18 replies to this topic

[NHskier13]

On some lifts I notice that there are some rails that don't have any access point, thus making use rather awkward if they decide to use it at all. I'll share a couple of instances;

North Peak Express, Sunday River, ME.
That panel near the rail looks like it can open up, I don't know if that's a thing though...



EDIT : I do think these are for added maze structure, mainly, loading gates, signs, etc. Because Jordan Bowl Express has these, and I think at one time they supported loading gates,

White Peaks Express, Waterville Valley, NH.
The top has a random rail, however at least in the bottom there is an area for the chairs to come off ;

 SAM_6376.JPG (703.27K)
Number of downloads: 88

[2milehi]

Those rails are for taking chairs off and putting them on. Also say a grip were to completely fail in the winter time during operation. The chair would be taken off line and parked in the rail that is exposed from the terminal.

[liftmech]

And yes, the panel near the rail can open up. It is most definitely a 'thing'.

[NHskier13]

I figured it would be something on those lines, but does that panel come off in the case of White Peaks? Looks pretty well disguised if that's the case. Also, why have the panel there, whereas on other lifts the area is just open to freely move it off the line? (assuming you opened up the rail from the normal position) is it for weather protection or for looks or neither?

[2milehi]

Here are other emergency parking rails. Not all lifts have this feature.

[NHskier13]

I'm pretty sure that the highspeed quads at Bretton Woods (NH) don't have manual rails, I think that may not be the case for Zephyr but iirc the others do not.

[julestheshiba]

 IMG_2652.jpg (1.34MB)
Number of downloads: 87Many lifts at Squaw have these on them. Gold Coast and Squaw One have them but Squaw One has (what I believe to be) a multiple chair maintenance rail.

Edit: this is a Poma Competition

This post has been edited by julestheshiba: 29 March 2016 - 09:49 AM

[NHskier13]

That's essentially on the bottom side of white peaks minus what I think that is in the middle... a winch? I dunno. But anyways, yeah it has that rail going around the bottom.

[julestheshiba]

The thing in the middle is a winch I am pretty sure. liftmech may know more about it.

[JSteigs]

julestheshiba, on 28 March 2016 - 07:12 PM, said:

IMG_2652.jpgMany lifts at Squaw have these on them. Gold Coast and Squaw One have them but Squaw One has (what I believe to be) a multiple chair maintenance rail.

Edit: this is a Poma Competition

Yes that's an electric chain hoist. Squaw does their most of their NDT of detachables in the winter, so it is easier to use a hoist to lower the chair than a snowcat with forks. Even in the summer it would be easier to lower the chair directly into a pickup instead of driving a forklift up the hill. I know Crested Butte has similar set ups on their detachables.

[2milehi]

julestheshiba, on 28 March 2016 - 07:12 PM, said:

IMG_2652.jpgMany lifts at Squaw have these on them. Gold Coast and Squaw One have them but Squaw One has (what I believe to be) a multiple chair maintenance rail.

Edit: this is a Poma Competition

I believe the OP was talking about the stub rails sticking out. Here is the top terminal.

[julestheshiba]

I just used that because I had that picture I had taken.

Edit: Squaw One is one of my top favorite lifts at Squaw in terms of use, comfort, view, design, and convenience.

This post has been edited by julestheshiba: 29 March 2016 - 07:09 PM

[julestheshiba]

Also just to add on. How do the chairs come of onto the rail from either a cadence chain or tires? Is it just slid onto it or is some kind of thing flipped to let it on?

Edit: Also what is that white cylinder on the top part of the chair? Is it some kind of testing thing?

This post has been edited by julestheshiba: 02 April 2016 - 07:26 AM

[liftmech]

NHskier13, on 28 March 2016 - 08:12 AM, said:

I figured it would be something on those lines, but does that panel come off in the case of White Peaks? Looks pretty well disguised if that's the case. Also, why have the panel there, whereas on other lifts the area is just open to freely move it off the line? (assuming you opened up the rail from the normal position) is it for weather protection or for looks or neither?

Both. Depending upon manufacturer, some terminals had no weather protection where the chairs came offline. Pomas almost never do, while Doppelmayrs almost always do. On the Doppelmayrs the weather panel is usually hinged and operated by hydraulics while on Pomas the door is manually removed. There are exceptions, I'm sure, but this is what I've seen.

[SuperRat]

All of Bretton Woods' detachables have emergency parking rails

You can spot each of them in the Bretton Woods Galleries on skilifts.org.
On Zephyr, Rosebrook and West Mountain the rails are 90 degrees to the line (they point to the operator house)

Come Loon and I'll show you how some models work.

[theliftguy]

Are these parking rails? This is a Poma detachable from 1996 (Canyon Express at Mount Snow, VT)

https://skiliftblog....jpg?w=654&h=490

[2milehi]

^^^^ You could park chairs on that external rail.

[NHskier13]

So I believe it was mentioned before (I think?) but in the case of the rail being on the downhill side, how does one remove the chair? Would you send it down to the bottom (possibly a hazard?) or take off the panel and run it reverse then take it off at the top?

[2milehi]

Some lifts don't go in reverse. One parks a chair just past the rail and then drags it into the emergency rail.

Know you got me thinking, say there was a total grip failure with no emergency parking. Would you try to move the chair outside the terminal and hoist it down or rope evac the people off the lift. I'd go with hoisting the chair to the ground.