Lunch with good people at the Great American before the trip to Wyler Aerial Tramway.
RIDING THE HIGH WIRE AT:
The Man Behind The Dream
Wyler aerial tramway fulfills the dream the Philanthropist Karl O. Wyler, who strongly believed that the lofty views from a top ranger peak should be available to the public. He included this wish in his final will. Texas Parks Wildlife Department accepted donation of the Tramway in 1997 and opened it to the public in 2001 following extensive renovation.
The story begins, however, in 1959 when NBC affiliate KTSM Radio built the tramway to aid construction of a transmitter antenna and service platform. A real work-horse in its early days, the tiny tram hauled concrete, water, heavy equipment, workers - even sections of the antenna itself to the mountain summit. Wyler directed this ambitious construction project and, in the process, fell in love with Ranger Peak and its top-of-the world view.
Privately owned and operated first as El Paso aerial tramway, the facility allowed public access from 1960 to 1986. Although it continued to provide access for maintenance of telecommunications equipment, high liability insurance costs caused the tramway to close to the public for some 15 years prior to the establishment as a Texas State Park.
Wyler aerial tramway fulfills the dream the Philanthropist Karl O. Wyler, who strongly believed that the lofty views from a top ranger peak should be available to the public. He included this wish in his final will. Texas Parks Wildlife Department accepted donation of the Tramway in 1997 and opened it to the public in 2001 following extensive renovation.
The story begins, however, in 1959 when NBC affiliate KTSM Radio built the tramway to aid construction of a transmitter antenna and service platform. A real work-horse in its early days, the tiny tram hauled concrete, water, heavy equipment, workers - even sections of the antenna itself to the mountain summit. Wyler directed this ambitious construction project and, in the process, fell in love with Ranger Peak and its top-of-the world view.
Privately owned and operated first as El Paso aerial tramway, the facility allowed public access from 1960 to 1986. Although it continued to provide access for maintenance of telecommunications equipment, high liability insurance costs caused the tramway to close to the public for some 15 years prior to the establishment as a Texas State Park.
How it works
The tramway operates on a 2400 foot-long single span table system, meaning that there are no support powers along its nearly half mile length. As an engineering feat! From bottom to top, visitors are lifted some 940 vertical feet as they glide high above the rugged terrain below.
Swiss made gondolas carry tramway passengers. A haul rope pulls each gondola on a track rope along its lofty route. These "ropes" are actually the same type of super strong cables used in construction of suspension bridges. To maintain tension, the track cable is anchored at the top of the mountain and tied to a massive 29-ton counterweight at the base station. That's the weight of a loaded semi.
The tramway operates on a 2400 foot-long single span table system, meaning that there are no support powers along its nearly half mile length. As an engineering feat! From bottom to top, visitors are lifted some 940 vertical feet as they glide high above the rugged terrain below.
Swiss made gondolas carry tramway passengers. A haul rope pulls each gondola on a track rope along its lofty route. These "ropes" are actually the same type of super strong cables used in construction of suspension bridges. To maintain tension, the track cable is anchored at the top of the mountain and tied to a massive 29-ton counterweight at the base station. That's the weight of a loaded semi.
The View
The four-minute narrated gondola ride to the tramway's observation platform provides a unique top down look at the site’s geology, including views of sequential rock layers ranging from ancient volcanic granite to more recently deposited limestone. Passengers may also glimpse typical Chihuahuan desert plants and animals along the route. Red tailed hawks have nested on a high cliff very near the tramway’s path, treating riders to a literal Birds-eye view.
Arrival atop Ranger Peak evokes a top of the world feeling. From this pinnacle, visitors experience a 360 degree "living map" some 7000 square miles - an area nearly the size of Massachusetts. Included prominently in the view is the bustling international border community El Paso / Ciudad Juarez, where the Rio Grande unassumingly marks the political boundary between United States and Mexico.
Visitors can see several nearby peaks within the Franklin Mountain Range, as well as vast Chihuahuan desert bases that stretch our in all directions. On clear days it is easy to spot the Samalayuca Sand dunes to the south in Mexico, Sierra Blanca to the southeast in Texas and the Florida mountains to the west in New Mexico.
The four-minute narrated gondola ride to the tramway's observation platform provides a unique top down look at the site’s geology, including views of sequential rock layers ranging from ancient volcanic granite to more recently deposited limestone. Passengers may also glimpse typical Chihuahuan desert plants and animals along the route. Red tailed hawks have nested on a high cliff very near the tramway’s path, treating riders to a literal Birds-eye view.
Arrival atop Ranger Peak evokes a top of the world feeling. From this pinnacle, visitors experience a 360 degree "living map" some 7000 square miles - an area nearly the size of Massachusetts. Included prominently in the view is the bustling international border community El Paso / Ciudad Juarez, where the Rio Grande unassumingly marks the political boundary between United States and Mexico.
Visitors can see several nearby peaks within the Franklin Mountain Range, as well as vast Chihuahuan desert bases that stretch our in all directions. On clear days it is easy to spot the Samalayuca Sand dunes to the south in Mexico, Sierra Blanca to the southeast in Texas and the Florida mountains to the west in New Mexico.
