Old Tunnels

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
SarahZ

SarahZ

Quality Control
Joined
May 8, 2011
Messages
8,427
Location
KAL
This is from the "secret library" topic. I wrote this response to CHamilton but didn't want to derail the thread.

CHamilton said:
SarahZ said:
part of me was hoping they'd discovered an old library that had been bricked-up and hidden within the walls, with lots of antique books, letters, and journals.
Click to expand...
You're probably thinking of the Beach subway, or maybe City Hall station.... :)
Click to expand...
Don't even get me started on old tunnels and subway stations. I love that stuff. :)

Chicago is full of old, sealed-off messenger/delivery tunnels that flooded back in... 1988? Something like that. They were used during Prohibition too.

Doesn't Seattle have a bunch of old tunnels? I read something about a tour a long time ago.



Anyone else know about cities with abandoned tunnels? I have all kinds of stories about psychiatric hospital tunnels around Michigan. :) I'll have to dig up some pictures.
 
One of the Ohio cities has an abandoned subway tunnels of a system that war never finished.

The Chicago tunnels were used for hauling freight on a 2 ft ng railway. The bulk of the tunnels are still there and are used for utilities lines only a few areas where it crosses beneath the river are flooded.

There are some separate prohibition tunnels on the south side that only connect a few buildings and have larger rooms and such used and made for the prohibition.

London has a whole show off various abandoned tunnels and such most of which were made for the tube and were converted into various facilities for the war, and are now mainly abandoned or used for basic storage.

Peter

Edit: here is a good site on London's abandoned stations (and tunnels) http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AmtrakBlue said:
DIG up some pictures of TUNNELS? :lol:
Click to expand...
And DERAIL the thread. ;)

I swear I didn't type any of that intentionally.

Thanks for the links, guys. I love urban exploration, especially abandoned hospitals. Tunnels are fun, but I'm claustrophobic, so I don't enjoy actual tunneling or caving. As long as I can stand mostly upright and have a good flashlight, I'm all for it.
 
You might enjoy Labyrinths of Iron, a History of the World's Subways by Benson Bobrick. It's been out of print since the 1980s, but it's not hard to find online. That book is where I first learned about the Beach subway and some of the other ones mentioned here.
 
SarahZ said:
AmtrakBlue said:
DIG up some pictures of TUNNELS? :lol:
Click to expand...
And DERAIL the thread. ;)

I swear I didn't type any of that intentionally.

Thanks for the links, guys. I love urban exploration, especially abandoned hospitals. Tunnels are fun, but I'm claustrophobic, so I don't enjoy actual tunneling or caving. As long as I can stand mostly upright and have a good flashlight, I'm all for it.
Click to expand...
Spelunking (or Caving) is a weird one for me, I like the idea of it, but get cold feet when down there, but once I'm heading out I don't want to leave. :D

peter
 
SarahZ said:
-

Thanks for the links, guys. I love urban exploration, especially abandoned hospitals. Tunnels are fun, but I'm claustrophobic, so I don't enjoy actual tunneling or caving. As long as I can stand mostly upright and have a good flashlight, I'm all for it.
Click to expand...
There's an abandoned hospital on the north side of Chicago where people were breaking in, graffiti-ing and (it was discovered) tons of old medical records were left behind. Court petitions had to be filed recently to authorize the removal and destruction of the records.
 
In St. Paul, on the hill where the cathedral stands, there is an abandoned portal which I once noticed and have wondered to what it led or what sort of line served it. Speculation I heard from locals was that it may have been for coal service to the cathedral. But, even if this is so, via a regular railroad or streetcar service or just what?
 
A few years ago, I stumbled upon an old iron door in a cliff at the foot of the Presidio in San Francisco. While I was poking around, a GG Park worker came by and I asked him what was in there. He told me it was a cave used for ammunition storage during WWII, or perhaps the Civil War. He didn't really know much about the history of the place, but did say he thought there had once been tracks going to the door. I WILL go back and do some more exploring one of these days. I couldn't find anything on Google about it.
 
Trainmans daughter said:
A few years ago, I stumbled upon an old iron door in a cliff at the foot of the Presidio in San Francisco. While I was poking around, a GG Park worker came by and I asked him what was in there. He told me it was a cave used for ammunition storage during WWII, or perhaps the Civil War. He didn't really know much about the history of the place, but did say he thought there had once been tracks going to the door. I WILL go back and do some more exploring one of these days. I couldn't find anything on Google about it.
Click to expand...
Oh man. We did so much driving around the Presidio while we were there. I couldn't get over how quiet and creepy that area was at night. I always thought the GG Bridge "emptied" onto the edge of the city itself, so it surprised me to see this dark, quiet area with just a few houses and lots of trees. It reminded me of the Mackinac Bridge (same style), with nothing but the sound of water and traffic at night. Even the smell was the same. I told Brent it felt like home, and I couldn't believe I was feeling northern Michigan in the middle of a large city.

