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A story written by QM2 Rolf Saybe about our escalator years ago.
The Great Hornet Escalator Caper
I have always felt lucky to have our old Hornet right here in the East Bay, close enough to visit and volunteer whenever I have the time.
I had been a QM2 on her bridge during her last deployment to Yankee Station, WestPac off Vietnam, Apollo 11 & 12 and her decommissioning. Now I had her back right here in town, and I jumped at the opportunity to become invloved.
I spent the first couple of years restoring the bridge, pilot house and plot room along with one other volunteer. And I spent 20 months with Jim Baker creating the hornet Heritage Room. I had managed to find free cabling for the #3 elevator doors, and had gears machined for the crane at the same location.
But one challenge was there every time I went from the hanger bay to the bridge, and that was the flight deck escalator. There it stood, inoperable and mute. Just an old staircase made by Westinghouse in 1953.
At that time I was division manager in the Maintenance Engineering Department at out local transit agency (BART), and had many contacts in the company. In particular, I had friends who worked in the elevator escalator department. So I invited a few of them to visit the ship one Saturday, and just happened to show them our wonderful non-functioning Westinghouse escalator.
Like a classic car lover who just found a vintage Ford in a barn, their reaction was just what I had been hoping for, as over the next few hours, access plates had been opened, and their interest captured. We decided to form a small work party, come in during evenings, and probably knock out this little project in a few weeks or so.
Our Our group consisted of Robby C (leader of the gang) and Mike R, both supervising escalator mechanics, Mark P, Paul P, mechanical engineers, Darryl Y and Joe C escalator mechanics, and me, a desk driver with no callouses on my hands other than the ones I got in my garden , but willing and able.
Once the work began, we soon discovered multiple problems and much damage. Little did we know then that we were about to embark on a twenty month odyssey that would have us scrounging for parts, begging escalator companies and machine shops for donated parts and labor, raising money to pay for manufacturing of parts that could not be bought and even getting permission from the Navy to scrounge escalator parts off the USS Oriskany which was about to be dismantled or sunk.
realizing we had taken on a major project, we completed a full inspection of the entire machine. Both brake systems had missing or damaged parts, drive chains were stretched, and most of the chain and step wheels/rollers, (four per step) had flat spots or failed bearings and had to be replaced or have new bearings installed. Much later in the process, we found that of the 94 steps, more than half had been torqued and were no longer square, and more than a dozen were damaged beyond repair.
So after a state wide search, we found that many parts were still being manufactured or on the shelf somewhere, some even used parts were available. But the key components, the missing brake parts and the damaged steps were not to be found. Can't just go to your corner store looking for steps for a 1953 escalator.
The Navy comes to the rescue. With some arm twisting from a local retired Admiral, we gained access to the USS Oriskany at Mare Island. We had permission to take everything we needed from her escalator, and just leave enough steps to leave it walkable.
So on a cold, dark and foggy morning, the entire gang with four pickup trucks headed to Mare Island. Since there was no power to the ship, we had to bring portable generators and lights to see what we were doing. We had to be off by 5pm, leaving us nine hours to get everything we needed.
At the end of the day, and dog tired, we had 42 steps, all the gears, brake parts, stainless steel side panels, chains and boxes of misc. parts. It was quite a day. Not only had we secured all the missing parts we needed, but we now had an inventory of parts for years to come.
We set up shop in the Hornet's 3rd deck machine shop, and came in one or two nights per week. Whenever we did at night had to be back in place before morning, so visitors could walk up to the flight deck. Steps were removed , rebuilt or replaced and reinstalled. Gears and drive chains replaced, and the old electric motor clutch remanufactured off site and replaced. Some parts had to be machined, which meant schmoozing some local machine shop for donated labor time. The four wheels on each step needed new bearings and tires. We found that perfectly good bearing sets being discarded by a local escalator company could be modified to fit, as could tires from discarded chain axle rollers. bit by bit it was coming together.
Finally after nearly 12 months, it was time to turn on the machine and hod our breath. Suffice it to say, that although nothing broke, nothing moved quite right either. The 92 steps were out of alignment in some random order. And the 30 or so Oriskany steps fit just a little differently than the Hornet steps. This 50 year machine was not cooperating.
All the steps had to come back out. We measured for square, repaired and reinstalled. There was no machine or rig to check and reset the fit (square) of the steps, so we impovised. Robby, our team leader and escalator guru, built a rig in the machine shop on which we could mount one step at a time. Measuring the step we could determine it's torque damage, and with two 7 foot rods, twist the step back to proper square. This took about 45 minutes per step not including to to reinstall. Sometimes this had to be done several times on each step before it was a perfect fit.
Another five months of work was finally done. Steps were in and perfect. New power switches and wiring installed, and various safety modifications completed. We were done!
So this little project, which was to take no time at all, lasted nearly 20 months. It put us in contact with machine shops and escalator maintenance companies all over California who were all thrilled with their contribution. It taught me more about escalators than I ever wanted to know, and has made the USS Hornet the envy of the Essex Class Museum fleet.
We can correctly boast (and we have), that the USS Hornet Museum has the only working 1953 Westinghouse escalator in the world.
I was correct in one thing. It was truly a project well worth the effort.
Note: Although I am retired, Robby C still comes aboard annually to safety check the escalator and perform necessary repairs. He and the rest of the gang have access to the ship whenever they wish to visit.
As the AUXO in Connie I hated those damn things. More trouble than they were worth.
So that brings up a question. Are they still used in the Nimitz Class as they span 1968 all the way today with the Ford Class? I wouldn't be surprised the Nimitz would have one having being laid down in 1968.
Something a little different in the way of pictures. These are B&W shots taken many years ago when we received our F14 from the Navy. I shot these photos using Ilford Delta 400 B&W in an early 1950's Agfa folder camera in a 6x9 format. Forgot about the film in the freezer and just developed it.
So that brings up a question. Are they still used in the Nimitz Class as they span 1968 all the way today with the Ford Class? I wouldn't be surprised the Nimitz would have one having being laid down in 1968.
While I've never been aboard the class, I'm sure they do. God forbid the winged feces should have to actually climb ladders!
So that brings up a question. Are they still used in the Nimitz Class as they span 1968 all the way today with the Ford Class? I wouldn't be surprised the Nimitz would have one having being laid down in 1968.
I thought I remembered reading that they moved the ready rooms closer to the flight deck on the Nimitz class which negated the escalator. Maybe I'm wrong though, too early to think.
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