On Mon, 08 Jul 2019 11:30:02 +0100, Terry Casey wrote:

In article , news0073 @eager.cx
says...

On Mon, 08 Jul 2019 09:01:06 +0100, Harry Bloomfield wrote:


Its not that long ago that I heard about the extensive hydro power
(pressurised water) distribution systems they had in some large
cities.

Including London, as late as about 1970. Pipes now used for telecoms.

The London Hydraulic Power Company, AFAIR.

I think you'll find that the system had been defunct since full
telephone access had covered the City and they'd lain empty ever since.

"Two installations that survived into the 1970s were lifts. At Union Bank
Chambers, 61 Carey Street, WC2, the main passenger lift operated on a
hydraulic ram, with electric press-button control. With passengers aboard
the lift car traveled at normal speed but when called from rest, the ram
propelled the car at a truly unnerving rate of knots. The Grosvenor
Hotel, adjoining Victoria station, had a service lift of a very antique
character. It still used rope control (you pulled up or down on the rope
to start the lift and held it to stop). It operated at two speeds,
depending on your pull. There was no self-levelling at each floor but
auto-stop trips at the top and bottom of the shaft prevented over-run.
Electrical interlocks had been retro-fitted to the lift cars doors.
After the LHP Company went out of business, the system was converted to
oil, using an electrically driven compressor. Whether these two
installations survive is unclear."



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