21 replies to this topic

[Warren733]

I am very interested in seeing how Pullman-Berry chairlifts looked, and why there aren't any today. I know Skyline, VA, Butternut, MA, and Ski Minnie, NY had some Pullman-Berry lifts. Does anyone else know anything about the company and their lifts?

[trooper1556]

this article has a write up & a small picture of one in Nebraska <-not a typo
http://www.nebraskal.../DevilsNest.asp

the company was only in operation in '71 & 72
http://www.skilifts....tall_survey.htm
http://www.skilifts....tall_na1971.htm
http://www.skilifts....tall_na1972.htm

a picture of one of the chairs:
http://www.chairlift...collection.html

scroll to the bottom of this page to see skyline ski area aka big devil:
http://www.davebatch...ges/2/index.htm

This post has been edited by trooper1556: 04 June 2007 - 07:50 AM

[poloxskier]

I'm guessing that Taos's is long gone?
Are there any Pullman-Berry's still in operation?

[Conrad]

I was reading the book on Sunday River and the author mentioned that Pullman Berry was related to the famous Pullman Company which built railroad cars. Apparently most important reason for buying the lift from Pullman Berry was that the company offered no money down deal. The book also has a better quality view of that photo, but that is the best I could find online.

[Yooper Skier]

We have a box of prints from P-B kicking around the shop for the pictured lift.

[vons]

At Taos there are currently a number of the old Pullman Berry chairs are around the base area turned into benches if I remember right they look identical to a SLI chair.

[Peter]

Yooper Skier, on 06 September 2013 - 02:15 PM, said:

We have a box of prints from P-B kicking around the shop for the pictured lift.

Am I crazy or did Yan use those towers over at Little White Cap?

[Conrad]

Peter, on 06 September 2013 - 05:25 PM, said:

Am I crazy or did Yan use those towers over at Little White Cap?

You aren't crazy. According to Sunday River mechanics, that is the case. Also, SR apparently is using the old engine as backup for Little White Cap.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ov4xwol

[Yooper Skier]

All but three of the towers are Pullman-Berry. And indeed, the aux is also a carryover from the Barker Mountain Double.

[Nate214]

vons, on 06 September 2013 - 05:13 PM, said:

At Taos there are currently a number of the old Pullman Berry chairs are around the base area turned into benches if I remember right they look identical to a SLI chair.

Long gone lift, I have heard a lot of stories about it chairs were replaced by SLI at one time. And a couple seasons in they had to replace all the sheaves lots of problems with the first ones. I will try to find some pictures somewhere

[Nate214]

I think the chairs did look the same

[Yooper Skier]

I've been told we (Sunday River) got a bunch of line equipement/sheaves from Toas when they tore theirs down. From what I gather, we are the only ones still running anything Pullman-Berry.

[Nate214]

Yooper Skier, on 25 May 2014 - 12:59 PM, said:

I've been told we (Sunday River) got a bunch of line equipement/sheaves from Toas when they tore theirs down. From what I gather, we are the only ones still running anything Pullman-Berry.

Ya I remember digging those up for them they had been in a bone yard for a long time already so they needed complete overhaul to use but do remember sending those. That grease was smelling horrible that was in them good timing though our boneyard got cleaned out and the rest we had are long gone. and the defective ones were scraped by the old lift boss a long time ago. Not sure may still have a few of the grips but a lot of those have disappeared. We still have the bullwheel and gearbox still on carriage frame in the boneyard but has been out there since 92

This post has been edited by Nate214: 25 May 2014 - 02:01 PM

[Nate214]

Hope those sheaves were of good use to you. It was hard to get our area to sell or get rid of anything at that time.

[vons]

I think it was 90 or 91 was the last time I rode the old Kachina lift, it was after a huge storm that brought huge avalanches down all over the mountain. The bull wheel structure at the top of Kachina was narrowly missed by one of the before mentioned avalanches but the lift shack was not. The shack had been pieced back together and put back up looking rather worse for wear. Another slide had passed between some of the upper towers on Chair 7, I remembered this one because an old tucker snowcat was ripped in half and embedded in the debris.

[Yooper Skier]

With any luck, we'll be getting rid of the Pullman tower heads in the next couple of years and replacing them with Poma stuff...at least that's the persisting rumor.

[Nate214]

Are you still running the original grips? How are the metal grip needles holding up? We used the old grips we had to salvage the grip needles and retro them to a Stadeli grip to fix up those grips for a while. Then a few years ago the Stadeli grips had a good batch fail NDT so Garaventa made us some new ones with a newer replaceable grip needle the plastic stuff.

[Yooper Skier]

Nope, not running them. The lift was moved and "rebuilt" by Yan in '88 so it was about a 50/50 mix of Yan and PB with chairs and grips by Yan. Then the grips, hangers, and Yan sheaves (except guide and portal) were upgraded to Poma. It's a very quirky lift to be around, as it was built as a double, has the gauge of a double, and has quad chairs. I think three of the 17 towers are pullman with their line equipment...Yan return, Yan drive, Dopp drive bullwheel...Kissling gearbox and Cummins V8 carried over from the double. A mutt to be sure!

[Nate214]

Yooper Skier, on 02 June 2014 - 04:25 PM, said:

Nope, not running them. The lift was moved and "rebuilt" by Yan in '88 so it was about a 50/50 mix of Yan and PB with chairs and grips by Yan. Then the grips, hangers, and Yan sheaves (except guide and portal) were upgraded to Poma. It's a very quirky lift to be around, as it was built as a double, has the gauge of a double, and has quad chairs. I think three of the 17 towers are pullman with their line equipment...Yan return, Yan drive, Dopp drive bullwheel...Kissling gearbox and Cummins V8 carried over from the double. A mutt to be sure!

wow! Interesting lift to work on I bet. I have some lifts built from parts too not as mixed. We are about to have 4 different manf. of lifts here though.

[ceo]

Cannon in NH installed a Pullman-Berry double in 1973, replacing a T-bar. It was originally the New Peabody Double, even though the (old) Peabody Double was still in use. Its unreliability caused it to get nicknamed the Hong Kong chair, and that name actually made it onto the signage and trail maps for a few years. Eventually it was officially renamed the Gremlin Chair. Both it and Peabody were replaced in 2000 or thereabouts; the replacement (on a different alignment) is called the Eagle Cliff Chair.