When we go back, I really want to see GG Park and more of the Presidio. We'll have to rent bikes or something. Being in the car just wasn't the same, even though exploring was a lot of fun. And we'll definitely get in touch with you so we can have lunch. :)

It's sort of a pity we aren't going to move there after all, but we did a lot of soul-searching, and we really are Chicagoans at heart. I'm just going to have to make it a point to visit SF as often as possible. I love the California "vibe"; I'm always really happy when I go to LA or SF. Seeing things like "The Presidio" and other nostalgic phrases and photos really tugs at me, but we knew we'd feel a much harder tug if we moved out there and saw pictures of Chicago or heard sound bytes from the L.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Maybe when you are out here on a visit, we could meet up and do some exploration. I think I could find the old rusty door again, although it was pretty well hidden. It sure would be fun trying!
 
SarahZ said:
Trainmans daughter said:
Maybe when you are out here on a visit, we could meet up and do some exploration. I think I could find the old rusty door again, although it was pretty well hidden. It sure would be fun trying!
Click to expand...
That sounds like a Nancy Drew novel. :)
Click to expand...
Ooh, and maybe we could find a secret clock, a hidden staircase, or a mysterious letter!
 
NorthShore said:
In St. Paul, on the hill where the cathedral stands, there is an abandoned portal which I once noticed and have wondered to what it led or what sort of line served it. Speculation I heard from locals was that it may have been for coal service to the cathedral. But, even if this is so, via a regular railroad or streetcar service or just what?
Click to expand...
The portal directly below the cathedral was part of a streetcar line that ran uphill through the tunnel and emerged on Selby a bit west of the Cathedral. The upper opening was closed off decades ago, but the lower end of the tunnel was used by homeless until it, too, was closed and covered.

There was another portal below J J Hill's mansion not far from the cathedral, but that was for his private business car -- he could call for a locomotive and take an elevator down to board his personal train.
 
NW cannonball said:
There was another portal below J J Hill's mansion not far from the cathedral, but that was for his private business car -- he could call for a locomotive and take an elevator down to board his personal train.
Click to expand...
I want that... :)

I know that both Franklin Roosevelt and August Belmont had private tracks for their own trains. Anyone else?

Belmont holds the distinction of owning the world's only purpose built private subway car. Named Mineola, it was used by Belmont to give tours of the IRT.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
NW cannonball said:
NorthShore said:
In St. Paul, on the hill where the cathedral stands, there is an abandoned portal which I once noticed and have wondered to what it led or what sort of line served it. Speculation I heard from locals was that it may have been for coal service to the cathedral. But, even if this is so, via a regular railroad or streetcar service or just what?
Click to expand...
The portal directly below the cathedral was part of a streetcar line that ran uphill through the tunnel and emerged on Selby a bit west of the Cathedral. The upper opening was closed off decades ago, but the lower end of the tunnel was used by homeless until it, too, was closed and covered.

There was another portal below J J Hill's mansion not far from the cathedral, but that was for his private business car -- he could call for a locomotive and take an elevator down to board his personal train.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!!!! Mystery finally solved.

Perhaps part of what perplexes me is that the area is now bordered by the interstate, so it is a bit difficult to visualize just how some of the ROW may have originally approached.
 
SarahZ said:
This is from the "secret library" topic. I wrote this response to CHamilton but didn't want to derail the thread.


CHamilton said:
SarahZ said:
part of me was hoping they'd discovered an old library that had been bricked-up and hidden within the walls, with lots of antique books, letters, and journals.
Click to expand...
You're probably thinking of the Beach subway, or maybe City Hall station.... :)
Click to expand...
Don't even get me started on old tunnels and subway stations. I love that stuff. :)

Chicago is full of old, sealed-off messenger/delivery tunnels that flooded back in... 1988? Something like that. They were used during Prohibition too.

Doesn't Seattle have a bunch of old tunnels? I read something about a tour a long time ago.



Anyone else know about cities with abandoned tunnels? I have all kinds of stories about psychiatric hospital tunnels around Michigan. :) I'll have to dig up some pictures.
Click to expand...
Washington, D.C has Lots of Tunnels besides the Metro! Mostly they are Old "Secret" Connections between Buildings! The White House has Tunnels that Connect with other Government Buildings! One of the "Secrets" that was kept for Years about Presidents was a Tunnel that was used to Sneak the Various Presidential Mistresses In and Out of the White House and a Way for Presidentts to Slip In and Out without being seen by the Media!! :ph34r:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

Back
Top