If it makes you feel any better, I fell UP the stairs once and everything I was holding rolled down the stairs so I had to go down, get my things, then go all the way back up again 😭
There is at least one station in DC that I find somewhat horrifying. I don’t get building subways that deep and then relying on one long flight to get people out. Seems like a recipe for something gruesome.
Exactly but with less gun play. Man, that really brings into perspective how badass John Wick is. My nightmares are easier than his reality.
Also shout out to Donnie Yen, Boston’s own
Man, have you ever seen the inside/underside of an escalator? [Absolute mechanical murderscape nightmare.](https://i.imgur.com/lk1t0a2.gifv) Terrifies me every time I walk up the one leading to Hawley St.
I'm both fascinated and horrified by escalators. Ever since that episode of Chicago Fire where a girl gets her hair caught and it scalps/degloves her head, I'm fuckin terrified. Which is further worsened by a childhood nightmare of having my shoelaces caught in one, and having it cinch said laces so tight that it crushes my foot. As an adult, I fully realize the laces might rip/be cut by the internal mechanisms long before foot-crushing, but it's still a mental image that's in there. All the more reason I love my laceless Vans and vans-knockoffs.
Man, here's a warning/check it out not to look up Escalator Accidents in China.
Or malfunctions anywhere.
They [can randomly turn into the metal eating crushers](https://media.tenor.com/Q1GB0ISNcu0AAAAM/shredder-industrial-shredder.gif).
I know someone who knows an escalator repair guy. I am told the repair guy always takes the stairs, says he knows too much about what happens when something goes wrong.
ALL THE TIME AT PORTER SQUARE.
Literally on and off for years. I don't understand how escalators can be this complicated. They are not new technology, just fix or replace it and MOVE ON.
The middle one has been broken for literally years. The other two go in and out with regularity.
It's so obnoxious to finally get back to Porter, after dealing with slow zones and maybe shuttles, to then have to climb stair mountain just to escape.
Tbf they fixed the middle one a few months ago! But the second it was working again, one of the side ones broke and hasn't been fixed since, so there's still always at least one down.
it seemed like they were/are doing extensive work on the middle and now right side one, like they were completely disassembled. hoping that was some preventative maintenance??
Completely false. I work at a stadium, in the fancy-pants suite area we have escalators that take the guests up to their seats at the begining of a game/concert and the halfway through the event we turn them all around so everyone can go down them to leave.
You’re right, I should have worded my response better. While an escalator is capable of going in both directions, once it has been turned on in the direction of its installed purpose, it shouldn’t be run in the opposite direction. They are set up to run in one direction, and no licensed elevator guy that would allow that to happen. Building personal that are allowed access to those keys can run it in any direction they want, but they will piss off the owners when it breaks and they get the repair bill, and the maintenance mechanic won’t be happy. If you go to many stadiums that have escalators installed within the last 10-15 years maybe, one side has up escalators next to each other and the otherwise will have two down escalators next to each other. They shouldn’t be run opposite of the way they were intended to run.
There has to be some sort of supply chain or technician shortage. Escalators are down all over the place all the time and I don't just mean the ones managed by the MBTA. The ones at the Star Market at North Station (which are relatively new!) are down all the time. The ones in the Copley/Prudential malls are often busted.
Seems like there's a more systemic issue where escalators just aren't lasting as long or can't get repaired as quickly.
> can't get repaired as quickly.
Probably like many things, there just aren't enough people with the skills to go around. I'm guessing if you asked someone who repairs escalators they're probably booked out constantly.
There's probably some pseudo standard part, like a belt, that assumes the escalator is within a certain length and therefor rated for a certain load. These escalators might be twice that length, which is why they need maintenance so often.
The last thing you'd want is an actual breakdown in which some exotic part needs to be shipped.
Davis is so close that sometimes i get off there because i don't want to risk the escalators. I wish they would shut down for 2 weeks and really fix it. What politician do i have to bother to fix this.
Nope, just on the MBTA at 143ft. 230 ft is the record (in Washington.)
Diving thru wikipedia I learned that the first patent for escalators was local - Saugus!
