you know that the first escalators were built for entertainment? Most of us take the escalator for granted since it is so common place in our daily lives. Even though the moving stairs have been present since 1893, they nonetheless pose a risk. Interestingly, over 245 million people in the United States ride an escalator every day.
And speaking of the United States, this amazing land has so many escalators that are uncountable. They are so efficient and have some of the longest escalators in the world. They are wide and have the capacity to accommodate so many passengers at the same time. Nowadays, we lead a very busy life, and we use the utmost opportunity to minimize the wastage of time. So when it comes to saving our valuable time, escalators are the heroes.
So, today I will discuss the longest escalators in the US. Below is a list of those:
1. Wheaton Station Escalator
Montgomery County’s red line’s escalators are the longest in the Western Hemisphere, measuring the length of a Boeing 747. It is a lengthy, long and winding road. Additionally, it may not seem like a long time, but think how slowly the seconds would pass as you rose to surface level from the second-deepest station in the massive Washington Metro system’s stomach.
In addition, the Wheaton Station Escalator, which is just 207 feet long and ranks sixth among Metro rail’s other escalators, is included in the 230-foot moving staircase’s illustrious company. As far as we know, no one has been murdered by this escalator, yet it does not seem to be immune to the frequent problems that afflict most escalators.
Moreover, Wheaton Station may have the Metro’s longest escalator, but it isn’t the only one.
2. Bethesda Station Escalator
When it opened in March 2017, the escalator at the Bethesda Metro Station in Maryland spanned 213 feet and climbed 106 feet. The Washington Metro’s Red Line stops in Bethesda, Maryland, at this rapid transit station. The Suburban Metro station is one of the busiest.
Additionally, ten floors high, the escalators in Bethesda are the second-longest in the Western Hemisphere, after those at Wheaton, Maryland. As Wiedefeld noted, Metro is “the largest owner of escalators in the United States and Canada” with almost 450 escalators. For a total of almost 10 hours, the new climbing escalator in Bethesda has been out of service since it opened on August 3.
On Aug. 5, a safety mechanism tripped, shutting down the escalator and forcing Metro to close the station for the first time. Moreover, only the 230-foot-long escalators at Wheaton, the world’s longest, are longer than those in Bethesda.
3. Woodley Park Escalator
The Red Line’s Woodley Park station is a subterranean stop on the Washington Metro’s subterranean network. It serves Woodley Park and Adams Morgan in Northwest Washington from its location at 24th Street and Connecticut Avenue Northwest.
Accordingly, two sets of three escalators, linked by a small corridor slightly below street level, serve as a gateway to the station’s mezzanine. Hartford Avenue and Woodley Road meet at the southwest corner of the property, and that is where the entry is. Mezzanine accessibility to the island station and fare control are provided via an elevator that links to the street level.
Elevators in Woodley Park climb 102 feet, the tallest in the District and the third-longest in the Metro rail system. More dependable units will be installed as part of Metro’s deal with KONE to rebuild 128 escalators throughout the Metro rail system.
You might also want to check out the longest tunnels in the US.
4. Medical Center Station Escalator, Washington
Shady Grove may be reached by taking the train to Medical Center, which is the last stop on the line. As one of the system’s 11 rock-tunnel stations, this station is further underground than most of the others. Its platform is 114 feet (35 meters) underneath the west doorway and more than 120 feet (37 meters) below street level.
Currently, the three escalators at the Medical Center Metro Rail station are being replaced as part of a large capital improvement project being undertaken by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Reliable and durable new escalators will be installed to replace the present ones, which have reached the end of their useful life. At this time, the contractor for Metro is replacing all 128 of the existing escalators on the Metro rail system.
5. Rosslyn Metro Escalator, Virginia
Rosslyn Metro Station’s 207-foot-long, second-longest continuous escalator is an imposing challenge for tired passengers. Rosslyn is the first stop in Virginia on the Orange and Silver Lines and the Blue Lines that go west from the District.
With four Metro rail connection sites west of the Potomac, it’s a key hub for a rapidly expanding commercial region. This is partly because of the neighborhood’s joint rail connection to Washington, D.C. runs via a rock-bored tunnel 101 feet below the surface of the Potomac River.
Forty feet below the surface, the bedrock is strong and waterproof, which is why the station was built so deep. Taking the escalator up to the mezzanine level takes around 3 minutes.
6. CNN Center escalator
CNN Studio Tours in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, built the world’s longest freestanding escalator on October 6, 2016, measuring 58.83 meters (193 feet 0.25 inches). As part of the CNN Studio Tour, visitors may ride an escalator eight stores in the air.
The escalator’s diagonal route length is used to calculate this measurement. The World of Syd and Marty Krofft, which included this escalator, was US’s first indoor amusement park. Due to high running expenses and limited attendance, the park barely lasted five months in 1976.
The park’s main entrance located at the top of this escalator-accessible level. The main levels and the three stories below housed the rides and attractions.
Learn more about the longest bridges in the US.
7. Peach-tree Center station, Georgia
In the southeast, the longest escalator servicing the central station next to the Atlanta Public Library is 190 feet. On the Red and Gold lines of the Metro Atlanta Metropolitan Transit Authority (MARTA), Peach-tree Center is an underground railway stop. At 120 feet deep, it is the MARTA rail system’s deepest stop.
8. Tenleytown–AU station, Washington, D.C
At Tenleytown–AU, a Red Line stop in Washington, DC, you may catch the Red Line to the National Mall. As the final station on the Red Line to leave the District of Columbia, it is located in the Upper Northwest neighborhood; the following stop, Friendship Heights, is located in both the District and Maryland.
Three long escalators descend to the fare control from an upper mezzanine where two entrances from each side of Wisconsin Avenue converge. In order to reach the platform, passengers must use an elevator at the eastern surface entrance, which connects to a single fee gate and ticket machine.
9. Friendship Heights Metro station, Washington
D.C.’s Friendship Heights Metro station is on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority operates the station, which opened on August 25, 1984. There are only 11 platforms in the platform designed using rock tunneling, therefore it is deeper than the majority of the others.
As a result, its north entrance is more than 100 feet lower than the platform on which it stands. A 65-foot (20-meter) elevation separates the mezzanine level from the escalator’s 130-foot (40-meter) length. It takes around a minute and a half to reach the mezzanine level from the common area at the north door.
Mostly on the Maryland section of Western Avenue, two of its five exits are located, while the other three are located in the District of Columbia. Four different street entrances meet in an upper mezzanine at the Western Avenue entry, enabling passengers to use a series of three escalators that lead to the platform.
10. Grand Central Terminal Station
It opened its doors on February 2, 1913, and is one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks. Throughout its illustrious past, the country has shown not just incredible riches and technological prowess, but also incredible resilience and rebirth.
The escalator is 180 feet in length and has 91 feet of elevation change. On August 31, 2020, Grand Central Station’s 42 St walkway and subterranean mezzanine escalators opened to the public for the first time.
If you live in the US, then make sure to visit these amazing escalators. Keep that in mind to take care of these assets of society. The escalators have been a great help to old and handicapped people. On the other hand, for normal people, a great savior of time!