Chris J Dixon wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Tim+ wrote:

Ive ridden in a paternoster, but not with a priest. ;-)

Over the top (or under the bottom)?

Both ;-)

We had one at Salford University,

We had one in James Went Building at Leicester Poly, the paternoster did
seem to spend huge chunks of time out of order, the building itself was
out of commission for a year while they removed the asbestos, and is now
demolished.

Ah, the heady days of the sixties. The architects had provided a
bench seat on each floor immediately opposite the paternoster.
The place was full of female language students, hemlines were
very high, and as the car rose, you popped up at floor level.
Views in the tower block were interesting.

We didn't get such a benefit

Going over the top, though frowned upon, _had_ to be done It
was a little unnerving, as it got noisier and there was a bit of
vibration, being near the drive motors, but not actually as
hazardous as getting on and off normally.

I gathered there were various "tilt" switches as it went over the top,
so stood very still, quite often people would "trip" it while trying.

On each floor there was a hinged flap.

During quiet times you could take a trip up and leaving all the flaps
open behind you. I seem to remember the front of the cars also hinged
upwards and would trip it if it threatened to decapitate someone.

so that overhanging feet were not chopped. As the
top area was solid, there was a flap which operated a trip
switch, which was regularly operated.