The Montpelier Train Depot Failure

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:48 pm

But it is displayed! It just is not operational.

When I was young, like you, and interested in railway preservation, I too would have been dismayed to a degree at what happened. However, as I've matured, I have learned that the purity I often strived for as a youth is either impossible to achieve, or simply not practical, even from a preservation standpoint.

When I saw the title to this thread, initially I thought it was a posting about a failed effort to preserve the building, maybe it had fallen into disrepair, or was not cared for. The truth is rather quite the opposite. The Montpelier, VA train station is actually not a failure, but a success.

By the way, I noticed that the Post Office re-opened almost four years ago. I wonder if it was one of those targeted for closure. Anyone know?

Also, with regard to the Otis manual elevators, I bet there are more out there than you know of, in structures of all types.

G. W. Laepple · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1182

I know of two manual Otis elevators within 25 miles of where I'm sitting here in central Pennsylvania. Both are complete three-story models, though neither is in service at the moment.

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

RCD wrote:

This rare artifact was a early 1800's Otis manually powered elevator. It is probably safe to say there are more operating steam locomotives in America than elevators like this.

OK, so let's clear something up here...

You say "Manually powered". Exactly what does that mean? I'm picturing things like a chain hoist, some guys in a giant hamster wheel, some sort of jack mechanism? I've never heard of such a thing, but then again, you did say it was rare.

Did you mean "Manually controlled" or "Manually operated" instead? i.e. Where the elevator is operated by something like a gripman on a cable car. The car has to be started and stop at the right elevation by the operator each time. Those too are rare.

However, you mention "early 1800's". That makes me wonder if you truly did mean "manually operated" since you weren't exactly able to hook up to 110 volt power in those days. Even steam power would have been rare, or possibly non-existent, depending on the date.

G.W.L. if he really did mean "Manual power" I doubt you know of two more in 25 miles. I suspect you mean the type that required operators.

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

A quick bit of googling found this:

Quote:

Armed with two unsolicited $300 elevator orders, Otis opened his own factory in Yonkers on September 20, 1853. The following year he demonstrated his invention at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York City. By the end of 1856 he had sold more than 40 elevators, all for use in carrying freight. The next year he installed the first passenger elevator--with a completely enclosed car--in a five-storied New York retail building. A classic Yankee tinkerer, Otis developed his elevator design without a drawing board, blueprint, or prototype model, illustrating his invention only to the degree required for a Patent Office application.

Seems like an Otis elevator from the "early 1800's" would be extremely rare indeed, considering production didn't start until the 1850's, which would certainly qualify as "mid 1800's"

Looking at the blog mentioned on the previous page, it does appear that it could be manually operated, there is a rope on a large wheel and gear system, a lot like the chain hoist used to open industrial overhead doors. It also clears up that the date would have been "early 1900's" as it mentions 1915.

HudsonL · **Joined:** Mon May 24, 2010 10:22 am **Posts:** 548

Over the years I have ridden on and operated several manually powered elevators, I don't know if they were "Otis", they used a overhead winch which was powered by a endless rope, 1 pull of the rope (3 feet +/-) raised the elevator several inches.

This was not bad in the 2 story RR records building freight elevator, but the man lift in the North Dakota Grain Elevator was a workout.

Some hand foot operated brakes and some had ropes to pull, going down if you could get the man lifts going you could coast down, with just a little brake now and then.

-Hudson

G. W. Laepple · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1182

Rope-hauled. One is in a warehouse, the other is in an old-time hardware store, the kind of place where you go in and get your nails out of bins and weigh them, and you go to the basement and find your own pipe fittings. They have parts for harness, and I once even found a set of bands for a Model T Ford.