Chairlift

Variants

Fixed-grip chairlifts

In the simplest and at the same time the oldest design of the chair lift, the technology was derived from the ski lift, the cable terminals of the Sesselgehänge are fixed to the revolving conveyor rope. The Austrian ropeway Act 2003 refers to those fixed-grip chairlifts as a chairlift. These fixed-grip chairlifts are abbreviated fix gripped by experts or ski chairlift cards as SB for chairlift or as CLF for the English name. A leading digit is doing the people capacity per Sitzgehänge to, for example, 2SB 4-CLF.

The passengers must board and leave the chair in the stations at full speed. Many newer fixed-grip chair lifts are equipped with a loading carpet to make the transition more comfortable and safer, but can also increase the speed. In fixed-grip chair lifts the cable speed is moderate (usually between max. 3.0 m / s in single and double chair lifts and up to 2.2 m / s at -seater chair lifts ). The greater the number of seats of a chair, the smaller is the maximum speed of the system, since otherwise excessive centrifugal forces as they pass the deflector sheave would act on the chair. This is probably also the main reason that up to now no fixed-grip chairlifts eight were built.

Detachable Chairlifts

Kombibahn

Main article Kombibahn

Sometimes Combined installations are built, where either chair or gondola can be used as transportation devices during ski season. Skiers decide for themselves whether they want to keep on the skis and the chair or whether they want to use the gondola. Gondolas are primarily for the safe transport of small children - and sledders used for example in ski courses and walkers etc..

Transport capacity

The transport capacity of chair lifts depends on the size of the chair, the speed and distance of the chair. The maximum transport capacity ( without double- Embarquement = double entry ) lie approximately at:

However, can vary greatly down the capacity; so there are, for example, 6-seater chair lifts, which have a higher capacity than some 8-seater chair lifts, because they have much shorter distances chair.

The transport capacity is principally in fixed-grip and detachable cable cars are roughly equal. With detachable cable cars only the conveying speed is higher, which is compensated by a higher distance of the chair / cabins and thus leads to an identical number of cabins / chair per hour (transport capacity). However, it should be noted that in practical operation detachable chairlifts, slightly can reach higher capacity because the chair move in the station at reduced speed, thus offering an increased boarding comfort especially for beginners and children, and so the number of emergency stops is drastically reduced.

A special case in terms of capacity, the high speed quad dar. Since he and his capacity of up to 2400p / h was (similar to fixed 4SB ) years as the workhorse in most ski resorts have been developed in analogy to the earlier development of ski lifts high-performance cars, the 2880 persons / hour can be transported in order to achieve the same transport capacity with a 4-CLD provide two parallel heavy duty tractor established (two 1440 p / h).

Comfort

The comfort modern chairlifts is comparable to that of gondolas, chairlifts, however, can be used with skis (access on skis, time savings, skis must not cleared of snow and must not be worn ). The plants often have padded chair and a hood made of Plexiglas, which protects the passenger from wind, rain and cold. Also tracks with heated seats, where the chairs are heated in the stations via busbars have already been installed in some ski areas.

At the entry points of winter sports chair lifts and chair lifts often - passenger conveyors are used as boarding aids to which the passenger turns with your skis or snowboard and reduce the relative velocity to the approaching chair. The passenger is caught on the conveyor belt, which must be provided with a synchronized with the Chair barrier for boarding released at a defined point at a lower speed difference from the chair. By the way easier boarding trains can run faster and their capacity can be increased with fixed coupled armchairs. With detachable lifts the Zusteigeinteilung and the conveyor belt to serve a more controlled access.

Past chair lifts

The oldest chairlift in Switzerland, which was built in 1950 chairlift Oberdorf- white stone, was also the last Swiss representative of the detachable type Von Roll VR101. The plant was taken out of service in 2009 and terminated in the fall of 2013, it is replaced by a modern gondola. There have been attempts by the club pro Sesseli and the Swiss Heritage Society to preserve the old chair lift due to their historical significance.

Built by the same system in 1948 chairlift from Kandersteg to Oeschinensee was demolished in the fall of 2008 and replaced by a gondola.

Another train, with built in 1947, the oldest such system, the gums chairlift Braunwald GL, was demolished in the summer of 2007 and replaced by a modern cable car.

In the Czech Republic the web on Komáří hůrka ( Mückenberg ) ( 1952) is the last built in Swiss license detachable chairlift in the type still in operation. The turrets on the mosquito ( Komáří vížka ) ( Ore Mountains) was the leading rail construction period as the longest chairlift in Central Europe and is 2348 m long.

The Train ( 1949) with its two section in Pec pod Sněžkou to inherent tradition ( " Snow Mountain " ) is shut down since September 2012, and by 2014 replaced by a cable car from Leitner AG.

The last standing in Germany plant in operation after the system is the VR101 -off in Schoenau am Koenigssee Jennerbahn, in which, however, the original sideways chairs have been replaced by 2 person gondola cabins comprehensive.

While the type VR 101 in Europe is nearly extinct, are still existent in North America, some of these tracks, as they are very popular especially as a leisure park course, but with gondolas instead of sideways armchairs.

Chairlifts as a lookout cable cars

Have been or are occasionally built chairlifts on exhibition premises or at amusement parks. Examples would be the chairlift in Killesberg the Federal Horticultural Show 1950 in Stuttgart, one in 1957 for visitors to the International Building erected in Berlin chair lift or a chair lift to the Vienna International Garden Show in 1964 and was built in 1967 Elka cable car in the Silesian Central Park Chorzów longest lowland cable car in Europe.

Common abbreviations

As already mentioned in the introduction, is called in technical language and in fixed-grip chairlifts runway plans are often called " SB" and detachable as " KSB " ( chairlift ). The size of the chairs (personal capacity) is prepended to the rule, such as " 4SB ", " 6KSB ".

International customary also are the abbreviations " CLF " ( Chairlift Fix gripped ) instead of " SB" and " CLD " ( Detachable Chairlift ) instead of " KSB ".

The presence of Bubbles ( weather protection hoods ) is usually indicated by appending " / B", eg, "8 -CLD / B". The presence of a seat heating is by the suffix " / S ", eg " 6-CLD / S " is displayed. ( In the standard case, only chairlifts with Bubbles are equipped with a seat heater, so analog " 6-CLD/B/S " or 6-CLD/BS ) The ever more spreading Bubbles with orange slices are with "/ B / O" or " / BO " abbreviated, eg " 4-CLD/B/O " or " 6-CLD/B-O ".

In combi trains, usually with KB, GCD (English for gondola chairlift detachable ) or TMX (French Télémix ) are abbreviated, refers to the number of the leading people capacity in the armchairs, the number that follows the gondolas, eg 6/8-GCD.