Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The exterior view of the large castle.
Castello di Gropparello (Gropparello Castle)
Night view of the palace with Kathmandu’s famous giant fruit bats flying overhead.
Narayanhiti Palace Museum Massacre Site
Small statues of Buddha line the path to the top of the mountain.
Mitaki-dera
A view of the Sandiaoling bike tunnel.
Sandiaoling Bike Tunnel
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
Passersby stop to admire the punny offerings of Brooklyn’s only dinosaur bodega.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope
Native Americans have a longstanding, rich, and vibrant culture in Wyoming.
Wyoming’s Sacred Landscapes: A Journey Through Native American History

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Maryland Silver Spring Wheaton Station Escalator

Wheaton Station Escalator

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.

Silver Spring, Maryland

Added By
Robert Shell
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Wheaton Station Escalator   Theadana/Wikimedia
Wheaton Station Escalator   Payton Chung on Wikipedia
Wheaton Station Escalator   Payton Chung on Wikipedia
Wheaton Station Escalator   Payton Chung on Wikipedia
Wheaton Station Escalator   Payton Chung on Wikipedia
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
Wheaton Station Escalator   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The lengths of a 747, the escalator on Montgomery County's red line is quite a ride, considered the longest set of singe span escalators in the Western Hemisphere.A very, very long ride. 

While three-and-a-half minutes doesn't sound that long, imagine how slowly those seconds would tick by as you ascended to street level from the deepest depths of the second deepest station in the vast belly of the Washington Metro system. Long enough to ponder why the metro system is buried so far beneath the earth, (an exceptionally thick soft rock layer), how long the escalators are in the Eastern Hemisphere, (Hong Kong, 745 feet), and speculate on how many escalator accidents occur per year. (1 or 2).

The 230-foot moving staircase is counted among fellow staircase titans, including the Rosslyn Metro Escalator, which gets a puzzling amount of attention for only coming in at a measly 207 feet, ranking fifth amongst its other Metrorail contenders. It travels at a speed of 90 feet per minute, and so far, hasn't killed anyone that we know of, although it has no immunity to the constant breakdowns that most escalators seem to be plagued with. 

While Wheaton Station boasts the longest escalator, it still isn't the only title holder in the Washington Metro. The Forest Glen station is so deep (196 feet underground) it requires high-speed elevators to transport passengers to and from the surface. In your face, Wheaton.

Related Tags

Stairs World's Longest Transportation

Know Before You Go

You can park at the station, to use this metro stop, but get there early. This is a big commuter station and it fills up.

Community Contributors

Added By

robertshell22

Edited By

Rachel, e1savage, lakecharles, EricGrundhauser...

  • Rachel
  • e1savage
  • lakecharles
  • EricGrundhauser
  • blimpcaptain

Published

December 1, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_station
  • http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/escalator-injuries-and-deaths-and-role-design
  • http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g28970-c56842/Washington-Dc:District-Of-Columbia:Metrorail.Trivia.html
Wheaton Station Escalator
11171 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland, 20902
United States
39.038382, -77.050685
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Pauli Bellet Foundation

Kensington, Maryland

miles away

Brookside Gardens Reflection Terrace

Wheaton, Maryland

miles away

Washington, D.C. Temple

Kensington, Maryland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Silver Spring

Silver Spring

Maryland

Places 13
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Pauli Bellet Foundation

Kensington, Maryland

miles away

Brookside Gardens Reflection Terrace

Wheaton, Maryland

miles away

Washington, D.C. Temple

Kensington, Maryland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Silver Spring

Silver Spring

Maryland

Places 13
Stories 2

Related Places

  • Stockholm, Sweden

    Västra Skogen Escalator

    A Stockholm metro station is home to an escalator that is not only the longest in Sweden, but among the longest in the world.

  • Near the top of the stairs (January 2025)

    Seattle, Washington

    Howe Street Stairs

    Spanning an elevation of 160 feet and containing 388 steps, this is Seattle's longest staircase.

  • The Crimean trolleybus heading to the sea

    Simferopol, Crimea

    Crimean Trolleybus Line

    The longest trolleybus route in the world, from Simferopol and Yalta.

  • The Rosslyn Metro escalator. (Steven Cohen/Atlas Obscura)

    Arlington, Virginia

    Rosslyn Metro Escalator

    At 207 feet, one of the world's longest continuous escalators.

  • Obihiro, Japan

    Kofuku Train Station

    On an abandoned railway line, "happiness" station is still a popular destination for lovers.

  • Pune, India

    Vikram Pendse Cycle Museum

    In a Pune bungalow, a quirky museum showcases over 150 vintage bicycles.

  • Kragujevac, Serbia

    20 Cola Museum

    A unique museum documents pop culture and bicycles from the 20th century Serbia.

  • London, England

    Grand Staircase at St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel

    As seen in the Spice Girls ‘Wannabe’ music video.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.