Counterweight at the bottom. Note the Hall double chair stored in the background.This lift was not painted pink. That’s red paint after decades of UV exposure.Thiokol drive station.Half tower #2.View up the line.Top towers and bullwheel.Top terminal overgrown from years of disuse.Thiokol sheaves.Side view of the drive station.
It’s a 1972 Thiokol. I doubt it was worth much when it was abandoned 17 years ago, and it is definitely worth nothing now. Maybe they could sell parts.
I’m just saying, I bet it’s still operational, and if they really wanted to, they could start it up again. Snowbird has a 1972 Thiokol and it still runs fine.
I get why the lifts at basin were scrapped they probably don’t find it worth relocation since it is a Thiokol, not a CTEC. However, older CTEC lifts and Thiokol lifts have a huge parts network due to the fact that the majority of parts are capable of being swapped with Dopp USA parts since most of their parts are shared with older CTEC and Thiokol designs, towers, grips, bull wheels, etc. I know for a fact that all of the Ellis chairs grips are either CTEC or Dopp CTEC or Dopp USA parts. I also believe that it’s motor and gearbox has been replaced with a Dopp USA motor.
A lift being capable of retrofit parts doesn’t mean that it’s an easy task to do. Ellis at Homewood is a vital lift and it needs to be able to run, no matter what. Early CTEC lifts use basically the same parts and those are also not very common. The towers and bullwheels aren’t usually what breaks down on Thiokol lifts. These lifts break down more often than newer CTEC lifts and larger resorts can’t afford to have these lifts down for any period of time. Considering that Ellis is about to be replaced, I don’t think it’s that easy or cheap to retrofit Thiokol lifts.
I don’t think Ellis is getting replaced, the towers are replaced however the terminal replacement is most likely postponed. The main reason I disagree with you here is the fact that from most sources I have heard that most CTEC chairs are super reliable and parts are super interchangeable. While the chairs and drive terminal seem like the parts with the least commonality pretty much the rest of it can be swapped out due to the fact that many part sizes barely have changed. While riblet has an extensive parts network the fact that the grips on CTEC chairs are much easier to attach and maintain. Plus due to the fact that Dopplemayer USA uses older CTEC designs, they seem to be a common relocation. You can actually see many older CTEC chairs and Thiokol chairs being relocated. I would argue the main reason old Thiokol chairs don’t get relocated is not due to lack of parts but due to the fact that they are so old that replacing the parts outweighs the cost of buying the cheaper used lift. You can see that for a while older Thiokols from the 70s were being relocated and now we have moved on to the newer early 80s and late 80s CTEC chairs being relocated.
Jules- just to clear things up, Doppelmayr USA isn’t its own company. It does not design its own components. It is a subsidiary of Doppelmayr GMbH of Austria and exists to sell and service lifts in the US. Doppelmayr supports older CTEC, Thiokol, Hall, Von Roll, and Garaventa lifts because of a complex of mergers and buyouts that have occurred over the years, but there are no ‘Doppelmayr USA’ parts.
I just noticed what I believe is probably the biggest issue with these lifts, it is that the supports for the motor room are concrete rather than steel tubes like on the later model CTEC enterprise. This is really the biggest thing that is not shared with other lifts from CTEC.
I am sure it is concrete because I have ridden on many early model Thiokol and CTEC enterprise models and it is in fact reinforced concrete. When I first saw it I thought it was galvanized steel as well but if you look closely it is reinforced concrete with steel rods going through it.
That counter weight in 1 st picture is solid concrete. The weight is about 12’ back from the other pictures and you can’t see it. I was there when they poured it. This was my grandparents (Si and Velma Green ) ski area Marshall Ski Area , Missoula Mt. Yes it sad to see it in disrepair she sold at the age of 71 yrs old and retired and died 9 mos later. It has has several owners since. They owned it 29 yrs. my dad James Wood help put this the 1 triple chairlift in Mt.
Why are they letting this lift just rot like that? At least try to sell it! I bet they could fix it up if they wanted to.
