 |
|
|
UER Store
|
|
order your copy of Access All Areas today!
|
|
|
|
Activity
|
|
970 online
Server Time:
2024-04-25 01:55:30
|
|
|
 Jade Margery
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Gender: Female
 |  | Cincinnati Subway Fun
< on 3/8/2009 6:19 PM >
|  | | | Last autumn my group checked out the abandoned Cincinnati subway system. There's about two miles of still-connected tunnel running right under Central Parkway and it's a pretty cool place to explore, from the mazes of small rooms and abandoned fallout shelter to the cavernous Central Parkway station.
The subway was started in 1920, with the idea that existing canals would be drained and then turned into a system similar to other major cities of the time, such as New York and Washington DC. By 1923 the still existing portions of the subway were finished, but work was delayed for many reasons and, after the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, it ceased all together. After the depression and WWII, the automobile had become so commonplace that subway transportation was no longer necessary.
No trains ever touched the tracks, and the entire project was abandoned.
Down the Rabbit Hole!
1.
2.
3.
It was a crisp cold night, but after we got in the tunnels it started to rain. The subway is literally beneath the street--through these vents, we could hear cars splashing the puddles as they drove by.
Over the years there had been talk of making use of the tunnels, maybe as a night club or actually as a subway, but when the city decided to put a large water main through them the other plans were abandoned.
It's a huge pipe covered in sheets of plastic. The water is hot, because as one ventures further into the tunnels, the air becomes very warm and humid and water condenses on the plastic. We had to climb over it a couple times to explore side tunnels.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Stalactites and stalagmites grow all over the bottom.
Here are some of the cool things we found:
Rusted out water canisters from the old fall out shelter, (also some bottles of iodine not shown, for purification), and wire bed frames from the same, stacked in small rooms. Most of the shelter was destroyed when fiber-optic cable was put up through the tunnel, I think.
8.
9.
Two weird machines, one old, one new. I have no idea what either of them do.
10.
11.
If anyone knows, please tell me.
There are several smaller stations along the way, but the Central Parkway station is the grandest, inspiring an awe and reverence usually reserved for cathedrals or the Mines of Moria. Due to pitch blackness and a rather ordinary camera, none of the pictures of the space as a whole came out very well. :[
These steps led up to the street, and would have been the station's entrance.
12.
[inp=127726]
The following stairs led down into small unfinished corridors where our group rested and ate chips. We were maybe three-fourths of the way through the tunnel, but had done a lot of exploring of the side rooms and tunnels so we needed a break.
While we were chatting and slurping at our water bottles, we heard footsteps. Everyone froze in horror and shut off their flashlights, plunging us all into pitch darkness. We're not stupid enough to wander around Cincinnati's west side unarmed, so there was a simultaneous readying of weaponry. Then we sat.
13.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes later, we were still sitting, listening to the steps. They reverberated through the cavernous halls, making it impossible to pinpoint where or how many people there might be. Worst case scenario, it was a cop or city worker who saw us get in, though at three in the morning that was unlikely. Junkies and gangs use the tunnels as a place to get high though, and probably wouldn't be friendly. Then again, it could be a friend of ours who canceled at the last minute. Maybe he changed his mind and decided to catch up with us.
Ten minutes, fifteen. I had crawled to the top of the stairs to look for lights. The rest joined me, or were already there (we couldn't see anything). After a few seconds of tense debate, we decided to face our nameless foe. On the count of three we burst from our hiding place, lights on full, armaments ready, scouring the station for the intruders.
14.
15.
Turns out we're all a bunch of paranoid idiots.
We hadn't realized at that point that the rain had started, and was dripping onto the plastic sheets on top of the pipe, making a sound that was JUST LIKE FOOTSTEPS I SWEAR.
Anyway, cool graffiti time:
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
This last pic was my favorite, it reads:
5-26-89
TODAY "BUZ" LUKENS (A LOCAL POLITICIAN) WAS FOUND GUILTY OF HAVING SEX W/ A 13 YEAR OLD.
HE WAS 48.
DON'T TRUST THEM
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
22.
23.
One of our group members climbed into the passage on the right side of this picture and into a smaller chute at the end of it, where there was a grate. (He is particularly thin.) He could hear people talking on the sidewalk above his head and see the streetlights.
After that we had a leisurely hike back to the entrance. We were there about four hours.
We had an excellent time in the tunnels, and I would recommend any explorers in the area to check them out if you have not already done so.
"All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness."
John Ruskin |
|
junkyard
  
