'This abandoned pump car was found in the Kinzie Street tunnel. Note the marks left in the concrete by the wooden forms. Most of the tunnels were "finished" with a smooth coat of concrete applied to the walls to hide the form marks. In later years, this was not done to save money.'

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TimNorton DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : Rotteneggs.com text files and message bases are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT undertake any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site.We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site. (48 votes) Published: May 21, 2000 12:00 a.m. Viewed 1776 times Because of many potential hazards, gaining access to Chicago’s freight tunnels has always been difficult, if not impossible for the general public. During the 1980’s I was an employee of Commonwealth Edison, and as such, I was fortunate to be able to go on several exciting expeditions into the tunnels with some of my cohorts. Before the expeditions began, I made sure that all of the tunnel explorers were outfitted with flashlights, maps, probing sticks, simple tools, hip wading boots, hard hats, compasses, and, of course, cameras. In retrospect, we should have carried a methane detector (in the old days they used canaries) and first aid kit. We entered the tunnels through a large manhole cover in the center of Canal Street not far from a Commonwealth Edison substation near the intersection of Taylor Street. For those of us afraid of heights, this was the scariest part of the adventure because we had to descend forty feet down a ladder from the street to the tunnels. The Commonwealth Edison tunnels were well lighted, clean, and relatively dry but extremely boring because the track, cars, and artifacts had been completely removed to facilitate installation of high voltage cables. This tunnel under Polk Street at LaSalle Street was pumped dry and cleaned out by Commonwealth Edison. The tracks were removed, the floor was paved, lights were installed, and high voltage cables were run on the floor along each wall. For safety, the cables were embedded in concrete. Note how the concrete covered cables pass across a former siding on the left. The undisturbed sections of tunnel were separated from the Commonwealth Edison sections by concrete bulkheads with locked steel gates. Once we entered these sections, we discovered an exciting, but extremely dangerous world. This was a world which few people knew about on the streets above us. A steel gate erected by Commonwealth Edison to keep un-authorized people out of their part of the tunnel system. The gate has a chain with two padlocks: one from the city and one from Commonwealth Edison. A steam pipe is on the left. The pipe may have been installed by the Chicago Tunnel Company between buildings along this route in an effort to get some extra revenue from unused tunnels. In the 1950’s, the company got in trouble for doing these extra-curricular activities because they never applied for permits from the city. Note the trolley wire hanger on the ceiling. The most striking thing about the abandoned tunnels is the absolute darkness. When the system was shut down in 1959, all of the lighting (which was powered by the 250VDC trolley circuit) was disconnected. The only lighted portions that remain today are in a few hundred feet of tunnel near the City Hall siding, the Commonwealth Edison sections, and about one hundred feet near the Field Museum of Natural History. The rest of the system was absolutely dark, and if your flashlights failed, it would be extremely difficult to navigate back to your point of entry. Contrary to popular belief, the abandoned tunnels did not contain rotting garbage, rats, insects, or spiders. It was an eerie, quiet place, completely devoid of life. The temperature down there is always about 55F, and there is high humidity. The tunnels had a unique pungent smell that required a little getting used to. The tunnel walls were remarkably crack-free and looked just as new as they did in the old photographs. From time to time, we came across big scars in the tunnel walls which were most likely caused by derailments. Even with their unusually deep wheel flanges, the cars and locomotives could split a switch, come off on a frog, or climb over a sharp curve. If the train was going fast enough, the derailment could be quite dramatic especially when the cargo was coal or cinders. One of 71 reciprocating pumps that were turned off and scavenged when the sysem shut down. Without these pumps, portions of the tunnel system flooded to varying degrees. This pump was located in Construction Shaft #6 at Clark and Harrison Streets. It is remarkably intact, and only it’s electric motor is missing. The pumps had to be very powerful to raise seepage water 35 to 45 feet to the storm sewers under the streets above. Remember, only the locomotives had brakes, and cars could roll out of control if the wheels were not chocked. If a car rolled out of the siding, the wheels passed over an electrical switch on the track, and the sign would light up. The working light bulbs were installed in this section of tunnel near City Hall, because the abandoned tunnels were to be used as a fall out shelter during the Cold War. I am sure that a nuclear weapon aimed at State and Madison Streets would create a crater that would extend far below these tunnels!
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