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I heard that the university in my city contains miles of steam tunnels beneath it, along with many other campuses. I know practically nothing about steam tunnels other than their purpose. This might be extremely broad and impossible to answer, but what are some things I can use/look for in order to find a way into the tunnels. I know this probably depends heavily on the context, but I'm not sure if there are any common telltale signs that are universal so I figured that I might just ask here.
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Which university? All steam tunnels connect to building basements, they'd be kind of pointless if they didn't. That's usually the most consistent way in, though it's also the one most likely to have alarms and cameras. I know at least one of Wisconsin's university systems (I'm not naming which) has both where the tunnels enter basements. General rule of thumb, avoid basements unless you want campus police all over you.
Most steam tunnels have exterior hatches between buildings as well. Some lead into isolated steam vaults while others lead directly into the tunnels themselves. These are almost always locked, but the upside is that these are less likely to be alarmed.
The easiest way (but least consistent) is to wait until the tunnels are under construction and then enter through the construction site. Then, you can open a hatch from below elsewhere in the system and tamper with the mechanism (tape in the latch works wonders) to keep it discreetly unlocked for future use.
Also bear in mind that while exploring the steam tunnels is a time honored student tradition, they ARE critical infrastructure. At minimum you'll get hauled before the Dean facing suspension or expulsion if caught, at maximum you're looking at felony trespassing charges- though students rarely get those. Also be aware that steam tunnels are among the most dangerous types of systems to explore right up there with sewers and abandoned mines due to the extremely high temperatures and pressures in the system.
[last edit 2/28/2024 5:51 AM by Aran - edited 3 times]
"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.
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Posted by Aran
Which university?
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UW Oshkosh.
Posted by Aran
Most steam tunnels have exterior hatches between buildings as well. Some lead into isolated steam vaults while others lead directly into the tunnels themselves. These are almost always locked, but the upside is that these are less likely to be alarmed.
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I seem to have found what you have explained. I searched deeply for city websites and pinpointed a few of the hatch-like boxes with heat flowing out of them. We found one that's unlocked after walking around campus but we need a tool to pry the metal hatch up which increases risk but we may be able to use something like a stick.
Posted by Aran
Also bear in mind that while exploring the steam tunnels is a time honored student tradition, they ARE critical infrastructure. At minimum you'll get hauled before the Dean facing suspension or expulsion if caught, at maximum you're looking at felony trespassing charges- though students rarely get those. Also be aware that steam tunnels are among the most dangerous types of systems to explore right up there with sewers and abandoned mines due to the extremely high temperatures and pressures in the system.
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Luckily I'm not yet in college and I also don't plan to go to this specific university. I have friends who live nearby and know a lot about the grounds and how the cops and students operate and when things are busy and aren't. This specific hatch is located far from the road surrounded by buildings which is good. Thanks for highlighting the danger though. I knew they were pretty hot, but didn't know about the pressures and stuff. I've never explored a true sanitary sewer and I know of the risk of those since I'm getting into draining, and It's kind of making me a little apprehensive but at least there shouldn't be harmful gasses. Maybe I should train a little more with more drains before moving into the higher risk places, both in terms of health but also law. Thanks!
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Yeah I think that's a great idea to start with drains. Drains are awesome! As for gasses in storm drains, I've been exploring drains for 10+ years now and I've never had any issues with gasses in drains but I've noticed some weird smells but it didn't seem to be an issue for me since I'm used to it now (LOL). Have a fun time exploring but be safe.
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I've explored a couple in my city. I haven't gotten deep enough to find anything super interesting, just some animal shit with mold about 3 inches long probably is the most interesting I've found so far. Every time I've tried to do it there's something that makes me turn around. The first time the water began getting super deep and the weather was already -14 degrees F, and we weren't deep enough to have it super warm and we didn't wanna get soaked. But I plan to go into the drains quite a bit when I get time. Thanks!
