Vintage Photographs of the Skiway Sky Bus Lift Used on Mt. Hood, Oregon From the 1950s
Using a modified city bus, a twin-engine design powered the wheels to turn cables in a pulley system that moved the tram back and forth above the slope.
Recreation in the Mt. Hood National Forest increased after the end of World War II. Skiing was a popular wintertime activity and Dr. J. Otto George envisioned a tramway connecting two popular skiing destinations: Government Camp and Timberline Lodge, which was 7,300 ft (2,200 m) higher up the mountain. He formed a corporation called the Mt. Hood Aerial Transportation and started looking for investors. In 1948 after he’d finally gathered enough money to get started and he’d gotten a conditional use permit to build on Forest Service land, clearing and logging of the 3.2-mile right-of-way began. After the right-of-way was cleared concrete was poured and the 38 steel towers were installed, along with 25 miles of 1.5-inch diameter cables.