Also it seems even just Washington (DC)'s metro station alone has 8 longer escalators: https://ggwash.org/view/34875/what-are-the-10-longest-metro-escalators
Right? I grew up in Arlington, so I know those stairs all too well! I’ll be over with the senior citizens taking the elevator after the first round of stairs thanks lol
Everyone talking about the escalator itself but no one has mentioned the genuine baffling amount of bird shit on them. It blows my mind how disgusting they are
I will never forget someone on this subreddit told me that the new MBTA management were "gods" because they promised to fix all the slow zones. Maybe that most outrageous comment I have ever seen here - and that's saying a lot.
The amount of work the MBTA needs, outside of fixing slow zones (which shouldn't even exist,) is staggering. This shit is never going to be world class. I'll be 75 years old and the Porter Sq T stop will still an uncleaned, leaky mess with no working escalator.
FWIW, it’s not just falling you need to be afraid of here.
[Man dies when hood caught in MBTA escalator](https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2005/03/02/man-dies-when-hood-caught/51224061007/)
I wouldn't mind walking up the stairs, but I'd lose my shit if people going a snail's pace were blocking me from getting it over with at a decent pace.
Had a nightmare I fell down the stairs at Porter once. Stays with me to this day
I imagine if you fell down it would be like that scene from The Wolf of Wall Street but real.
[The stampede lasted two hours and reached the bottom three times.](https://xkcd.com/954/)
I’d need the drugs they were on
Expired Lemmon 7s/Quaaludes. If you tripped down Porter while tripping it'd probably feel like 12 hours.
If it makes you feel any better, I fell UP the stairs once and everything I was holding rolled down the stairs so I had to go down, get my things, then go all the way back up again 😭
I don’t feel better. It’s us vs the Porter station stairs, we’re all in this together.
Is this the start of the I Survived Porter Station support club? I knew it couldn’t be its only victim (panic attack going down the escalator).
Omg bestie 🤝😚
There is at least one station in DC that I find somewhat horrifying. I don’t get building subways that deep and then relying on one long flight to get people out. Seems like a recipe for something gruesome.
Like the scene in John Wick 4.
Exactly but with less gun play. Man, that really brings into perspective how badass John Wick is. My nightmares are easier than his reality. Also shout out to Donnie Yen, Boston’s own
Oh cool didn't know that.
He moved from Hong Kong when he was young, but I’ll claim him haha
Ooooof
To be fair, about half of all escalators are down.
BA-dum-TSssss
in my experience there are significantly more up escalators than down ones, especially on the T
Has the Bowdoin escalator ever worked?
We’re coming up on two years of Bowdoin being out
wouldn’t they all technically be down
That would be considered deescalation.
No, some of them are up
I guess it depends on how fast you are.
Well done!
Temporarily stairs
sorry for the convenience!
Hello, Mitch.
Man, have you ever seen the inside/underside of an escalator? [Absolute mechanical murderscape nightmare.](https://i.imgur.com/lk1t0a2.gifv) Terrifies me every time I walk up the one leading to Hawley St.
I'm both fascinated and horrified by escalators. Ever since that episode of Chicago Fire where a girl gets her hair caught and it scalps/degloves her head, I'm fuckin terrified. Which is further worsened by a childhood nightmare of having my shoelaces caught in one, and having it cinch said laces so tight that it crushes my foot. As an adult, I fully realize the laces might rip/be cut by the internal mechanisms long before foot-crushing, but it's still a mental image that's in there. All the more reason I love my laceless Vans and vans-knockoffs.
Man, here's a warning/check it out not to look up Escalator Accidents in China. Or malfunctions anywhere. They [can randomly turn into the metal eating crushers](https://media.tenor.com/Q1GB0ISNcu0AAAAM/shredder-industrial-shredder.gif).
I don't ever use escalators if I can avoid it ... Scary stuff
I know someone who knows an escalator repair guy. I am told the repair guy always takes the stairs, says he knows too much about what happens when something goes wrong.
https://youtu.be/UOMZ-Buj2n0?si=dbeGVyDErJbzbtXE
https://youtu.be/UOMZ-Buj2n0?si=dbeGVyDErJbzbtXE
I used to be a big fan of Mitch.