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Posted by Thecurious
I've explored a couple in my city. I haven't gotten deep enough to find anything super interesting, just some animal shit with mold about 3 inches long probably is the most interesting I've found so far. Every time I've tried to do it there's something that makes me turn around. The first time the water began getting super deep and the weather was already -14 degrees F, and we weren't deep enough to have it super warm and we didn't wanna get soaked. But I plan to go into the drains quite a bit when I get time. Thanks!
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That's fine. I love getting soaking wet in the drains in the summer and I love to get poopy in the sewers when I go with other people (LOL). How deep did the water get and how big was the drain tunnel you went into?
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I really haven't found any big ones yet. Mainly just damn backbreakers. The last time I went I actually used boots instead of straddling the water stream in the middle which made a world of difference. The one where the water got deep I wasn't sure the depth, but it must've been over a foot. That tunnel begins as a round concrete tube and then turns to a brick arch and then square concrete. It was probably around 4 feet wide. The one I went to recently must be between 3-4 feet, it's pretty small. But that one eventually leads under some busy streets and I'm not sure if this is a good assumption but I'm hoping that the busier and bigger the street it's under the larger the drains will generally be.
I also have another question because I need to record audio for a project in which I'm presenting in a month. Is it alright to explore storm drains alone? Obviously when it's not raining and whatnot, but I know the risks and I was wondering if it's something that's just dangerous or flat out stupid to do alone. This is because I don't have much time and it would be easier to work on the project whenever I have time, not when my friends do.
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Posted by Aran
Which university? All steam tunnels connect to building basements, they'd be kind of pointless if they didn't. That's usually the most consistent way in, though it's also the one most likely to have alarms and cameras ... avoid basements unless you want campus police all over you.
Most steam tunnels have exterior hatches between buildings as well. ... but the upside is that these are less likely to be alarmed ...
The easiest way (but least consistent) is to wait until the tunnels are under construction and then enter through the construction site. ...
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Totally agree, would just add that motion sensors and cameras *can* show up anywhere including construction sites (possibly *more* as theft etc. is a concern)
And on the other hand, depending on the university *and the building* there might be no security at all, unlocked or easily shimmable doors, extremely light but normal traffic 24/7 etc. Summers are good.
For example some years ago before it was demolished, Lederle Grad Research Tower at UMass was one of these buildings, but the new Life Science Research building across the street was totally locked down. UW - A public university, land grant so probably in the middle of nowhere? sounds like a good place for easy pickings.
Also another obvious addition, steam tunnels go between places, so their path typically lies between places. One place you totally know connects to steam service is the steam *plant*, any pipes visible above ground, etc
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Posted by Thecurious
I really haven't found any big ones yet. Mainly just damn backbreakers. The last time I went I actually used boots instead of straddling the water stream in the middle which made a world of difference. The one where the water got deep I wasn't sure the depth, but it must've been over a foot. That tunnel begins as a round concrete tube and then turns to a brick arch and then square concrete. It was probably around 4 feet wide. The one I went to recently must be between 3-4 feet, it's pretty small. But that one eventually leads under some busy streets and I'm not sure if this is a good assumption but I'm hoping that the busier and bigger the street it's under the larger the drains will generally be.
I also have another question because I need to record audio for a project in which I'm presenting in a month. Is it alright to explore storm drains alone? Obviously when it's not raining and whatnot, but I know the risks and I was wondering if it's something that's just dangerous or flat out stupid to do alone. This is because I don't have much time and it would be easier to work on the project whenever I have time, not when my friends do.
