Giant Escalator Crosses Lumley Road

By Angela Gooch on December 17th, 2008

GIANT CO-OP ESCALATOR

Sunday morning’s big -operation
ONE of the biggest loads ever delivered in Skegness, and certainly the only one of its kind, a 40ft. long, eight ton escalator, was installed at the Nottingham Co-operative Society’s Co-operative House in Lumley Road early on Sunday morning.
The machine was made in Hamburg and after being delayed two weeks because of the floods over there, it was shipped to Harwich, from where it arrived at Skegness station by a special wagon on Friday.
The moving-in operation was arranged for Sunday morning; and to ensure that this was accomplished as quickly as possible with a minimum of delay to Lumley Road traffic, preparations were begun the previous day. Workmen worked throughout Saturday night removing the main front entrance of the building and stood by to assemble the doors again once the escalator was in position.

NO HITCHES
The detailed arrangements worked like clockwork on Sunday morning. At 7.30 the escalator arrived on a specially designed lorry, which reversed across Lumley Road, blocking it completely, and then shunted in to Co-operative House with its heavy load. The escalator was in the building by eight, and during the day much of the work of positioning the machine was completed.
The escalator, a forward and reverse type for taking customers up and bringing them down at closing time, will operate to the first floor. It is hoped that Skegness’s first escalator will be carrying people towards the end of the week.