ooc: The main lifts are the sort of pulley/platform lifts you found throughout the first two games, where Abe pulls the rope to raise the platform.
After 20 minutes research I've uncovered:
Post where they broke initially.
There's another post where someone tried to fix the lift and they got worse; just looking for that now and I'll edit the link into this post.
EDIT: Got it!
Post where attempt to fix lifts didn't work so well.
And...
Aftermath of the above post, including one of the earliest references to the wildlife inhabiting the basement.
So the lifts would be called to your floor by pulling a lever, like they are ingame. New ropes, new pulleys (thats the wheel at the top) and new platforms are probably needed and can be found in the grinders. Electrics may need repairing as well. The lift runs from the top floor to the basement.
EDIT2: And if you're wondering if poor Sev the slig survives...
Then you'll just have to go and read W@RF 4 and find out! (It's actually one of my favourites of the classic W@RF, that and the first few pages of W@RF 5, with the exception of anything involving Chirpy7 or Outlaw King. Excellent RPGing, the 'Tom Baker' of Classic W@RF
) (Doctor Who reference, sorry).