The donkey cart

“Three men,” said Crackham, “Atkins, Brown, and Cranby, had to go to a jorney of forty miles. Atkins could walk one mile an hour, Brown could walk two miles an hour, and Cranby could go in his donkey cart at eight miles an hour. Cranby drove Atkins a certain distance, and, dropping him to walk the remainder, drove back to meet Brown on the way and carried him to their destination, where they all arrived at the same time.

“How long did the journey take?” Of course each went at a uniform rate throughout.”

The escalator

“I counted fifty steps that I made going down escalator,” said Walker.

“I counted seventy-five steps,” said Trotman; “but I was walking down three times as quickly as you.”

If the staircase were stopped, how many steps would be visible? It is assumed that each man traveled at a uniform rate, and the speed of the staircase was also constant.