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TIL those abandoned mall escalators still have live electrical current years later
I was poking around the old Galleria in Bakersfield last weekend and pulled up a 2019 inspection report online that said the main breaker for the food court escalators was still hot, even with the mall being closed for 7 years has anyone else checked power in their spots before going deeper?
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paige4271mo ago
Did you check the transformer vaults too? I've seen those stay energized for decades after everything else goes dark. Had a buddy nearly fry himself on a live bus bar behind a locked grate in a dead mall in Fresno. Always bring a proper multimeter, not just a tick tester. Those things lie when you're near old induction fields.
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valh321mo ago
I checked the old Northridge mall in LA a few years back before they finally tore it down. The breaker box near the sears wing was still buzzing like crazy even though the place had been empty since 2015. I brought a non-contact voltage tester just in case and it lit up on every single escalator panel I got near. Saved my ass honestly because I was about to step onto one of the stalled escalators to get a better look at the upper floor. Better safe than sorry with that old wiring nobody has touched in years.
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