A tricky job in an old theater taught me to always check the pit floor first
I was called out to the Majestic Theater downtown last month for a stuck car. It was a 1950s Otis traction unit, and the usual checks came up empty. I was about to start pulling the motor when I decided to take one more look down the pit with a better light. That's when I saw it: a thick layer of old plaster dust and wood chips, almost 4 inches deep, had piled up under the car. The guide shoes were just plowing through it like a snowdrift, causing enough drag to trip the safety. We spent the next hour with a shop vac cleaning it all out, and the car ran smooth as silk. I'd never seen a pit that full of debris from building work. Now, no matter what the call is, my first move is a full pit inspection with a flashlight. Has anyone else run into a pit issue that looked like one thing but was something totally different?