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  1. #1

    Straight talk on the North Ridge Express

    The North Ridge Express (NRX) was down all day today, the Saturday of a holiday weekend.



    It seems to me that the NRX is the leading candidate for least reliable lift in the galaxy. Each and every lift has problems at one time or another, but the NRX seems to have more problems at much greater frequency than all the other lifts at Sugarbush combined. So far, it seems that last year's Doppelmayr refurbishment of the lift hasn't improved things.

    Does anyone know why the NRX is so fragile? Is there a design problem? Is it some sort of "lemon" model whose sisters all suffer from the same high rate of breakage? Is it potentially dangerous? What is the deal with that thing?

  2. #2

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    As soon as I know more I will update everyone. Yes. Very disappointing to all of us after the dollars we invested this summer.

  3. #3
    Is it going to run tomorrow? Lapping the GMX chair sucks.

  4. #4
    You could have done exterminator to semi tough loops. Good snow in the am, but the wierdest loops I've ever done. Usually don't go to north if nrx is down.

  5. #5
    They would have been better off without doing anything. Last year I don't remember it braking down after christmas.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by teleo View Post
    You could have done exterminator to semi tough loops. Good snow in the am, but the wierdest loops I've ever done. Usually don't go to north if nrx is down.
    When its 10 below at the summit it's no fun riding the Summit Chair. The NRX gets you to more than 1700' of vertical with a lot of trail options in a quick ride. Did ride the Inverness chair and Semi Tough was great and a groomed Walts trail was a treat. It's just getting pretty pathetic to have the NRX on "wind" or "maintenance" hold more often then it's running. My son was already stuck on it for close to an hour this season and he is one of many people that is reluctant to even ride it.
    Last edited by WWF-VT; 01-17-2015 at 08:16 PM.

  7. #7

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    Not sure it will run tomorrow. Need a part that we can't find locally so it will be shipped
    overnight. Our team worked all day to isolate the issue. It seems that the -26 temperatures
    may have caused stress on the motor. Motors are usually taken out, recoiled and baked
    Every 8-10 years. This one was done 6 years ago, so it was not due. The work this summer
    was replacing all the electronics. Dopplemayr still owes one additional upgrade but this did
    not cause the issue today. Will know more tomorrow.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by win View Post
    Need a part that we can't find locally so it will be shipped overnight.
    It seems like this happens every time a lift brakes.

  9. #9
    Thanks for the update, Win. Appreciate it and everyone knows you are working to restore it as soon as possible.

    The intent of this thread is neither to fault Sugarbush operations nor complain about this incident. This incident is transitory. Rather, the thread asks the question of why the NRX seems to have such a persistent and unduly frequent incidence of breakdown. What is it about that particular lift that makes it so problematic? Does anyone know?

  10. #10
    Frustrating. There was good skiing to be had at Mellon today. There's just no way to be efficient without the nrx.

  11. #11

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    An answer to Benski. You can not stock every single part for a lift. We have parts for those that are most likely to need to be replaced. Also, the work done this summer was essential. Les Otten had Dopplemayr move a Poma lift and neither wanted to be accountable for problems. Dopplemayr has now rebuilt the entire electrical system. There is a new drive, two new communication lines and a completely new electrical panel. They still owe us one final updgrade which will take about a day to complete. The problem yesterday was the lift could not get up to full speed, It could only get to about 75-80% speed. Basically our team traced everything down and at the end of the day found two blown fuses behind the panel. These are unique to this lift and these types of large industrial fuses almost never blow. WE have had one in twenty years on Gatehouse two years ago. Our concern is that the motor is running irregularly and may need to be sent out for recoiling and baked to seal it. If the new fuses blow we will now that is the issue. If not, perhaps the issues was caused by the very low temperatures yesterday, If it is the motor it will have to be taken down and send to Troy, New York. We have already spoken to them in case that is necessary. But it will be several days to get back. Once this is done we will have a new motor as well. I can not really add any more until we get the fuses in tomorrow when they arrive around midday but will update info then. Sorry to all you love to lap on NRX.

  12. #12
    It's been 20 years since the lift has been moved and Les has been gone for 14, probably time to stop blaming him for problems around the resort. The NRX was a short lived offering from Poma and I would guess its sister lifts have been scrapped or were sold off to Russia prior to 08.

  13. #13

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    Not blaming just trying to give all the history and facts. The lift manufacturers do not agree with you on the life of this lift. With all the electrical upgrades and a repaired motor it is essentially a brand new lift. There is nothing wrong with the chairs nor the towers.

  14. #14

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    Here is an update, After further review of everything today and in consultation with Dopplemayr we are going to pull the motor in the morning and send it to Troy, NY for a rebuild which will take several days. Until it gets there and is examined we do not know how many days, but will keep everyone posted. While it might have run with the new fuses, we are concerned that we might have the same problem later in the season, so we would rather have it down now for a few days and all set for the balance of the season. We are also trying to get Dopplemayr to do their final upgrades next week too. Until Northridge is back all ME passholders may ski at LP if they wish. New Motor, new electronics, so we hope this is it and we will be blogging about other things.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by win View Post
    New Motor, new electronics, so we hope this is it and we will be blogging about other things.
    Thanks for the update. I am sure that we all hope that this puts an end to issues with the NRX chair.

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