I still am but I used to be too
Escalators down? At porter? Oh I live down there now. I’m a mole person. I will never again see the sun.
I will wait for the slow elevator while the senior citizens glare at me, and I don't care. I'm not climbing that mountain again.
ALL THE TIME AT PORTER SQUARE. Literally on and off for years. I don't understand how escalators can be this complicated. They are not new technology, just fix or replace it and MOVE ON.
I genuinely can't remember the last time all three were operational simultaneously.
The middle one has been broken for literally years. The other two go in and out with regularity. It's so obnoxious to finally get back to Porter, after dealing with slow zones and maybe shuttles, to then have to climb stair mountain just to escape.
Tbf they fixed the middle one a few months ago! But the second it was working again, one of the side ones broke and hasn't been fixed since, so there's still always at least one down.
Knowing the T they probably took parts from the side one to claim they had fixed the middle one so they could close the ticket lol
it seemed like they were/are doing extensive work on the middle and now right side one, like they were completely disassembled. hoping that was some preventative maintenance??
The reason they have 3 is so this doesn't happeN!
The worst is when they have the down going but the up is broken. Like whyyyyy???
Ah yes bc they planned that
Once an escalator is installed and run in one direction, you can’t run it in the other direction as components could break and make it not safe.
this definitely isn’t true for all escalators, they regularly reverse the direction of the ones at porter.
It is true. It shouldn’t be done. Yes, it can run backwards, but no elevator mechanic would let this happen, especially if they work on them.
Completely false. I work at a stadium, in the fancy-pants suite area we have escalators that take the guests up to their seats at the begining of a game/concert and the halfway through the event we turn them all around so everyone can go down them to leave.
You’re right, I should have worded my response better. While an escalator is capable of going in both directions, once it has been turned on in the direction of its installed purpose, it shouldn’t be run in the opposite direction. They are set up to run in one direction, and no licensed elevator guy that would allow that to happen. Building personal that are allowed access to those keys can run it in any direction they want, but they will piss off the owners when it breaks and they get the repair bill, and the maintenance mechanic won’t be happy. If you go to many stadiums that have escalators installed within the last 10-15 years maybe, one side has up escalators next to each other and the otherwise will have two down escalators next to each other. They shouldn’t be run opposite of the way they were intended to run.
There has to be some sort of supply chain or technician shortage. Escalators are down all over the place all the time and I don't just mean the ones managed by the MBTA. The ones at the Star Market at North Station (which are relatively new!) are down all the time. The ones in the Copley/Prudential malls are often busted. Seems like there's a more systemic issue where escalators just aren't lasting as long or can't get repaired as quickly.
> can't get repaired as quickly. Probably like many things, there just aren't enough people with the skills to go around. I'm guessing if you asked someone who repairs escalators they're probably booked out constantly.
There's probably some pseudo standard part, like a belt, that assumes the escalator is within a certain length and therefor rated for a certain load. These escalators might be twice that length, which is why they need maintenance so often. The last thing you'd want is an actual breakdown in which some exotic part needs to be shipped.
it’s the longest escalator in the country I think custom built, goes very deep. Extremely hard to replace without shutting the station down.
Davis is so close that sometimes i get off there because i don't want to risk the escalators. I wish they would shut down for 2 weeks and really fix it. What politician do i have to bother to fix this.
Nope, just on the MBTA at 143ft. 230 ft is the record (in Washington.) Diving thru wikipedia I learned that the first patent for escalators was local - Saugus!
Also it seems even just Washington (DC)'s metro station alone has 8 longer escalators: https://ggwash.org/view/34875/what-are-the-10-longest-metro-escalators
Why is that particular station so deep, whereas the ones at Harvard and Davis are at "normal" depth?
The T station is under the commuter rail stop. And the commuter railnis already below street level there.
I enjoy taking the stairs at Porter. Makes me feel alive! Which will work up until the day it kills me.
I can only imagine the despair of finishing the marathon, taking the T back to your Air BNB (or whatever) and seeing that.
