5 replies to this topic

[Ryan]

Can someone explain how the Mueller C grip works? I found several pictures of the grip along with a diagram but I cannot figure out how the mobile jaw couples and decouples the cable. There appears to be a gear but I am not sure how that operates the jaw.

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[william b]

I believe that the gear you see engages in a stationary "rack" in the terminal, and literally screws the jaw open or closed depending on its orientation in the terminal. The gear is turned in one direction when the rack is mounted above the grip, and the gear is turned the opposite direction when it is mounted below the grip, thus opening or closing the grip as required. This system was used on both of the Mueller gondolas that were built in New Hampshire in the 1960's. Evidently the system was fairly reliable save for the odd cabin that was spit out onto the ground and nobody could figure out why.

Hope this helps,
WBL

[snowmaster]

Wait a minute, where was the second mueller gondola in NH? I know only of the Whittier lift, and it was my understanding that the only others on the continenet were at Mt. Ste. Anne, Whistler, and Pipesteam.

Mueller also built a number of detachable chairs with this grip in Europe, many of them for tourists and many of them transverse (chairs facing out from the towers)

william b, on 07 July 2008 - 10:14 AM, said:

I believe that the gear you see engages in a stationary "rack" in the terminal, and literally screws the jaw open or closed depending on its orientation in the terminal. The gear is turned in one direction when the rack is mounted above the grip, and the gear is turned the opposite direction when it is mounted below the grip, thus opening or closing the grip as required. This system was used on both of the Mueller gondolas that were built in New Hampshire in the 1960's. Evidently the system was fairly reliable save for the odd cabin that was spit out onto the ground and nobody could figure out why.

Hope this helps,
WBL

[william b]

snowmaster, on 16 December 2009 - 08:55 AM, said:

Wait a minute, where was the second mueller gondola in NH? I know only of the Whittier lift, and it was my understanding that the only others on the continenet were at Mt. Ste. Anne, Whistler, and Pipesteam.

Mueller also built a number of detachable chairs with this grip in Europe, many of them for tourists and many of them transverse (chairs facing out from the towers)

The other Mueller gondola was at Mt. Sunapee. It was actually a Heron (or perhaps a Roebling/Hopkins)chairlift that was converted to run these Mueller detachable gondolas in the summer, and operate as a double chairlift in the winter. Fair amount of conversion work required, I would speculate.

wbl

[snowmaster]

Aaah that clears it up. I've seen pictures of the old crossing doubles with summer gondolas on one, but were they definitely detachable? I'd always thought they were run fixed grip and slow. Do you know, was this setup in existance until the crossed doubled were removed and the Doppelmayr (uncrossed) triples went in?

william b, on 16 December 2009 - 11:10 AM, said:

The other Mueller gondola was at Mt. Sunapee. It was actually a Heron (or perhaps a Roebling/Hopkins)chairlift that was converted to run these Mueller detachable gondolas in the summer, and operate as a double chairlift in the winter. Fair amount of conversion work required, I would speculate.

wbl

[william b]

These gondolas were definitely detachable. I believe there's a cabin around with a grip on it somewhere. As for the crossing chairlifts, I believe that they were there until the Doppelmayr equipment was installed in the mid 1980's. My former boss worked there from 1970 until 1996, so I have access to some first hand history. I'll double check with him when I get the chance.

wbl