Small disused lift in Paddington Station Car Park (UK)

This car park is over the road from Paddington Station. Looks like there is a bit of history here, this possibly being the old Paddington Station platform?

On the old 'platform' is a very small lift with a keyswitch to call it, although it has probably been out of use for years.
If you listen closely inside the motor room, there is a relay switching on-off at the rate of twice per second (it's easy to hear if you are standing outside the motor room, but my camera phone hasn't really picked it up). I remember walking past this lift back in June 2009 with this relay turning on-off, the same as it is now (Today is 4th March 2010)
So, here are some interesting statistics concerning that relay...
Twice a second, 120 times per minute, 7200 times per hour, 172800 per day.
Since my last visit 277 days ago, this relay has turned on and off 47'865'600 (nearly 48 million) times!!
I wonder how many years before June 2009?!
What does the relay do, I haven't a clue, but the actual lift must be locked off somewhere. I managed to activate the keyswitch (call), but nothing happened.

The lift goes up into the offices above. Not sure the connection between an old station and the offices, but there is obviously absolutely no connection between the car park and the offices, which is probably why it's been locked off for years.

Still, an interesting find, even though this video doesn't have a lift ride or a motor room to look at!

(sorry for quality of video, if I had known I was coming here I would have taken my proper camera)

--------------------------------
CHAIRMANMICK has told me about some history to this platform below. Thanks Mick!

I was an engineer with BR at Paddington back in the seventies and maintained this and many others on BR WRegion.Our main workshop was in what is now the 'Monsoon' resteraunt next to the Westway. That particular lift was in those days fairly modern,a relay controlled type with a DC generator in the roof top motor winding room. It served a five story building above it in Westourne Terrace, British transport police, BR W Region geological soil mechanics on another floor and on another two floors was a BR W Region hostel for the young ladies that worked in the various offices, travelers fayre buffets and rail bars around Paddington! Got caught more than once by the 'matron' , in compromising positions with a girl or two over time!. At platform level this area was themail and parcels in/out centre was located, the platform level being covered with the loaded up wire caged trucks pulled by electric tractor/tug units to the various station platforms that the outgoing train left from.The are the cars park in was the royal mail van and br parcels van in and out area. If You notice the lift doorway brickwork is protected from damage by the BRUTE actions ,by sections of actual rail cut to size, I installed these!
The Door next to the lift was our platform level workshop for repairing the BRUTE's, trucks ,forklifts and waterbowsers that worked the station.
We had to replace the DC Geny over christmas 1977, it had burnt out, We removed it from the plant room and humped it down to the car on the top floor ,then released the brake to get it to ground level, of course we could not do the same going back up as thre combined wight of geny and car was heavier than counterbalance weights!, had to hump the bugger up about ten flights of stairs!
There was many lifts at paddington, two on each platform to basement tunnels, three in the western offices, 3 in the GW Hotel, about 5 in railbars to basement stores ets, 1 in the WR publicity office, and a few others dotted around, There is a multitude of tunnels beneath the station as well if thats your bag!, proably all disused and awaiting filming!.
Cheers and good luck. Mick.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• lifts
• lift
• elevator
• paddington
• station
• car
• park
• disused
• derelict
• abandoned
• platform
• winda
• Aufzug

[mrmattandmrchay]

Please read a story from CHAIRMANMICK in the video description. He has told of some history behind this platform. Matt

[harrihealey02]

I seem to love old elevators that have history and are very small that are blocked off. I would just love to open the door and look inside. You never know what there could be. This is interesting and it looks ezactly like that Old Disused Evans Lift outside woolworths you made a video of. Do you know if this is a traction or hydraulic and where abouts does it lead to? Interesting video! Thanks for posting and telling me about it :-)

[mrmattandmrchay]

Funny you should mention 'just opening the doors' etc!

Pretty sure it's a traction, as I don't think hydraulic lifts were around until late 70s/early 80s? This lift looks like 60s/70s at a guess.

If you see the photo at the end of the movie, it goes into the offices above.

"If" this was the old platform, maybe it went up to a ticket office in the build above (this is a complete guess!). Everything has changed now, so the office above is probably something else now.

[mrmattandmrchay]

Wouldn't it be cool to go into the offices and see what call button is up there. It's a bit featureless down here, but I suppose it could be an old Evans lift?

Getting into the lift car would be cooler than cool! And getting into that motor room.....AHGGH, it's getting too much!!

I too like older lifts, "unmodernised" being the key word!!

All unbranded lifts (like local lift companies) all look the same, characterless - yes, I'm talking about those damn black buttons again!!!!!!

[Ham549]

@mrmattandmrchay I don't think hydraulic lifts were around until late 70s/early 80s? hydraulic lifts have been around for over 100 years.

[harrihealey02]

(Cont)... Especially in essex they look the same. It would be cool to go to the offices up there. The older companies it could possibly be are, well, Evans, E.R.S (part of porn & dunwoody lift company) or mabey an Otis! I also like Origional, unmodernised lifts!! The modernised ones always look modernised with the panel sticking a CM out or two voices from the new and origional ones. Thanks for the replying!!!

[harrihealey02]

Haha, that would be cooler than cool to get in the lift cab. Also, I would definately love to get into the machine room! I would have loved to go back in time and see what it was like and how it was to ride it, I would love to have filmed it back then. I wish that with all these old lifts, they could place it into a history museum and let people walk around them and see the technical workings of them. It's a good idea and fun. But you're right about the old lifts always looking the same here...

[mrmattandmrchay]

My idea is the relay is used for a warning lamp to make it flash on and off. Possibly a 'coming' lamp or 'out of service' lamp? I get the feeling that the action of this relay is connected in some way to it being out of service. Strange they left the motor room powered up?!

[mrmattandmrchay]

I doubt whether any microprocessors have been anywhere near this lift. Due to the offices being 'potentially' accessable from this lift (security risk), it would have been closed off for years and years. Maybe there was once a connection between the offices and this old platform(?)which required a lift. This is almost certainly a relay motor room, as it's unlikely anyone would have spent any money on it.

(continued...)

[thyssenelevator95]

That relay is odd-it seems to be like the "system heartbeat" LED on microprocessor-based lift control boards. It may be used for timing something.

Also, that door probably wouldn't meet the Americans with Disabilities Act here in the US-it states that doors "must provide at least 36.0" clear opening". It seems to be a lot smaller than that!

Also, I had some strange feeling that that Paddington Bear programme would show up in the related videos box...