Gateway Arch Photo Gallery
Plenty of visitors to the St Louis Gateway Arch rode the tram in the south leg to the top today for the first time in nearly 8 months, but the reopening was over quick when a door on the empty tram apparently jammed on its way to pick up more passengers. But the south leg's tram was finally back up and running at 1:30 p.m.
"Unfortunately, it happened on a day that couldn't be worse for perception," said Frank Mares, acting superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
This south tram was the one that broke down last July when one of nine cables broke, cutting off power and stranding more than 250 people for several hours. So after the long hiatus -- involving an investigation, engineering tests and repairs -- today's reopening was much ballyhooed by the National Park Service, which put out a news release and offered up Mares for media interviews.
The Pennsylvania engineering company had given the go-ahead to reopen. "We have their assurance it's safe," Mares said.
The south tram took its first group of tourists to the top of the Arch as scheduled about 9:10 a.m. On its way down, as the empty tram was coming to a stop at the bottom, the lead car overshot the exit doors slightly, he said. Workers had to scoot the tram back to line up properly, so the door would open. He said its like an elevator that doesn't line up properly with a floor. Elevator passengers would have to either step up or step down to exit. In this case, however, the issue wasn't vertical but horizontal.
Mares said the lead car is the only car of the eight on that tram that is equipped with a prototype glass door, designed to ease the fears of claustrophobic tourists who want to see more on their way to the top. It's possible, he said, that today's trouble had something to do with the arms that open and close that new glass door.
The Pennsylvania engineering firm, Maida Engineering Inc., spent six months investigating the July 21 incident, in which one of nine cables broke, whipping around inside the south leg, cutting off power and stranding more than 250 people for several hours. The company found no single cause of the cable break but cited several issues relating to where the cable attaches to the counterweight in the hoist system.
"We have confidence in their conclusions and have implemented their recommendations," Mares said.
Those recommendations included using stronger shackle pins, increasing the amount of space between the shackles so they won't rub up against each other and using a different type of lubricant that works better with the metals involved.
The St Louis Arch tram in the north leg has continued to operate while the south tram was out of service.
Because of the engineers' findings, Mares said the north tram will be shut down for a few days at the end of March so new shackle pins can be installed. The cables on the north tram are newer and won't be replaced until next January 2009.
Gateway Arch Photo Gallery