102 replies to this topic

[Snoqualmie guy]

Can lifts turn corners? I've looked for another topic on this but can't find one.

[Peter]

http://www.skilifts....?showtopic=5413

[Peter]

http://www.skilifts....?showtopic=3663
http://www.skilifts....?showtopic=3617

This post has been edited by Peter: 20 November 2014 - 05:15 PM

[SkiBachelor]

Yes, lifts can turn:

[Dr Frankenstein]

It's doable. Many detachable lifts have a corner midstation. Actually it's not too hard to make them since grips can detach from the rope.

Fixed grip lifts are a bit more tricky to make turn. But there are some FG turning lifts, either doing slight turns where the grip doesn't pose a problem, either using odd ways to circumvent the problem, like the one in Killington where the downhill side is straight and the uphill side turning. Some other turning FG lifts are even weirder.

[Peter]

2 separate detachable lifts connected with midstation(s):
Blackcomb - Excalibur Gondola
Whistler - Village Gondola
Killington - Skyeship Gondola
Telluride - Village Gondola
Alta - Collins Express
Mammoth - Gondola

Detachable with turn, but only one drive and one rope:
Breckenridge - Peak 8 SuperConnect
Breckenridge - BreckConnect Gondola
Vail - Riva Bahn Express
Sunshine Village - Gondola

Detachable with turn but no station:
Snowbird - Baldy Express
Moonlight Basin - Six Shooter
The Canyons - Cabriolet

Fixed Grip with turn:
Breckenridge - Snowflake
Breckenridge - Riblet Double (not sure which one)
Snowmass - The Cirque Poma (I know it is detachable, but it is more like a fixed grip in terms of terminals)

Fixed Grip that runs in a triangle shape (turn on only one direction):
Fortress Mountain - Curved T-Bar
Sun Peaks - Morrisey T-Bar
Breckenridge - T-Bar
Killington - South Ridge Triple


There are probably more. Does Breckenridge really have 5 lifts that turn?!

This post has been edited by Skier: 29 May 2007 - 03:05 PM

[skiersage]

here is a good one.

[Snoqualmie guy]

How does the cable not fall off of the sheave?

[SkiBachelor]

The sheave assemblies are tilted a special way on three towers which allows the lift to turn.

[Jonni]

The South Ridge Triple at Killington is another FG triple that turns and is in a triangle shape. The Riblet double at Breck that turns is Chair 5 I believe. Counting the lifts that turn at Breck I come up with 5. (Peak 8 SuperConnect, Chair 5, Snowflake, T-Bar and the BreckConnect Gondola)

[skierdude9450]

This makes me wonder if Snowflake was the first fg lift to have a line turn on both sides rather than being a triangle lift. On page 125 of the Doppelmayr World Book, there is a lift that is very similar to Snowflake.

To answer your question Skier, yes Breck does have 5 turning lifts.

Snowflake: 60 degree dual line turn. What a mess
Peak 8 SuperConnect: 10 degree angle station using deflector sheaves
Chair 5 (the Riblet): approx. 5 degree turn on tower using angled sheaves
T-Bar: Triangle lift. Downhill side is a straight shot, uphill side has a 30 degree turn with a bullwheel
BreckConnect: 2 approx. 50 degree angle stations using bullwheels for each direction.

[skierdude9450]

Oh, and by the way, they're going to have to do something with the Vista Bahn after they're done moving it. Why do all of these lifts such as Six Shooter have turns in them? Couldn't they just cut the line straight?

[SkiBachelor]

The surveyor accidentally shot Six Shooter Express' line wrong and the terminal would have ended up on Big Sky's property. Doppelmayr CTEC realized this during construction and since Big Sky and Moonlight Basin weren't getting along at the time, Doppelmayr CTEC had to engineer a turn into the profile.

However, the Cabriolet at The Canyons had no other option because the Carbiolet would have passed over people's homes.

[Peter]

Baldy Express had to turn because of some funky property lines that it could not cross.

[defence2]

Can someone explain the engineering in the sheaves for the turns?

[Peter]

Pretty simple, the sheaves are just angled in the direction of the turn. The middle tower is a depression so that there is more tension I think. The tower before and after the turn has sheaves tilted the opposite direction as the turn, not sure exactly why.

Baldy Express:
 IMG_1026.JPG (1.35MB)
Number of downloads: 253  IMG_1024.JPG (1.36MB)
Number of downloads: 191

[Snoqualmie guy]

[quote name='Skier' date='May 29 2007, 09:19 PM' post='60969']
The tower before and after the turn has sheaves tilted the opposite direction as the turn, not sure exactly why.

The towers before and after would make the cable want to go to the inside of the middle tower but with the sheaves there it is forced to bend, making the turn in the lift.

[floridaskier]

Silver Strike at DV probably has the turn because of all the condos they're building at the bottom. That picture of the lift running through the woods on a pretty morning is now a big construction site. However, you'd think the condo developers would have left enough room for the lift since the main purpose for it is to go to the condos

How would they have built lifts like that before they thought of the on-line turns? That would have been a really costly mistake at Moonlight if they didn't figure it out until during construction and had to move the entire line. I always wondered why Baldy at Snowbird didn't start in the same place as Mineral Basin Express, so the weird property lines would explain why it starts around the third tower of Mineral Basin.

Did Chair 5 at Breckenridge originally have the turn, and has Poma ever built a line turn?

[LiftTech]

Skier, on May 30 2007, 12:19 AM, said:

Pretty simple, the sheaves are just angled in the direction of the turn. The middle tower is a depression so that there is more tension I think. The tower before and after the turn has sheaves tilted the opposite direction as the turn, not sure exactly why.

Baldy Express:
IMG_1026.JPG IMG_1024.JPG

You are right, sort of. This type of turning of a lift line is actually a simple concept and very complex; the simple part is that the sheave(s) needs to support the rope in the direction of the load, tension has something to do with it but the direction of the load has everything to do with it. The complex part is knowing what the changes are in the direction of load from a loaded line to an empty line among other things and what effect they will have on alignment, the greater the sheave angle the greater the effect. The greater the line change the greater the sheave angle and the more towers you use to change the angle the lower the sheave angle from vertical, most likely manufactures have a sheave angle they wish not to exceed. Now can anyone tell us why a support tower is tilted one way and a compression the other to change the angle in the same direction knowing what I’ve said?

[skierdude9450]

floridaskier, on May 30 2007, 05:31 AM, said:

Did Chair 5 at Breckenridge originally have the turn, and has Poma ever built a line turn?

Poma built the largest line turn. But, I don't think they have ever built one with angled sheaves like those. They might do the upgrades to the Vista Bahn. (See new 2007 lift pics)