Sort of cool. Anyone infiltrated the inactive sections?

http://dfw.cbsloca...ian-tunnel-system/

Inactive or closed off? Most of the closed off sections have gigantic steel gates made of pipe that roll up like garage doors, there are or were some inactive parts you can or could walk around in, one under 1600 Pacific used to be open for several blocks and the lights were on! The part under Thanksgiving Square has all the surface access gated with the steel bars. All the shops and restaurants and parking garage access are well boarded and some have the same steel gates.

This was from about 2009 2010 so I have not been there recently.

Posted by 2Xplorations Inactive or closed off? Most of the closed off sections have gigantic steel gates made of pipe that roll up like garage doors, there are or were some inactive parts you can or could walk around in, one under 1600 Pacific used to be open for several blocks and the lights were on! The part under Thanksgiving Square has all the surface access gated with the steel bars. All the shops and restaurants and parking garage access are well boarded and some have the same steel gates. This was from about 2009 2010 so I have not been there recently.

I was in Dallas 6 years ago but wasn't aware of this city of moles. Very little is below ground in Texas so it came as a surprise to me.
Strange.

Dallas was a city of moles, back before electric subways Dallas had an underground rail system, steam powered

It ran under downtown and was used for cargo not commuters. The engine was a pre-charged steam driven locomotive, i.e. no onboard combustion due to fumes

The engine would stop above ground at a boiler/recharge station to get pumped up before each run.

Now the wild part of the legend depending on which one of a hundred different stories you want to believe, is that the engine is alleged to still be down there, walled off in a section of the rail tunnel. Former UER and DEA member Barry Kooda and I researched this urban legend extensively. Facts and fiction seem to run parallel with half truths and here say. He did find a walled of section with tracks running under the wall that was no doubt where the little engine that could, did. Seems he forgot his blasting caps that day and now the building is inaccessible so we may never know whats really behind that wall. Maybe theres others, the whole route is walled up, made into parking garages or excavated for the new(ish) American Airlines arena.

Believe me we tried. At one point we assumed (wrongly) there could be an intersection with the now underground Mill Creek. (see The Rat Race Drain) http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=26035 and there are tunnels built that exceed the height of any reasonable storm drain and an obvious RR crossing but none of it lined up with the supposed route from the AA arena to the old business district.

I imagine the quest and theory machine goes on, somewhere I have not researched this in about 10years. I really miss those days and those guys (DEA) but we have all moved off or moved on. The next generation of the Dallas Explorers Association will need to carry the torch now.

I'm so glad you brought this up! The Dallas (and Ft Worth) tunnel systems have been something for me to get lost in thought about on countless occasions. I used to work in the courts in Fort Worth and used to know where to access the old jail tunnels. My mom used to ride the underground subway in Fort Worth to work in the 1970's as well. There are at least three distinct tunnel systems in Fort Worth alone, and I don't doubt the same or more for Dallas as well. I never knew Dallas had anything remotely subterranean for civilians or even much besides drains, until a couple years ago.

Also, Researching the pedestrian tunnels under Dallas is how I found UER.

The most current map in PDF:
http://dallaspedes...015/04/DPN_Map.pdf


The history of the tunnels:
http://www.unvisit...s.com/archives/635

A current article on the system:
http://dfw.cbsloca...ian-tunnel-system/

I've actually wandered around the accessible parts of the Dallas tunnels. I stumbled into them one time looking for a bathroom and just sort of wanted to see where they would take me. At that point it was pretty much closed up and involved a lot of going up and going down and back up and back down. Too much closed, but it really did seem interesting and, like many of you guys, i started researching it as well. I haven't been back down since, though and that was...2(?) years ago.

I also used to take the subway in Fort Worth to work. One of my first real jobs was at Tandy and that was the best way to get there. Sure, the subway was only a few blocks long, and sometimes it took longer to ride it tan just walk...but it was cool to be on there for those few blocks.

The idea of subterranean passageways really should have taken off more in a place that insanely hot for a good part of the year. Hopefully someday they'll be easier to look around in before they disappear completely.

I realized how weary it made me spent about an hour on Google today found lots of content about the Santa Fe tunnels removed, mostly just speculation of casual tourist topside that have never been underground.

So to the next generation of urban spelunkers I hope your search fairs better than ours did, I spent a lot of time on this and don't want to be involved in another Super Collider or Texas Door conspiracy, but when I saw an article on the JFK assassination it was too much to resist now its gone too !

I had forgot that at one time Dealy Plaza had storm drains that connected to the rest of the system (don't most storm drains do that by design) but the curious part was allegedly at the direction of subsequent president LBJ the Dealy Plaza drains were walled off.

Apparently in 1941 or 42 a suspected Nazi spy was arrested coming out of the drains that connected to the "rail system" (I presume the Santa Fe) Makes me think somebody was looking at underground security and hidden access to downtown buildings far back as WWII.

Theres a few local forums phorums etc devoted to Dallas history and mystery and even a little urbex stuff but I don't have the energy or patience to read through it all, 50% of which is dribble and b.s. sorry.

http://phorum.dall...ory.org/read.php?2,86729,86739

Posted by 2Xplorations I realized how weary it made me spent about an hour on Google today found lots of content about the Santa Fe tunnels removed, mostly just speculation of casual tourist topside that have never been underground. So to the next generation of urban spelunkers I hope your search fairs better than ours did, I spent a lot of time on this and don't want to be involved in another Super Collider or Texas Door conspiracy, but when I saw an article on the JFK assassination it was too much to resist now its gone too ! I had forgot that at one time Dealy Plaza had storm drains that connected to the rest of the system (don't most storm drains do that by design) but the curious part was allegedly at the direction of subsequent president LBJ the Dealy Plaza drains were walled off. Apparently in 1941 or 42 a suspected Nazi spy was arrested coming out of the drains that connected to the "rail system" (I presume the Santa Fe) Makes me think somebody was looking at underground security and hidden access to downtown buildings far back as WWII. Theres a few local forums phorums etc devoted to Dallas history and mystery and even a little urbex stuff but I don't have the energy or patience to read through it all, 50% of which is dribble and b.s. sorry. http://phorum.dall...ory.org/read.php?2,86729,86739

LBJ... always with a simple solution for complex problems and a hand in everything.
How do you seal a storm drain without causing a backwash?

I went there a few years ago and walked through some doors into what appeared to be a medical building. There were a couple guys in smocks that greeted us, and us seeing the cameras and weird medical equipment, high tailed it outta there lol. Overall it's kind of boring, but you can get access into some neat buildings and see some cool art along the way if you explore enough!