35 replies to this topic

[Jonni]

As a break off of a post in another thread about identifying lifts and their manufacturers, what are some of the tell tale signs in a lift's look and design that indicates it's manufacturer? Personally, I'm not as good as other people at being able to just look at a picture of a lift and immediately know what company built it. Though, I do know a few.


Here's the start of the list:

Borvig: sheave trains appear to be hanging from the tower crossarms, chair design, tower design (tubular towers with flat crossarms that are tapered on the ends)
Doppelmayr: grips, chair design, bullwheel design (bullwheels are usually solid with holes around the perimeter)
Hall: grips, towers, drive, sheaves, etc.
Poma: chair design (square, heavy look), grips, terminal design
Stadeli: tower design, chair design, terminal design
Yan: terminal design (condensed, streamlined look), tower design (crossarm shape)


Feel free to add to the list of manufacturers and differences.

[ZackyJeff]

The YAN HSQ's odd chair design. They look so much like 3-seaters.

[highspeedquad]

If the picture is good enough you might be able to see the manufacturer's logo somewhere.

[heavenly_romer]

I think riblet is the only one with the centerpole chair design, and their towers look strange.

[SkiBachelor]

Doppelmayr, Yan, Miner-Denver, Roebling, M-Latta also have a center design. There's more out there, I just don't feel like naming them all.

[edmontonguy]

A tell tale feature of the towerheads is where the sheave hoists can be attatched to.

Poma: Older models don't have any protrusions on the towerhead like newer models and Doppelmayr. Newer models have a large plate with holes for attachment.

Doppelmayr: The top beam of the towerhead overhangs and there are two loops for attatching the sheave hoist

[floridaskier]

edmontonguy, on Jun 24 2005, 01:32 PM, said:

A tell tale feature of the towerheads is where the sheave hoists can be attatched to.

Poma: Older models don't have any protrusions on the towerhead like newer  models and Doppelmayr. Newer models have a large plate with holes for attachment.

Doppelmayr: The top beam of the towerhead overhangs and there are two loops for attatching the sheave hoist
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

CTEC - In the corner between the vertical beams and the top beam of the towerhead, there's a curved plate with two holes in it

[Dr Frankenstein]

Müller : Usually lattice towers with some sort of star pattern on the crossarm.

[ZackyJeff]

The Thayne's Lift (A YAN)@PCMR is really odd.

[floridaskier]

Besides for the bottom terminal...



...it's just a regular Yan double. I like how you can ski under the bullwheel.
I've seen this on some older lifts, for whatever reason, it was the thing to do with your bottom terminal in the 60s and 70s. Anyone know why they had it this way? I remember talking about this in the past, but don't remembr what the reason was
See also - Golden Eagle at The Canyons, 1965 Riblet double with the same setup at the bottom terminal

[Zage]

Girak can be identified mostly by their spoked sheaves. Their detachable grip, chairs and terminals are some other items. Most new Garaventa lifts can be identified by their silver and blue terminals, and their grip with the blue coil springs.

[edmontonguy]

Terminal colour is usually determined by the ski resort not the lift company.

[floridaskier]

Poma for corrugated metal terminal siding

[SkiBachelor]

I think the shape/look of the terminal is the easiest way to tell what lift manufacturer it is.

[Allan]

I don't remember either... let me take a shot though! It looks as though the two hold down towers are height adjustable. Maybe it's a cheater way to have a height adjustable terminal without having to change the height of the entire terminal.

Mueller by their sheave assemblies and "Patented Double Grips."

floridaskier, on Jun 24 2005, 05:13 PM, said:

Besides for the bottom terminal...



...it's just a regular Yan double. I like how you can ski under the bullwheel.
I've seen this on some older lifts, for whatever reason, it was the thing to do with your bottom terminal in the 60s and 70s. Anyone know why they had it this way? I remember talking about this in the past, but don't remembr what the reason was
See also - Golden Eagle at The Canyons, 1965 Riblet double with the same setup at the bottom terminal

[poloxskier]

From the lifts that I have seen this yan set up is fairly common except the ones that I have seen are bottom drive. Copper has one as does Steamboat. Not all the ones that I have seen are height adjustable like thanes though.

This post has been edited by poloxskier: 25 June 2005 - 10:36 AM

[snowboardguy]

Allan, on Jun 25 2005, 10:16 AM, said:

I don't remember either... let me take a shot though!  It looks as though the two hold down towers are height adjustable.  Maybe it's a cheater way to have a height adjustable terminal without having to change the height of the entire terminal.

I'm pretty sure that is it. That is how the ones on the backside of Mammoth are.

[liftmech]

poloxskier, on Jun 25 2005, 11:33 AM, said:

From the lifts that I have seen this yan set up is fairly common except the ones that I have seen are bottom drive.  Copper has one as does Steamboat.  Not all the ones that I have seen are height adjustable like thanes though.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We don't have one anymore- it was old I lift and that went away in '94. Some of that design was because bullwheel loading hadn't been perfected yet (if the lift was built in the sixties). Yan attached his tower 1 to the lift shack in that setup- the legs are filled with concrete. Quite an odd setup.

Riblet can be ID'ed easily by the clips and the towers- halos on anything earlier than the mid-80s, and a lifting frame where the two parts are not connected on the newer models. Their sheaves are not enclosed in a frame either, but can be removed straight off the side of the assembly.

Poma's earlier sheaves are five-spoked, where most other manufacturers are six. The carrier design is pretty recognisable. The lifting frames have no attach points for lifting equipment until '98 or so. We carry an insert with us when we go to lift the rope up.

[poloxskier]

Yeah I mis-phrased that sorry the lift is still at copper but relocated and rebuilt in a different configuration which looks even more interesting.

This post has been edited by poloxskier: 27 June 2005 - 05:31 AM

[liftmech]

More ID assistance. First is the last and newest Riblet tower, with the 'horn'-style lifting frame. Second is a side view of a Riblet assembly, showing the ease of sheave removal. Third is a typical Poma carrier; the triple from this era (1981-1997) looks much the same. Note also the TB-style detachable grip. Fourth is a typical Poma tower from 1984-1996.

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