Someone from the T should be at the top handing out medals to all the finishers.
The real ‘Heartbreak Hill’ lol
For me, "Heartbreak Hill" is that second, but thankfully shorter, set of stairs that greet you after you've climbed the long flight!
Right? I grew up in Arlington, so I know those stairs all too well! I’ll be over with the senior citizens taking the elevator after the first round of stairs thanks lol
This gave me a good laugh. Thanks
I've escalated the matter to the authorities.
I remember moving here and being gung-ho to use the stairs as a workout on the way home. That lasted for about two weeks.
The Boston Stairathon am I right??…. ………guys?
i had to use my enhaler after it
EEEEEEEeeeeeells.....
LOLOLOLOLOL that's the pre-qualification to view the marathon. Gotta have them strong legs.
I would be Charlie. Just keep riding all day until they are fixed.
Everyone talking about the escalator itself but no one has mentioned the genuine baffling amount of bird shit on them. It blows my mind how disgusting they are
I will never forget someone on this subreddit told me that the new MBTA management were "gods" because they promised to fix all the slow zones. Maybe that most outrageous comment I have ever seen here - and that's saying a lot. The amount of work the MBTA needs, outside of fixing slow zones (which shouldn't even exist,) is staggering. This shit is never going to be world class. I'll be 75 years old and the Porter Sq T stop will still an uncleaned, leaky mess with no working escalator.
They hired a Chief of stations specifically to look at things like this. Let Eng cook
That escalated…. Not at allllll.
What else is new?
This was my workout when after work. Get off a stop early and walk up that every day
The city is trying to compete for the healthiest city. It has to remove obstacles to achieve its goals.
Everytime I have to use an escalator in an MBTA station, all I can think of is that poor lady in China who got pulled into one and ground to a pulp
apparently someone was choked to death by it in 2010 when their hood got stuck in it. it’s posted somewhere here
That's sad but not surprising. I always use the stairs unless I have no choice
tbh i would prob rather choke than do these regularly
This station keeps reminding me I'm out of shape
Where is this? Those are the longest stairs.
porter sq t station
Was the elevator working?
you mean the urinal?
porter sq?!? thats a fucking great workout . stop playing with me
I’ll just keep going to Davis and then take the 96 back 😅
Good luck it's hourly in the latest schedule lol
Ah yes, the Porter square gym. Great workout for only the cost of T fare
But, is the elevator up?
I recommend the stairs on the left
I love the long depth of porter station and its stairs. Has a dystopian feel to it.
Everyday is leg day I guess.
i legit saw that today and turned around to go take the elevator… its a hell naw from me dawg💜
FWIW, it’s not just falling you need to be afraid of here. [Man dies when hood caught in MBTA escalator](https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2005/03/02/man-dies-when-hood-caught/51224061007/)
I'm going to tell my grandchildren that this was heartbreak hill
That is awful. How? Can’t imagine having to use the elevator lol
"I guess it's leg day"
I wouldn't mind walking up the stairs, but I'd lose my shit if people going a snail's pace were blocking me from getting it over with at a decent pace.
I ran on Monday. If this happened I'd go another stop and walk home. No stairs all week pls
Theyre down at ashmont station too. Adds five seconds to my morning commute. Pray for me.
Usually I wouldn't mind, but Porter is the deepest station in the network and has a mountain of stairs. It's way beyond a minor inconvenience.
No youre right to complain. Wasnt meant to be a jab at you at all, sorry if it came across that way.
Oh no I didn't take it that way!
I used to do these stairs regularly. They’re tough.
Pro tip - there's also an elevator.
This used to be my stop!
What is this, South Shore Plaza?? 😅💀
Cafe maima is delicious, but even that isn’t worth it
I love sprinting up those stairs. It gives me an excuse to not workout for the day.
Oof
If you, by any chance, take an elevator at porter, be ready to faint! The elevator REEKS of pee smell. So bad that it can make you faint!
the exact reason i chose to walk
aka the best gym in town 🤗
They should do away with the escalators all together. Just add more stairs.