Lift Adventure Date: July 29
Lift Adventure Time: 5:00 PM EST
It's been a fun & adventurous month of filming lifts & driving around New Jersey in my Subaru Outback. I'm excited to be filming lifts for now, but not for long, since I have to finish up my time at Kean University & focus on graduating on time. But for the mean time, let's enjoy the last month of our summer recess, film the best lifts we can film & make the most of it!
45 North Broad Street
Where: 45 North Broad Street
Time Filmed: Before 9:15 AM (July 1)
Grade: C+
Speed to Height Ratio: ~2:1 (Slightly fast)
Landings Served: 6
The first lift of this lift adventure is a former World War II era OTIS lift which was later fully replaced by a crap generic lift before 10 years ago. This lift has GAL fixtures on both the outside & inside (VR) & an ACME floor indicator. It has a speed to height ratio of about 2:1 which makes it slightly fast for the application & number of landings. This lift is located in Ridgewood's tallest building (45 North Broad Street) right across from the train station. This is the third fastest lift in Ridgewood in terms of top speed, but not by speed to height ratio. The absolute speed is estimated to be around 125 fpm.
Outstanding characterful elements include an unusually small cab with a window in the door, which is very rare for a modern day lift. The single slide door adds touch in addition to it being a geared traction unit serving 6 landings. Few examples of this lift are publicly accessible, but it is still a shame it got replaced. Upon analyzing the character of the lift & the efficiency analysis, I decided to assign a grade of "C+" to this lift. This lift does not run like other modern day traction lifts suggesting the controller & motor are still original & haven't been touched during the mod.
106 Prospect Street
Where: 106 Prospect Street
Time Filmed: Before 10:00 AM (July 1)
Grade: B+
Speed to Height Ratio: ~4.5:1 (Slightly fast)
Landings Served: 4
The second lift of this lift adventure is a vintage Generic lift from the 1970's. This lift, unlike the previous one, is completely original, albeit weirdly configured. This building is structured in a way where there are half floors as opposed to full floors & this lift is located right by the staircase in a small shaft. It has unknown Canadian fixtures on the inside which are similar to Epco CircleLine & a speed to height ratio of around 4.5:1 which makes it slightly fast for the application & number of landings. The actual speed is unknown. It is located in a doctor's office building on the southern side of Ridgewood.
Outstanding characterful elements include an unusual cab & building layout with small 2-speed doors, a silent hydraulic motor, instant takeoff & Canadian fixtures. Upon analyzing the character of the lift & the efficiency analysis, I decided to assign a grade of "B+" to this lift.
Sheraton Mahwah
Where: Sheraton Mahwah
Time Filmed: After 10:45 AM (July 1)
Grade: B-
Speed to Height Ratio: 3:1 (Fast)
Landings Served: 11 (with 11 skipped)
The final lift of this lift adventure is at New Jersey's tallest Marriott hotel (Sheraton Mahwah) & were originally Westinghouse Selectomatic Mark 5 lifts from the late 1980's. These lifts were completely replaced by OTIS with Series M4 fixtures & serve the top half of a very tall building. They have glassback cabs & oversee the outside of the building, Route 287, 17 & the mountain range behind. This lift has a speed to height ratio of 3:1 & a full speed of 700 fpm.
Outstanding characterful elements include a tall blue cab with a marble tile carpet floor layout. The touchscreen capacitive buttons are a nice touch. Upon analyzing the character of the lift & the efficiency analysis, I decided to assign a grade of "B-" to this lift. I wish the original Westinghouse lifts remained.
I look forward to seeing you on the premiere at 5:00 PM EST this afternoon.
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