What unusual thing did passengers have to do when riding the original elevators from the second level to the top in the Eiffel Tower?

elburcher

Built and engineered by Mr Edoux, it consisted of one huge cabin for 110 passengers or a maximum weight of 8 tons and was propped up midway between the second and third levels on the pistons of two vertical hydraulic jacks, 81 metres long. The counterbalancing cabin was latched onto a set of cables linking to the master cabin over the top sheaves. The trip was a seesaw affair during which visitors had to change cabins halfway up by walking along a narrow gangway with a rather impressive vertical downwards view. The major drawback of this machine was the volume of liquid and proportional antifreeze additives necessary; it was closed to the public every year from November to March. After 93 years of wear and tear, it was replaced in 1982 with two electrically powered sets of two counterbalanced cabins, running all year round. This also enabled to restructure the criss-cross beams between the second and third floor, allowing for two separate emergency staircases to replace the dangerous winding units that were there from the structure’s origin. http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/documentation/dossiers/page/construction.html Jul 31 06, 5:37 PM

Gnomon

Hmm. I went up the Eiffel Tower in 1972, so I must have done that, but I don't remember it. Aug 01 06, 1:07 AM