Pistons Powering Gears

As the elevator industry sought to develop safe and efficient roped- and direct-action hydraulic elevators, hydraulic and mechanical engineers were experimenting with various other methods of utilizing steam/plunger power through gearing. Most designs involved gearing attached to pistons driving winding drums. The most elaborate combination was the "Vertical Screw Railway," so named by a prolific inventor of the period, Otis Tufts of Boston. His spiral screw lift was installed at New York City's Fifth Avenue in 1861.