Figure 30. — Upperworks and passenger platforms of the Otis system 

 at second level. (From La Nature, Aug. 10, 1889, vol. 17, p. 169.) 



chines (which he did have faith in) . . . and if the others 

 ate up coal in proportions greatly in e.xcess of ours, he would 

 have it to say . . . "Gentlemen, these are my choice of 

 elevators, those are yours &c." There was a published 

 interview ... in which Eiffel stated . . . that he was to 

 meet some American gentlemen the following day, who 

 were to provide him with elevators — grand elevators, I 

 think he said. . . . 



The Roux and the Otis systems both drew their 

 ■wzXtT supply from the same tanks; also, each system 

 used similar distributing valves (fig. 32) operated from 

 the cars. Although no reports have been found of 

 actual controlled tests comparing the efficiencies of 

 the Otis and Roux systems, a general quantitative 

 comparison may be made from the balance figures 

 given for each (p. 40), where it is seen that 2,665 

 pounds of excess tractive effort were allowed to over- 

 come the friction of the Otis machinery against 13,856 

 pounds for the Roux. 



THE EDOUX SYSTEM 



The section of the Tower presenting the least diffi- 

 culty to elevator installation was that above the 

 juncture of the four legs — from the second platform 

 to the third, or observation, enclosure. There was 



no question that French equipment could perform 

 this service. The run being perfectly straight and 

 vertical, the only unusual demand upon contemporary 

 elevator technology was the length of rise — 525 feet. 

 The system ultimately selected (fig. 37) appealed to 

 the Commission largely because of a smiliar one that 

 had been installed in one tower of the famous Troca- 

 dero ^' and which had been operating successfully for 

 10 years. It was the direct plunger system of Leon 

 Edoux, and was, for the time, far more rationally 

 contrived than Backmann's helicoidal system. Edoux, 

 an old schoolmate of Eiffel's, had built thousands of 

 elevators in France and was possibly the country's 

 most successful inventor and manufacturer in the 

 field. It is likely that he did not attempt to obtain 

 the contract for the elevator equipment in the Tower 

 legs, as his experience was based almost entirely on 

 plunger systems, a type, as we have seen, not readily 

 adaptable to that situation. What is puzzling was 

 the failure of the Commission's members to recognize 

 sooner Edoux's obvious ability to provide equipment 

 for the upper run. It may have been due to their 

 inexplicable confidence in Backmann. 



13 Located near the Tower, built for the Paris fair of 1878. 



PAPER 19: ELEVATOR SYSTEMS OF THE EIFFEL TOWER 



31 



