Charles Dwyer oral history

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10th Mountain Division Oral History Collection
Call number: OH209
Interviewer(s): Georgia Contiguglia
Interviewee(s): Charles Dwyer
Date of interview: January 22, 1993
One-sentence summary of interview topics: Dwyer primarily discusses his career as an engineer working with the design and installation of ski lifts, tows and trams.
Major geographic locations discussed: Vail, Aspen, Arapaho Basin, Loveland Ski Area,
Key names discussed: Pete Seibert, Larry Jump
Interview covers these post-war dates: 1946-1980s
Part 1 (47:10)
00:00 Contiguglia – introduction, asks how Charles got involved in use and development of Colorado ski lifts.
00:44 Dwyer – Discusses his early interest in skiing, early equipment
03:20 Contiguglia – asks about skiing with Colorado University
03:28 Dwyer – it was associated with the hiking club; discusses university skiing, mainly recreational
04:20 Contiguglia – what did you study at CU?
04:30 Dwyer – Civil Engineering; worked for Public Service Company, as substation operator; attended CU 1938-1942;
06:04 Contiguglia – what did you do after graduation?
06:10 Dwyer – worked in Ford plant at Willow Run building bombers, then went into Navy with Civil Engineering corps, Seabees. Specialized in amphibious landings; left Navy after war, 1946; worked on atomic bomb projects; returned to Denver Public Library
08:50 Dwyer – joined engineering firm in Denver working on new ski lift concepts at Aspen in 1946; also Berthoud lifts; firm began to specialize in ski lift design and construction; Discusses development of the company
13:40 Contiguglia – explain how the lifts were located and designed
13:52 Dwyer – explains details of the design process, testing and so forth, most parts fabricated in Denver
19:04 Contiguglia – I heard that it was a very long ride? 2
19:10 Dwyer – Over 14,000 feet at 400 feet per minute, very long ride; discusses other lifts as well
20:45 Contiguglia – tell me a little more about Berthoud lift. Who came up with the idea of two seats in a chairlift?
20:52 Dwyer – discusses the development of overhead unloading
22:50 Contiguglia – what other lifts did you work on?
23:00 Dwyer discusses other projects, Arapaho Basin for Larry Jump 1947, also discusses design considerations for tensioning the cables
26:15 Contiguglia – what was the project for 1948?
26:25 Dwyer – worked in other parts of the country, like Tahoe area in California, several others including Squaw Valley, California work occupied several years, also in Utah and Washington
27:50 Contiguglia – Did Herron build surface lifts as well?
28:00 Dwyer – Discusses surface lifts, “J” bars and “T” bars
32:45 Contiguglia – How long were you with Herron?
32:50 Dwyer – 1946 to 1960; discusses other lift projects he worked on; then moved on to working with a structural firm in Denver. Left and went to Constant, worked there about 3 years, provided various surface lifts in Colorado
37:45 Contiguglia – Then what?
37:50 Dwyer – Breckenridge development, adding lifts, also developing condominium units
39:15 Contiguglia – asks about Vail Gondola lift
39:25 Dwyer – discusses Vail developments
42:00 Contiguglia – what after Breckenridge?
42:05 Dwyer – 1966 moved to Forest Service to train engineers in various lifts and tramways, spent 21 years with them, taught engineers to oversee design and construction of lifts on forest lands, also how to conduct inspections and standards; discusses why inspections became important.
Part 2 (24:18)
00:00 Dwyer – makes a correction on a name
00:40 Contiguglia – Asks about Dwyer’s work with the US Forest Service
00:44 Dwyer – Training engineers in tramway and lift design, held annual meetings starting in 1967
01:38 Contiguglia – Tell me about the standards that were developed 3
01:41 Dwyer – discusses safety issues, regulations and his service on a committee. Worked with other countries as well, travelled to Europe. Worked also with engineers, contractors, manufactures and operators of lifts and trams.
05:20 Dwyer – discusses various other organizations in which he was a member
06:40 Contiguglia – asks about archives at School of Mines and possible collections that may be housed there
06:45 Dwyer – discusses classes in tramways and library of materials at School of Mines
08:25 Contiguglia – asks about Colorado Tramway Board
08:30 Dwyer – discusses the board, its history and its work, also its regulatory abilities – how trams are inspected, Colorado’s program one of the best in the country. Construction is also rigorously inspected (several related questions and answers) Dwyer attends many meetings but is not actually a member of the Colorado Tramway Board.
18:00 Contiguglia – asks what innovations and improvements have been made over the years to make tramways safer.
18:07 Dwyer – discusses machinery improvements, backup power; discusses improvements in braking systems; major improvements in carriers (comfort and safety); tramway speeds
22:30 Contiguglia – any final thoughts?
22:35 Dwyer – like to see history of tramways preserved, great role in ski industry development.