Time at the Top Series by Edward Ormondroyd, Ruth Robbins

It's strange enough when Susan Shaw disappears without a trace on a wintry March afternoon. It's stranger still when her uninformative note is found in the hallway of her apartment building, along with a black cat that no one has seen before... moreIt's strange enough when Susan Shaw disappears without a trace on a wintry March afternoon. It's stranger still when her uninformative note is found in the hallway of her apartment building, along with a black cat that no one has seen before. And it's strangest of all when she suddenly appears again, wearing clothes that are eighty years out of date, and tells a wild story about an old woman with a fly-away hat, an elevator that travels into the past, and a distressed family that only she can save. Who is going to believe such a tale? Certainly not her father. But Susan is determined to prove to him that it's all true. And she has other plans for him as well...Who, in fact, could believe such a tale? Even the author, who takes part in the story, has his doubts. But just as those doubts are all laid to rest, the mystery thickens once more. This time it's a double disappearance... less

A young girl is granted three rides in a magic elevator that transports her to the end of the nineteenth century.