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Happy memories of paternoster lifts Happy memories of paternoster lifts
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Your article about paternoster lifts (Why Germans fought so hard to save their paternoster lifts, 14 August) brought back happy memories of sixth-form voluntary service at school in central London in the late 1960s. To get out of any sport-related activity, my friend Sheila and I wheeled a tea trolley round all the outpatient departments of St Thomas’ hospital on Wednesday afternoons, doing our bit to help those waiting to be seen. Our self-selected reward at the end of the day was a ride on the staff-only paternoster lift, something we’d never come across before or, as far as I’m concerned, since. Like Dejan Tuco, we thought it particularly daring to do the full circuit, going round the hidden top and bottom of the lift, where you could hear the mechanism grinding away. Such innocent pleasures!Jane MarshLondonYour article about paternoster lifts (Why Germans fought so hard to save their paternoster lifts, 14 August) brought back happy memories of sixth-form voluntary service at school in central London in the late 1960s. To get out of any sport-related activity, my friend Sheila and I wheeled a tea trolley round all the outpatient departments of St Thomas’ hospital on Wednesday afternoons, doing our bit to help those waiting to be seen. Our self-selected reward at the end of the day was a ride on the staff-only paternoster lift, something we’d never come across before or, as far as I’m concerned, since. Like Dejan Tuco, we thought it particularly daring to do the full circuit, going round the hidden top and bottom of the lift, where you could hear the mechanism grinding away. Such innocent pleasures!Jane MarshLondon
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• The piece brought back memories of the biochemistry department building at Imperial College London in the late 1960s. I worked as a technician in the chemistry department next door and was fascinated by the rotating cubicles. A paternoster had been installed in the biochem building and, if memory serves me correctly, took you from the ground to the top floor, where Professor Ernst Chain, who had worked with Alexander Fleming, had a large flat. Being German, Prof Chain may have been used to this type of lift, but to staff and visitors the lift presented all kinds of terrors. As it consisted of a series of rotating boxes, people thought that the boxes collapsed as they went over the top of the lift, so a sign was attached that stated: “Over travel is not dangerous.”• The piece brought back memories of the biochemistry department building at Imperial College London in the late 1960s. I worked as a technician in the chemistry department next door and was fascinated by the rotating cubicles. A paternoster had been installed in the biochem building and, if memory serves me correctly, took you from the ground to the top floor, where Professor Ernst Chain, who had worked with Alexander Fleming, had a large flat. Being German, Prof Chain may have been used to this type of lift, but to staff and visitors the lift presented all kinds of terrors. As it consisted of a series of rotating boxes, people thought that the boxes collapsed as they went over the top of the lift, so a sign was attached that stated: “Over travel is not dangerous.”
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On using the lift for the first time, I knew you had to be quick, and I remember steeling myself for a charge at the thing as it slowly passed my level. I leapt and made it. The feeling of achievement was quite considerable. It’s good to know that health and safety as we know it didn’t exist at Imperial College in the 60s, otherwise we would have been denied the pleasure of riding this unique style of lift.Tony EllisSurbiton, SurreyOn using the lift for the first time, I knew you had to be quick, and I remember steeling myself for a charge at the thing as it slowly passed my level. I leapt and made it. The feeling of achievement was quite considerable. It’s good to know that health and safety as we know it didn’t exist at Imperial College in the 60s, otherwise we would have been denied the pleasure of riding this unique style of lift.Tony EllisSurbiton, Surrey
• The paternoster lift in our university library has been transporting students up and down for 50 years. Flying in the face of health and safety, it reflects the “Essex spirit” and, as it did for me as an undergraduate in the 1970s, still offers the temptation to go over the top!Richard BarnardSenior lecturer, University of Essex• The paternoster lift in our university library has been transporting students up and down for 50 years. Flying in the face of health and safety, it reflects the “Essex spirit” and, as it did for me as an undergraduate in the 1970s, still offers the temptation to go over the top!Richard BarnardSenior lecturer, University of Essex