Saw a weird governor setup in an old hotel elevator in Savannah

Was visiting the Marshall House last week, their 1851 traction elevator has the governor mounted horizontal, not vertical. The rope runs through a crazy series of pulleys to make it work. Anyone ever seen a setup like that or know the reason for it?

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3 Comments

paige_ellis597mo ago

That's wild, I've never heard of a horizontal governor. Was the whole machine room just super cramped, forcing them to get creative with the layout?

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vera_lewis6mo ago

Totally get that. I saw a water heater installed sideways in an old apartment once, just crammed into a closet. People get really clever when the space is tight.

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the_kevin7mo ago

Ever notice how we're always told to think outside the box, but most things are still designed the same old way? That governor is a perfect example of a real fix for a real space problem, not just some theory. You see it everywhere once you look, like weirdly shaped sinks in small bathrooms or sideways wall outlets behind furniture.

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