# Power outage traps about 280 people in Gateway Arch

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 22, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732 "2007-07-22T07:21:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732/1 "2007-07-22T07:21:08Z")

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100 at the top, 40 in the trams on either side. Took a couple hours to get them out, sez the [Post-Dispatch](http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/F3923BA340F01F9486257320001891D6?OpenDocument). Sort of interesting…I’ve always wondered what it looked like outside the trams inside the legs.

The people at the top had to walk down about 300 feet of stairs, then get into a service elevator. The Arch is 630 feet tall, so they had to walk down almost half of it. :eek:

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### Author: ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732/2 "2007-07-22T20:18:50Z")

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For those who haven’t had the pleasure, the tram cars resemble slightly oversized laundromat dryer tubs. Four 1960s sized Americans fit in there hunched over. For 2007 sized Americans its more like 3. Add some darkness & lack of ventilation & I’m sure it was fun for all concerned.

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### Author: ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732/3 "2007-07-22T22:13:46Z")

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Holy mackerel. I’m feeling a little panicky just thinking about being trapped in one of those trams. Eek.

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### Author: ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732/4 "2007-07-23T14:53:33Z")

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My son just wrote a school report on the Gateway Arch this spring. An amazing engineering achievement… but no fun to be stuck in, I’m sure. Yikes.

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### Author: ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-traps-about-280-people-in-gateway-arch/412732/5 "2007-07-23T15:06:33Z")

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[QUOTE=jsgoddess]  
Holy mackerel. I’m feeling a little panicky just thinking about being trapped in one of those trams. Eek.  
[/QUOTE]

Yes. I’m 6’4" and you could not get me in that tower tram if it meant saving the world.