Location: LaCrosse, WI
Gender: Male
Strategic Beer Command where the metal hits the meat.
| |  | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 1 on 3/8/2009 11:51 PM >
| | | | That's pretty cool. I also spotted a way into that old fallout shelter bathroom. You guys must have missed it.
I drink gasoline for breakfeast and beer for dinner!
Any problem can be licked with a case of beer and a few sticks of dynamite.
Strategic Beer Command ruling the desert since 1995 http://www.strategic-beer-command.com |
|
seicer
  
Location: New York
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 2 on 3/8/2009 11:54 PM >
| | | | Did you go on the subway tours that were held yesterday as part of Cincinnati's Bockfest? I had planned to go, but the tickets were exhausted by the time I wanted to confirm.
If you want legal access into the remainder, let me know.
Abandoned |
|
Jade Margery
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Gender: Female
| | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 3 on 3/9/2009 12:04 AM >
| | | | No, I've never even heard of Bockfest. As far as I can tell, the other fragmented parts of the subway are all very small and either totally open (homeless hangouts) or completely closed off (there was one under a factory where the entrance got filled with cement). Maybe worth a look, but there are so many other places to explore.... Though, if you think some of them are worth it, do let me know. :3
Junkyard, we did some pretty thorough exploration but we didn't see any toilets, so either we missed it or we didn't recognize it. Darn, now I want to go back and double check.
"All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness."
John Ruskin |
|
DrRJones
Location: Hayward Ca
Gender: Male
I am become death
| |  | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 4 on 3/9/2009 12:15 AM >
| | | | Nice wind it makes me with i Lived In Cincinnati
I wish i was underground, that's where the love is. |
|
WarBird69
  
Location: Eastern TN
Gender: Male
Atomic Bird of War
| | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 5 on 3/9/2009 12:36 AM >
| | | | Damn, nice shots! I'd love to get into those tunnels some day. I only live an hour from da 'Natti, so I may have to give it a try someday.
When twilight draws near, when you are pushed to the very limits of your soul, when it seems that all you have left are the dead remnants of the fabric of your life:
-- BELIEVE |
|
AnAppleSnail
Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
ALL the flashlights!
| | | | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 6 on 3/9/2009 12:40 AM >
| | | | The machine with the red wheel might -- MIGHT -- be a fallout shelter air pump. Spin it and it brings air in while keeping fallout-radioactive dust out. The idea is that air isn't radioactive, but the dust is.
It just looks so much like a squirrelcage fan...
Achievement Unlocked
|
|
seicer
Location: New York
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 7 on 3/9/2009 3:24 AM >
| | | | You should come to Cincinnati more! There are churches, factories, neighborhoods... so much more to explore. I live in Over-the-Rhine, so if you are ever down here, drop me a note!
Abandoned |
|
trent
I'm Trent! Get Bent!
Location: Drainwhale hunting
Gender: Male
Not on UER anymore.
| | | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 8 on 3/9/2009 7:25 PM >
| | | | That's really cool and looks to be in a lot better shape than the Rochester subway. Also, the Cinci one actually has rooms that were designed for sleeping (fallout shelter I'm assuming) while here in Rochester the homeless just sleep on the ground.
He who rules the underground, rules the city above.
|
|
Jade Margery
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Gender: Female
| | Re: Cincinnati Subway Fun
<Reply # 9 on 3/9/2009 7:30 PM >
| | | | I don't think homeless people use this subway at all, actually, since it's not easy to get in and out of and gets regular attention from city workers dealing with the water line. Kind of a shame, really, since the heat off the pipe makes it a cozy atmosphere even in winter.
"All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness."
John Ruskin |
|
|
|
All content and images copyright © 2002-2024 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire.
To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site:
UER CONTACT
View Terms of Service |
View Privacy Policy |
Server colocation provided by Beanfield
This page was generated for you in 125 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 739001036 pages have been generated.
|
|