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That's fine. It takes a lot of time to fine storm drains but I bet if you explore nearby cities (anywhere there are buildings, rivers, creeks, lakes etc), then you will for sure find drains to explore. For me, I discovered back in 2019 that Google Earth has become my friend and drain finding device because you can look at street views and satellite views to find drains (trust me, in the end, you will thank me). As for going alone, keep in mind that I've been exploring drains for 10+ years and about half of those years I've been exploring drains alone and I've never had anything super bad happen to me (never got rained out while in the drain, never got hurt aside from slipping and falling plus falling off a narrow sandstone ledge into the Mississippi River plus bumping my head on the top of the tunnels). Even now I often explore alone because not many explorers in the MSP community don't seem to like to explore drains as much as I do for some reason. With that being said, exploring alone can be dangerous but as long as you have the proper equipment and check the weather plus trust your instincts meaning if you have a bad feeling about going into that place (climbing ladders, going into outfalls or looks dangerous/scary like missing rungs, very deep shaft (40 feet deep and deeper with questionable rungs), have to use a rope, cable ladder to get into that outfall/manhole cover, then I think you shouldn't explore that drain/spot alone. If you truly want to go exploring and none of your friends want to join you for whatever reason (trust me I know how that feels, trying to get anyone to explore drains and sewers with me is like waiting for my hair to turn gray),(No, I'm not that old HA HA)then you should just explore alone but you should start off by exploring drains etc that look easy to get into and don't put yourself in danger, risking yourself to get hurt or in trouble, maybe start with outfalls and wait to go manhole covers alone until you feel confident to do it on your own. PS don't let others stop you from exploring what you want to explore. In my opinion, sometimes it can be more fun to explore alone. For me, I've been going out very late at night (10PM to 4AM) to explore drains and pop manhole covers and I have a blast every time because there's nobody with me that could cause problems for me (LOL). The bottom line is, try your best to find at least one friend to explore with you but as last resort then if you feel safe going exploring alone then feel free to do so but please be safe. Does that help at all and make sense?
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Not to beat a dead horse here, but a couple of notes about steam tunnels from personal experience. I'll try not to restate anything already mentioned
firstly, they should be (to a degree) easier to get into then i think you are considering. Most are a centralized heating system that connects to basically every building on your campus, and most* have access points in the mechanical rooms of said buildings.
if you're really determined, in a very "for legal reasons this is a joke" sort of way, you could identify your institutions preferred keyway type, buy yourself a Lishi key, and do some silly things. Be sure to pick up a glow in the dark camping compass to check for magnetic trip sensors though, those are pretty common.
Secondly, attire and safety is important. Get some nice gloves, and a tube scarf. Everyone has said this, but i insist upon stating this again. The steam in the pipes on the side/ceiling of the tunnels is dangerous. DO NOT TOUCH THE PIPES! they should be insulated, but it's best not to find out. The pipes contain something referred to in the engineering world as dry steam, which is fairly complicated, but it's basically steam that has been heated above just the condensation point so it loses less heat when being transferred. All this basically means it should be somewhere in the ballpark of 400 degrees C, plus or minus quite a bit depending on how hot the boiler runs and when the system was installed or if it's actually superheated, or just wet steam.
TLDR; you're going to sweat your cheeks off and don't touch anything.
Finally, about finding entrances-
as other people have said, this is sort of a tradition for students and urbexers, and a lot of people, while it may be unwise, leave clues to tried and true passages. Look for graffiti, but also keep an eye out for wax pen marks, or really small but strangely high quality stickers.
Best of luck-
trashrat
What the raccoons know:
Whole world is garbage- Garbage is delicious | |
Also, i Forgot to mention this-
most of those hatches are keyed the same, and a lot more of those keys exist than most people think. Again, this is not legal advice, but you might look up the infamous "green construction key" and go somewhere along that route. You could probably figure out the actual bitting if you asked the right people very, very nicely, but that isn't something that gets posted on the internet, as the last thing the world needs right now is a bunch of Instagram influencers with a full set of utility keys.