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It’s a 1972 Thiokol. I doubt it was worth much when it was abandoned 17 years ago, and it is definitely worth nothing now. Maybe they could sell parts.
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I’m just saying, I bet it’s still operational, and if they really wanted to, they could start it up again. Snowbird has a 1972 Thiokol and it still runs fine.
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Seeing that Wildcat at Basin and Sundown at Powder were both scrapped, I don’t think this lift would be worth anything for relocation.
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I get why the lifts at basin were scrapped they probably don’t find it worth relocation since it is a Thiokol, not a CTEC. However, older CTEC lifts and Thiokol lifts have a huge parts network due to the fact that the majority of parts are capable of being swapped with Dopp USA parts since most of their parts are shared with older CTEC and Thiokol designs, towers, grips, bull wheels, etc. I know for a fact that all of the Ellis chairs grips are either CTEC or Dopp CTEC or Dopp USA parts. I also believe that it’s motor and gearbox has been replaced with a Dopp USA motor.
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A lift being capable of retrofit parts doesn’t mean that it’s an easy task to do. Ellis at Homewood is a vital lift and it needs to be able to run, no matter what. Early CTEC lifts use basically the same parts and those are also not very common. The towers and bullwheels aren’t usually what breaks down on Thiokol lifts. These lifts break down more often than newer CTEC lifts and larger resorts can’t afford to have these lifts down for any period of time. Considering that Ellis is about to be replaced, I don’t think it’s that easy or cheap to retrofit Thiokol lifts.
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I don’t think Ellis is getting replaced, the towers are replaced however the terminal replacement is most likely postponed. The main reason I disagree with you here is the fact that from most sources I have heard that most CTEC chairs are super reliable and parts are super interchangeable. While the chairs and drive terminal seem like the parts with the least commonality pretty much the rest of it can be swapped out due to the fact that many part sizes barely have changed. While riblet has an extensive parts network the fact that the grips on CTEC chairs are much easier to attach and maintain. Plus due to the fact that Dopplemayer USA uses older CTEC designs, they seem to be a common relocation. You can actually see many older CTEC chairs and Thiokol chairs being relocated. I would argue the main reason old Thiokol chairs don’t get relocated is not due to lack of parts but due to the fact that they are so old that replacing the parts outweighs the cost of buying the cheaper used lift. You can see that for a while older Thiokols from the 70s were being relocated and now we have moved on to the newer early 80s and late 80s CTEC chairs being relocated.
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plus I don’t think many of the parts have to be retrofitted, I think they are just swappable with a new one
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Jules- just to clear things up, Doppelmayr USA isn’t its own company. It does not design its own components. It is a subsidiary of Doppelmayr GMbH of Austria and exists to sell and service lifts in the US. Doppelmayr supports older CTEC, Thiokol, Hall, Von Roll, and Garaventa lifts because of a complex of mergers and buyouts that have occurred over the years, but there are no ‘Doppelmayr USA’ parts.
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I just noticed what I believe is probably the biggest issue with these lifts, it is that the supports for the motor room are concrete rather than steel tubes like on the later model CTEC enterprise. This is really the biggest thing that is not shared with other lifts from CTEC.
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Doubt that ‘support for motor room” is concrete. Looks like galvanized steel to me.
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I am sure it is concrete because I have ridden on many early model Thiokol and CTEC enterprise models and it is in fact reinforced concrete. When I first saw it I thought it was galvanized steel as well but if you look closely it is reinforced concrete with steel rods going through it.
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How are concrete carriage tubes (I see what you’re referring to) an issue?
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That counter weight in 1 st picture is solid concrete. The weight is about 12’ back from the other pictures and you can’t see it. I was there when they poured it. This was my grandparents (Si and Velma Green ) ski area Marshall Ski Area , Missoula Mt. Yes it sad to see it in disrepair she sold at the age of 71 yrs old and retired and died 9 mos later. It has has several owners since. They owned it 29 yrs. my dad James Wood help put this the 1 triple chairlift in Mt.
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