Years ago on a mod we were doing I came into the machine room and hear a strange clanking sound. We were doing a mod on an 8 bank and had the first four cars in service. The noise was coming from the brake of a Haughton #10 gearless machine. We had replaced the brake shoes in accordance with the spec for the job. The new factory supplied shoes had the brake material bonded to the steel backing plates. The glue or bonding material had failed and one side of the 3/8" thick brake pad had slid off of the steel plate and nearly completely off. The car was at the lobby with about 10 car calls registered. Only one side of the brake was actually properly holding the sheave. The failed pad was partially wedged against the drum when the brake set. My biggest fear was that if I shut the car down there was a possibility that the car could drift with absolutely no control. I made a quick gamble and thew the doors on disconnect so they could not reopen once they had closed. I sent a helper running down to the top floor. I got the car to the top floor but also physically held the door close relay in which kept the machine at full motor field until my helper radioed me that he was at the unit. The car got to the top floor and we got everyone out with no problem other than they were mad because the elevator had skipped their floor. Little did they know the danger they could have had. Never was I happier to see an empty elevator in my life. We then replaced all of the pads with riveted and glued brake linings. The dumb thing was that there was nothing wrong with the old shoes. It's hard to wear out a set of brake shoes on a dc gearless machine. Apart from dismantling, cleaning and then a lite sanding to knock off any glaze from the old shoes, they were fine.