What the raccoons know:
Whole world is garbage- Garbage is delicious | |
Posted by hoover 2
That's fine. It takes a lot of time to fine storm drains but I bet if you explore nearby cities (anywhere there are buildings, rivers, creeks, lakes etc), then you will for sure find drains to explore. For me, I discovered back in 2019 that Google Earth has become my friend and drain finding device because you can look at street views and satellite views to find drains (trust me, in the end, you will thank me). As for going alone, keep in mind that I've been exploring drains for 10+ years and about half of those years I've been exploring drains alone and I've never had anything super bad happen to me (never got rained out while in the drain, never got hurt aside from slipping and falling plus falling off a narrow sandstone ledge into the Mississippi River plus bumping my head on the top of the tunnels). Even now I often explore alone because not many explorers in the MSP community don't seem to like to explore drains as much as I do for some reason. With that being said, exploring alone can be dangerous but as long as you have the proper equipment and check the weather plus trust your instincts meaning if you have a bad feeling about going into that place (climbing ladders, going into outfalls or looks dangerous/scary like missing rungs, very deep shaft (40 feet deep and deeper with questionable rungs), have to use a rope, cable ladder to get into that outfall/manhole cover, then I think you shouldn't explore that drain/spot alone. If you truly want to go exploring and none of your friends want to join you for whatever reason (trust me I know how that feels, trying to get anyone to explore drains and sewers with me is like waiting for my hair to turn gray),(No, I'm not that old HA HA)then you should just explore alone but you should start off by exploring drains etc that look easy to get into and don't put yourself in danger, risking yourself to get hurt or in trouble, maybe start with outfalls and wait to go manhole covers alone until you feel confident to do it on your own. PS don't let others stop you from exploring what you want to explore. In my opinion, sometimes it can be more fun to explore alone. For me, I've been going out very late at night (10PM to 4AM) to explore drains and pop manhole covers and I have a blast every time because there's nobody with me that could cause problems for me (LOL). The bottom line is, try your best to find at least one friend to explore with you but as last resort then if you feel safe going exploring alone then feel free to do so but please be safe. Does that help at all and make sense?
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This helps a lot. Thanks, I really appreciate it. You also just answered my other post that I just posted a few hours ago lol. Anyway, I do have a little bit of draining experience and have done a lot of research. Particularly on the infiltration zine. I also know where quite a few are, because I'm lucky enough to have a map for my city showing the routes of the storm water utility, plus colored dots for the outfall and infall points(though nearly all are grated off except a very small amount). Since you're from a big city and mine has a population of about 70k, I can't imagine there are big tunnels and rooms beneath my city. Then again, I'm probably wrong because I never got far enough in the damn backbreaking tunnels to find a larger environment other than a manhole chamber. The main reason I want to explore alone is not particularly because my friends don't want to, but I actually do sometimes like solitude. But it's mainly because it's not really something I plan. So most of the time it's a no since its nearly unpredictable whether or not I wanna go.
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Thanks for the information. A lot of this stuff I haven't even heard about, so I think it's probably best I get better at the whole realm of UE in general before attempting these, since I've mainly done abandoned stuff and only one construction site so my stealth close to other people isn't quite as I want it, but maybe I'm just overthinking it. But, if I find myself being in a situation where I'm able to get into these things, I think I'd take it. I'll do some research on those keys now. Thanks again!
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Posted by Thecurious
This helps a lot. Thanks, I really appreciate it. You also just answered my other post that I just posted a few hours ago lol. Anyway, I do have a little bit of draining experience and have done a lot of research. Particularly on the infiltration zine. I also know where quite a few are, because I'm lucky enough to have a map for my city showing the routes of the storm water utility, plus colored dots for the outfall and infall points(though nearly all are grated off except a very small amount). Since you're from a big city and mine has a population of about 70k, I can't imagine there are big tunnels and rooms beneath my city. Then again, I'm probably wrong because I never got far enough in the damn backbreaking tunnels to find a larger environment other than a manhole chamber. The main reason I want to explore alone is not particularly because my friends don't want to, but I actually do sometimes like solitude. But it's mainly because it's not really something I plan. So most of the time it's a no since its nearly unpredictable whether or not I wanna go.
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Oh yeah you're welcome. I hope you can find some cool drains in your city and when you do, I hope you can post your pictures on UER, so others can see them as well as myself and I'll do the same at some point too.
