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I'm a little surprised that there weren't permanent ladders, or at least the gear to attach ladders, as a feature of the chimney. The cost of a dozen ladders and some bolts would be a few hundred pounds (in modern terms) compared to the thousands you'd pay a person to 'ladder up' a chimney before it could be worked on.

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I wonder if they'd degrade to the point where they were no longer trustworthy? If we're talking about decades and decades which it seems like we are then at some point you'd maybe end up having to repair/maintain the ladder/access bolts as well as the tower itself.

There are steps on telegraph poles above a certain point - the wooden ones at least. Modern metal ones have signs that forbid the use of ladders and they end up using cherry pickers - which seems a bit backwards in an odd sort of a way.

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