This crazy elaborate gravity operated system is a high tech set up, at least it was over a hundred years ago. It was later replaced with cash registers and well....look how far we have come since.
I want to share this little gem of history called a Lamson Gravity Operated Cash Railway. A far cry from the speed and convenience of modern day retail transactions (crypto-currency would blow their minds). In 1909, this sophisticated set-up was the latest American retail technology on the scene. I am impressed this tiny little outback Australian town had the foresight to preserve it.
Incredibly this Lamson system is still sitting fully in tack. It is the only place in the world you will find a Lamson system still in its original shop setting. I stumbled upon it quite by accident while passing through, Coolamon. We happened to arrive during the towns annual scarecrow festival, so decided to stay for a week and explore this quirky place. The Lamson system is inside the ironically named Up To Date Store.
So how does it work?
The original Lamson cashier system was a way of securely moving cash in a large department store to a central office. Counter staff at the front of the shop, place cash and a note describing the purchase inside a ball. The ball is then raised up to the roof where it rockets down a winding railway track to the cashier office at the back of the building. The cashier, counts the money, places the change and receipt back into the ball and sends it back on its rolling way to the front counter to give to the customer. This original lamson system is still operational and we were kindly given a demonstration.The ball fairly rockets along the tracks, high up above in the ceiling of this beautifully preserved department store building.
The Up To Date Store is an old merchant store built in 1909. It has been lovingly preserved by the local community as a cultural facility. On my visit, the building was fairly empty, except for a china doll exhibition. The original counters, shelves and rooms are all in tack.
In it's time, the store operated as a large department store, with separate divided areas for groceries, ironmongery, crockery, drapery, millinery, haberdashery, clothing and footwear. Basically anything and everything, from a plough to a piano could be purchased from the Up-To-Date Store.
So there you go, not something you see every day. Actually it is not something you see unless you happen to visit Coolamon. It is truly amazing what you find off the beaten track, in this big beautiful country of mine.
Until next time,
xx Isabella
P.S - I will leave you with a few photos showcasing the delights of Coolamons annual scarecrow festival.
The old lady on the left looks like a stereotypical old lady ghost. Imagine taking a photo of an old house and seeing her in the window! Anyway good post @bridgetbunchy!
The whole place is a little ghostly!
I would love to see how it works. I imagine it like playing pinball. :)
Once the ball is thrusted up to the top of the tracks, it moves surprisingly fast, keeping the momentum with gravity. The track is fairly long, very satisfying to watch such precision and movement.
Thanks for explaining it.
I really like these mechanical solutions from the past. It must have been very difficult to design the system.
Particularly without CAD, perhaps it was first rudimentarily designed and then perfected with trial and error.
Oh how technology has advanced!
really amazing! I wish I could see a video of it in action! xD
gave upvote!
I know I thought it was incredible. The whole shop is beautiful, even if a little ghostly with all those empty rooms and floor to ceiling shelves. I didn't even think to film it. I should have! Next time - I am now about 1000 kilometres away :(
the whole building looked like really high quality craftsmanship and materials. they definitely don't make them like they use to. nice to see even though it is vacant it is kept in good condition.
hehe you can tell places that people spilt stuff a long time ago because of the stains on the wood flooring! xD
There is SO much history in those counters. I took a whole series of photos just of the various wood markings full of lost stories. I was surprised the building had not been bought and turned into a shop. Apparently the locals were concerned that new owners would not see the historical value of the building and rip parts down. I think it has heritage listing now and functions as an event space for exhibitions and the back rooms are turned into a little museum.
as long as it is taken care of it will be there a long time.
You constantly amaze me and inspire me with your posts. Absolutely fascinating article, thanks!
Cheers @rawnetics. I love this sort of thing. I even managed to do a photoshoot of my own products in this shop, just so that I could be a tiny part of it's history.
It's amazing to see now cryptocurrencies and compare the progress we have made since that era.
Yup - there will be a museum for EFTPOS and credit card machines?
Lol, could you imagine explaining a brain wallet, where you could travel anywhere in the world, with all your wealth kept safe with 12 random words you have memorised. ^_^
Haha. I struggle to explain the brain wallet concept to people even from this generation!
That's what I love about this site, always learning the unexpected. In the UK I've seen the air and tube system that tellers use in supermarkets to send notes upstairs, so as not to have full tills, but didn't know the idea went back that far.
And the unexpected from all parts of the world too @cryptobiker. Australian supermarkets still have that air tube system in some stores. I remember using one about 15 years ago. It was a pretty ugly tube looking thing, mostly hidden from customers view.
Macy's NYC should install one just for the wow factor!
Wouldn't that be great! They may have even had one back in the day.
That is awesome, and I love the attention to design detail (the star) on what is a functional object.
They sure knew how to build things properly back then.
Great article and topic I always enjoy anything in the historical/documentary fields. The more obscure it is the better. I wanted to upvote you but today is my first day and I have apparently ran out of steempower or votepower whichever I need to upvote you I would think votepower would be the right one but I have been wrong a time or two in my life. Anyways thanks for the education and entertainment. I have followed you so looking forward to seeing more from you and you will for sure get an upvote from me in the future
Welcome to Steemit @firefist84. Thanks for reading. It is not all about upvotes, so the fact you enjoyed my article is good enough for me :) I love how small towns in Australia are fairly proactive with preserving history.
That's pretty cool.
I love Steemit because it is a treasure trove of themes you never would read about without visiting Steemit website. Like this posting about "A secure way to move cash...in 1909".
When we are looking at the evolution of "moving cash" from 1909 -> 2016 it would be interesting how they might be "moving cash" in the year of 2133. ;)