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Hell yeah. I see you're in Minneapolis and I heard of some cool tunnels and caves and stuff beneath it. If I'm ever out that way, I'll make sure to check the city out. I'm probably only 4.5 hours away by car. Are the storm drains beneath Minneapolis large and extensive? I'm sure it depends on the city and the amount of rain and snowfall it gets, but I'd imagine it would since you're on the Mississippi River and I am subject to very similar weather patterns as you guys, so I kinda know what to expect. I'd like to get over to Minnesota now that I think about it lol.
The posts probably won't be the highest quality pics either. I am nowhere near confident to bring a $1000 dollar camera into a place that's so humid there's mosquitos on the walls even when it's -20 out.
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Posted by Thecurious
Hell yeah. I see you're in Minneapolis and I heard of some cool tunnels and caves and stuff beneath it. If I'm ever out that way, I'll make sure to check the city out. I'm probably only 4.5 hours away by car. Are the storm drains beneath Minneapolis large and extensive? I'm sure it depends on the city and the amount of rain and snowfall it gets, but I'd imagine it would since you're on the Mississippi River and I am subject to very similar weather patterns as you guys, so I kinda know what to expect. I'd like to get over to Minnesota now that I think about it lol.
The posts probably won't be the highest quality pics either. I am nowhere near confident to bring a $1000 dollar camera into a place that's so humid there's mosquitos on the walls even when it's -20 out.
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Yeah, you should come over to MSP to see the drains/tunnels etc. I'm the same way with using an expensive camera in drains etc, so I don't wreck it or get it stolen (I've had my camera stolen before). I won't lie to you but a lot of my pictures may not be the best quality but they still look good anyway (LOL). I'm sure that yours will look just fine. In drains it's hard to take the best pictures unless you have an expensive camera (LOL). No matter what your pictures look like, I still want to see them anyway and I'm others on here do too. If you ever get a chance to come to MSP (Minneapolis/ST.Paul), then feel free to hit me up, so we can hit up some drains.
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Posted by hoover 2
Yeah, you should come over to MSP to see the drains/tunnels etc. I'm the same way with using an expensive camera in drains etc, so I don't wreck it or get it stolen (I've had my camera stolen before). I won't lie to you but a lot of my pictures may not be the best quality but they still look good anyway (LOL). I'm sure that yours will look just fine. In drains it's hard to take the best pictures unless you have an expensive camera (LOL). No matter what your pictures look like, I still want to see them anyway and I'm others on here do too. If you ever get a chance to come to MSP (Minneapolis/ST.Paul), then feel free to hit me up, so we can hit up some drains.
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Awesome dude, thanks a lot. I believe I saw your email on one of your posts, so if I ever end up around there for one reason or another, I'll probably email instead of private chat as you probably will see it faster. I've never been there despite living in Wisconsin, so I have no idea what the place looks like at all aside from pictures and Google earth. Would be happy to have a local show me around. My city has almost no abandoned buildings at all. The biggest is probably a house lol. There used to be some big ones, but they destroyed them and built a stadium over it unfortunately years before I got into Urbex. So I'm dying to get out of here to explore. I can't stand these small abandoned houses anymore that I'm anxious to go in because of squatters.
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Posted by Thecurious
Awesome dude, thanks a lot. I believe I saw your email on one of your posts, so if I ever end up around there for one reason or another, I'll probably email instead of private chat as you probably will see it faster. I've never been there despite living in Wisconsin, so I have no idea what the place looks like at all aside from pictures and Google earth. Would be happy to have a local show me around. My city has almost no abandoned buildings at all. The biggest is probably a house lol. There used to be some big ones, but they destroyed them and built a stadium over it unfortunately years before I got into Urbex. So I'm dying to get out of here to explore. I can't stand these small abandoned houses anymore that I'm anxious to go in because of squatters.
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Yeah you're welcome. Honestly I don't check my email as much as I check on here but it's totally up to you on what you want to do. I wouldn't mind giving you my cellphone number some time, so we can talk by text. I will say that I'm mostly into storm drains and sewers but I'm open to other stuff too but storm drains are my favorite thing to explore and when I have friends to explore with, then I'll explore sewers. I'm just letting you know.
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