41 replies to this topic

[Skier123]

I was looking around at the lifts at different mountains and I found something very strange at Squaw Valley. Apparently Poma used to make high speed quads that used Alpha drive terminals rather than having a built-in drive. I have a few pictures of the lift, which is the Shirley Lake Express:

Here's the bottom station:
 ShirleyLakeExpress2.jpg (89.77K)
Number of downloads: 188

And here's the top station with the Alpha drive:
 ShirleyLakeExpressjpg.jpg (74.07K)
Number of downloads: 225

Another picture showing the chair parking:
 ShirleyLakeExpress3.jpg (88.47K)
Number of downloads: 178

If anyone has more info on these lifts please let me know.

[Vincen]

Hi,

It's a classic configuration when chairlift was originally a not high-speed one ! They just added in front of regular installation all the high-speed detachable stuffs and perhaps also upgraded the motor to get power and speed needed.

Vincèn

[Skier123]

Vincen, on 24 August 2009 - 08:05 AM, said:

Hi,

It's a classic configuration when chairlift was originally a not high-speed one ! They just added in front of regular installation all the high-speed detachable stuffs and perhaps also upgraded the motor to get power and speed needed.

Vincèn

It seems more complicated than just upgrading the whole lift, don't you think?

[Vincen]

Skier123, on 24 August 2009 - 08:11 AM, said:

It seems more complicated than just upgrading the whole lift, don't you think?

Well it can avoid all costs to rebuild fundations for each station and all ground blocks :) but it's not a very often configuration !

Vincèn

[Skier123]

Vincen, on 24 August 2009 - 08:17 AM, said:

Well it can avoid all costs to rebuild fundations for each station and all ground blocks :) but it's not a very often configuration !

Vincèn

You still have to build the foundation for the other terminals though.

[skisox34]

The Falcon Detach quad at Breckenridge on Peak 10 is the same... or was the same I haven't been there in a bunch of years. Doppylmayr did that also and Stowe VT's Forerunner Quad is still set up like that.

[liftmech]

The Falcon is still set up that way. Both terminals were originally part of a fixed-quad setup, and the terminals were added a year later. I can't speak for the ones at Squaw Valley, but there is also the Coney Glade lift at Snowmass built that way.

[Skier123]

So this was not an actual model made by Poma, it was simply a lift upgrade where detachable terminals were retrofitted into a previously fixed grip lift?

[Kicking Horse]

Skier123, on 24 August 2009 - 02:15 PM, said:

So this was not an actual model made by Poma, it was simply a lift upgrade where detachable terminals were retrofitted into a previously fixed grip lift?

If I'm not mistaken the early Poma High Speed lifts were built with a alpha drive or a vault drive.

I'm sure the others will pipe in.

[Peter]

Skier123, on 24 August 2009 - 02:15 PM, said:

So this was not an actual model made by Poma, it was simply a lift upgrade where detachable terminals were retrofitted into a previously fixed grip lift?

The separate drive and detachable terminal was a design that Poma and Doppelmayr both used for a few years. I think Poma did market some fixed grip Alpha lifts as having the ability to be upgraded to detachables by adding new grips and detachable terminals while keeping the Alpha drive in place. I'm not aware of any cases however where the detachable components were actually added at a later date.

[Lift Kid]

Skier, on 24 August 2009 - 04:26 PM, said:

The separate drive and detachable terminal was a design that Poma and Doppelmayr both used for a few years. I think Poma did market some fixed grip Alpha lifts as having the ability to be upgraded to detachables by adding new grips and detachable terminals while keeping the Alpha drive in place. I'm not aware of any cases however where the detachable components were actually added at a later date.

Something that should be clarified on the Falcon lift:

The Falcon chair was originally installed in 1985 as a fixed grip quad. One year after the installation, the Falcon chair was modified by Poma with new line gear and grips, I believe. Originally, the lift was not installed with the proper line gear to be a detachable so it had to be replaced. As for the motor and gearbox, I'm not sure if they were replaced or not. If you look at the bottom terminal, you will notice that there is a separate bullwheel support system, as it used to stand alone.

As far as I'm aware, this type of terminal was available with the overhead Alpha drive or a vault drive. (like Copper's American Flyer) I believe Falcon was the only lift like this ever modified. This design came before traditional overhead drive terminals. Until that time, detachables were all vault driven.

At Snowmass, Big Burn has the next step toward a modern overhead drive. It's basically an alpha terminal positioned on top of a Falcon detachable terminal.

[pp492]

Does High Lonesome Express at Winter Park have the Alpha drive? This lift was originally a fixed drive that was upgraded to a HSQ.

[Skier123]

Okay, I just got more info on this type of terminal. It was known as the Alpha Falcon because it used an Alpha drive with a Falcon detachable terminal. It was an actual model made by Poma, and was one of their first, if not their first high speed model. The next model was almost exactly the same, except the dive was built in to the terminal.

Here's a picture of the drive terminal of the American Flyer lift:

 AmericanFlyer.jpg (62.92K)
Number of downloads: 117

This post has been edited by Skier123: 25 August 2009 - 06:07 AM

[Skier123]

pp492, on 25 August 2009 - 05:38 AM, said:

Does High Lonesome Express at Winter Park have the Alpha drive? This lift was originally a fixed drive that was upgraded to a HSQ.

No, High Lonesome Express uses Challenger terminals.

Here's a picture:

 HiighLonesomeExpress.jpg (52.35K)
Number of downloads: 104

This post has been edited by Skier123: 30 August 2009 - 07:26 AM

[skierdude9450]

Just a little more to add on this topic. In the world there were only two Alpha-series detachable quads with vault drives, and both of these are in Colorado and built in the same year. In France, there were numerous conversions from fixed to detachable alpha quads, but I can't think of any other in the U.S.A.

[DonaldMReif]

Vincen, on 24 August 2009 - 08:05 AM, said:

Hi,

It's a classic configuration when chairlift was originally a not high-speed one ! They just added in front of regular installation all the high-speed detachable stuffs and perhaps also upgraded the motor to get power and speed needed.

Vincèn

Take for example, the Falcon SuperChair.

[Skier123]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the vault drive on the American Flyer lift was actually an upgrade from an Alpha drive.

[skiersage]

Vincen, on 24 August 2009 - 08:05 AM, said:

Hi,

It's a classic configuration when chairlift was originally a not high-speed one ! They just added in front of regular installation all the high-speed detachable stuffs and perhaps also upgraded the motor to get power and speed needed.

Vincèn

Nope. That particular lift was a detachable from the beginning.

Skier123, on 28 August 2009 - 06:48 AM, said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the vault drive on the American Flyer lift was actually an upgrade from an Alpha drive.

American flyer lift was installed with the vault drive. What leads you to believe otherwise?

[Lift Dinosaur]

Skier123, on 28 August 2009 - 06:48 AM, said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the vault drive on the American Flyer lift was actually an upgrade from an Alpha drive.

The American Flyer was originally designed with a Vault Drive. The design is actually a Gondola terminal application due to the size and horsepower requirements. The lift came from France and at the time no one had put 1200HP with full power diesel overhead.

Dino

[Skier123]

skiersage, on 28 August 2009 - 07:45 AM, said:

American flyer lift was installed with the vault drive. What leads you to believe otherwise?

On this site it said the drive was new from 2003. I thought they might have removed an Alpha drive and replaced it with another drive, though that does kind of seem unlikely now considering no one makes vault drives anymore. I guess it's just a misunderstanding on my part.

This post has been edited by Skier123: 28 August 2009 - 03:37 PM