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Has anyone heard anything if there was any damage to lifts due to the fires in Gatlinburg TN ? It sounds like Ober Gatlinburg made it through, but was curious about the tram base and downtown scenic lift

Peter, as usual, is right on top of things ...

https://liftblog.com...t-fate-unnown/

some of the pictures of the sky lift show rope and chairs still airborne with fire all around ... unknown if it remained that way.

Good sign for hope there wasn't direct fire damage if the rope didn't fail.

http://www.skilifts....?showuser=74761

*cough*

really bad humor mb

Peter's posted a picture of the top station of the Sky Lift, showing severe burn damage of the top station (it's completely gone), but the lift itself is still intact ... you gotta wonder about that top terminal, and the effects of that heat on the rope and all that metal, though.

https://skiliftblog....665_n.jpg?w=636

Some reports are also stating the tram is OK as well (I'd imagine if those cables came down, that would be pretty big news, considering the length and size of those ropes)

There will be a few chairs damaged on the Sky Lift as well, although more cosmetic than anything since those are steel chairs I'm assuming, SLI double?

SkyLift is a Riblet double, I believe ...

As an aside - you can see the nice clear yellow/orange paint all the way up the lift in Peter's overhead picture, all the way into the terminal ... hopefully that's a good sign for the Boyne folks. Paint does not survive fire and heat.

This does bring up a good question - there have been a few instances where a lift was damaged by a terminal fire (either accidental, intentional, or via act of nature) ... and a few instances where a lift was damaged by avalanche ...

Has one ever been outright destroyed by a fire?

(excluding the Eskimo destructive testing)
This post has been edited by _litz: 01 December 2016 - 07:37 PM

_litz, on 01 December 2016 - 07:35 PM, said:

Spruce and Townsight at Pajarito were both heavily damaged by the Las Conchas fire in 2011. Not sure either could be called 'outright destroyed', but the damage was substantial.

Depends on what you mean by outright.. Flying Squirrel at Sun Valley was more or less destroyed when the top terminal went up in flames a couple of years ago at night. They chose not to replace/repair it, but it was only a backup lift anyway at that point.



This post has been edited by RibStaThiok: 02 December 2016 - 11:10 AM

Of these terminals, I wonder how many had the fire in the drive terminal? (there's an obvious cost difference there)

For Gatlinburg's SkyLift, is the drive at the top or bottom? Doesn't look like there's much in Peter's picture at the top that could be drive ...

The drive is at the bottom, hydraulic tensioning was at the top. This lift, even though its a 'newer' '91, has a ton of hours on it, running nearly year-round, sun up to after dark. Several employees loss their houses, luckily material things can be rebuilt.

It was new in '91? Or a used lift installed in '91?

Plenty of fixed grip lifts out there that can replace this one or help repair it, I just hope they have insurance.

It's a Riblet; there are Riblet parts out there, so one would presume if they decide to repair, a repair is possible.

It's a Boyne owned lift; one would presume it's either insured or the company self-insures ... either way hopefully they will repair/replace and bring a needed business in the city back to life.

Interesting comment on Peter's article on this ...

"The rope was saved by the final act of the maintenance staff before they evacuated. I heard they fueled up the back up diesel, started the lift and left town."

If true, that's some good foresight there ... as long as the system keeps moving, you're not likely to burn through the rope.

Yes, that is very good thinking on their part. Sun Valley started up all their lifts a few years ago on Baldy when the forest fire threatened it. They also kicked on portions of their snow making equipment as well, which were positioned to try to protect the various assets on the mountain. As long as the drive station and opposite terminal is safe and has power and none of the safety switches/sensors are triggered, its a good idea.
This post has been edited by RibStaThiok: 04 December 2016 - 08:27 PM

There's been no official word, but looking at the pictures, you have to wonder about damage on that top terminal ... pictures seem to show not only intact chairs/rope, but that there's still tension, too. Might be good news ...

Found this picture of the top terminal area ... https://smokymountai...rg-Sky-Lift.jpg

Hard to tell what material that is, if it's wood slats, or Hardi-Plank, or sculptured concrete.

Either of the latter will not burn ...

Actually, looking at Peter's overhead shot, the landing area is clearly burned out, so must have been wood slats.

Paint seems to be intact on the lift structure overhead though, although there is a control station there ... one could presume when all that burned, the safeties may have stopped the lift.

Be interesting to see if any forensics of damage/repair ever get released to the public.
This post has been edited by _litz: 05 December 2016 - 04:30 PM

Ouch ... top terminal is pretty crispy ... can see paint's burned off everything past the top tower, and the entire platform is ashes ...

https://www.youtube....h?v=Gf9aOyuFttU

Not to worry, she'll spin again.

Boyne has issued a press release that they intend to open mid to late spring 2017.

They are still inspecting/evaluating damage and determining the upcoming course of action ...

What do y'all think? Rebuild the top terminal (don't forget, it's a Riblet, so there are parts out there), change the haul rope, and spin 'er up?

(and, oh, build an entire new gift top?)

Depends on how old the existing haul rope is. If it is not very old, Can't they just splice in a new section of cable?