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Excited to hear this -- I have a copy of this book, "London's Secret Tubes," and it discusses the Mail Rail (among many others). I might be in London for a couple of days later this year, but it looks like they won't have the Mail Rail open to the public yet at that point; guess I'll have to content myself with the non-secret tubes.
 
I'm hoping to go to London next year. I hope the cars aren't as enclosed as they look on that website. My claustrophobia kicked in just looking at the picture.
 
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Local rumor has it that at one time there were tunnels connecting Torrance, Calif. with Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, and supposedly you could still drive them.
 
The Eerie Abandoned Railway That Could Become Philly's Next Park



When the Reading Viaduct opened in 1893, Philadelphia was a booming industrial city; the elevated railway quickly became an essential artery in the beating heart of manufacturing on the East Coast. Now, advocates want to turn it into a park that will wind its way through the city.

But as a short documentary from PBS illustrates, transforming the industrial icon into a usable public space will be a serious challenge. In the video, landscape gardner Paul VanMeter, who passed away this spring, gives us a tour of the rail line, which is at turns covered in weeds, debris, or homeless encampments. ...

Head over to Friends of the Rail Yard to find out more.
Click to expand...
http://vimeo.com/96593704
 
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It's mainly on the surface but does have a few tunnels, Paris's Abandoned 'Belt Railway'

http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2012/04/chemin-de-fer-de-petite-ceinture-abandoned-belt-railway-loops-around-paris/

There are a few segments on the line which is still used.

I'm also surprised no one has mentioned (including myself) the Chicago Tunnel Company tunnels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company

Someone photographed a tour 'recently' (ie 5-10 years ago) of the tunnels now, but I cannot seem to find the website.

Chicago also has a few streetcar tunnels here & there which are now abandoned. Most aren't really that interesting (going under a few roads, etc) but you can still find their remnants on the surface. You can see one of the 'ramps' here (on washington st, underneath oligive) it isn't much, but that black line in the road is a rubber gasket bordering a concrete pad covering the hole.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.883188,-87.639901,3a,37.5y,219.92h,71.47t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1shIjcIXHog0e4xh_6S40T_A!2e0

And while not RR, but still in the Windy City, there are a vast tunnel network built up outside of the loop for the mob to use during their alcohol smuggling.

Back internationally, and a footnote about the London Postal subway, they are planning on opening up the subway (or part of it) for tourists to ride on.

peter

PS One more: Detroit started construction many moons ago on a subway system. Rumour has it that there are some tunnels & station-like area underneath the city for the subway. But it never got anywhere near completion. The other rumour is that there are some testing/bore tunnels, not ever designed for usage, and nothing else. There are some places where you can see the remains, such as concrete pads where station entrances would have been.
 
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Very interesting Charlie!

Like lots of people, I've known about the New Yorker but never stayed there or even went inside!

Wonder if they'll ever reopen the tunnel to Penn Station and the subway?

It seems like it would help attract travelers to stay in the hotel that ride the rails to/from Penn Station!
 
PerRock said:
I'm also surprised no one has mentioned (including myself) the Chicago Tunnel Company tunnels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tunnel_Company

Someone photographed a tour 'recently' (ie 5-10 years ago) of the tunnels now, but I cannot seem to find the website.

Chicago also has a few streetcar tunnels here & there which are now abandoned. Most aren't really that interesting (going under a few roads, etc) but you can still find their remnants on the surface. You can see one of the 'ramps' here (on washington st, underneath oligive) it isn't much, but that black line in the road is a rubber gasket bordering a concrete pad covering the hole.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.883188,-87.639901,3a,37.5y,219.92h,71.47t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1shIjcIXHog0e4xh_6S40T_A!2e0
Click to expand...
The streetcar tunnels were three or four (total) under the river.

And while not RR, but still in the Windy City, there are a vast tunnel network built up outside of the loop for the mob to use during their alcohol smuggling.
Click to expand...
Who are you? Geraldo?

What existed (and to some limited extent still exists here and there) were vaults in the sidewalks with elevators for product delivery (sometimes alcohol, sometime other products.) While there may be passageway connecting up a building or two from particular vaults, the idea that they were covert liquor running passages or any sort of extensively connected network is an overblown, romanticized idea.
 
One of D.C.’s Most Contentious Pieces of Real Estate is 25 Feet Underground

It isn’t the first attempt to repurpose the area below Dupont Circle. The twin tunnels were debuted in the late 1940s to relieve traffic on the busy Connecticut Avenue commuter trolley line. By the time the Dupont tunnels opened, streetcars, threatened by the rising popularity of cars, were already in decline. The station was only in operation for a little more than a decade until streetcar service, replaced by buses, ended in January 1962.
Click to expand...
 

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