
Cincinnati's Abandoned Subway - gscott
http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/subway.html
======
rmason
Construction began on a Detroit subway in either 1928 or 1929 and they built
two stations. When I was in college someone got busted for running tours.

But I've been frustrated for the past forty years trying to find more. Current
employees working for the city know nothing about it. My Dad watched the
construction as a junior high student. The newspaper story about the illegal
tour was the only confirmation I've ever seen.

~~~
wcunning
Does the Free Press archive not have anything on it? If not, maybe a library
search request with the city library or Wayne State would help...

If not any of those, I'm curious what the historical societies or maybe some
offbeat publication like the Motor City Muckraker might be able to dredge up.

~~~
rmason
I found articles about the debate on whether to build it or not. They started
debating it in 1912 and the car companies vigorously fought it which isn't a
surprise.

Tried the archive just now and couldn't find anything around the time of the
actual construction but I will keep working on it.

If I can find a little bit bet I could get the Muckracker to do a story. Bet
they have resources we both lack.

~~~
wcunning
They were looking for funding pretty hard a year or two ago, so while I would
expect the Muckraker to do a great job, I'd feel obligated to donate.

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driverdan
Rochester, NY also used to have an abandoned subway. The tunnel was much
shorter and it was actually used. It used to be wide open and easy to explore.
A few years ago they closed it up and filled in part of it.

~~~
neuromantik8086
Rochester's subway was more like light rail from what I understand (i.e., what
they have in Buffalo now). A large portion of it was a re-purposed aqueduct
from the Erie Canal, so it wasn't quite the most ambitious subway system. If
it had stuck around longer past the 40s though I imagine it could have evolved
into quite a formidable system.

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JoeDaDude
In Pennsylvania there is a section of the old turnpike that was abandoned [1],
including two tunnels, one of them over a mile long. I hiked it several years
ago - it is open for public recreation and it is a great place to go biking
(bring a headlight). Recommended if you are in the area.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandoned_Pennsylvania_Turnpik...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandoned_Pennsylvania_Turnpike)

~~~
cozzyd
Another tunnel one can hike through is at Donner Pass:
[https://californiathroughmylens.com/donner-pass-summit-
tunne...](https://californiathroughmylens.com/donner-pass-summit-tunnel-hike)

~~~
jpatokal
Sounds like a great place for a party.

~~~
robk
Bring your appetite

~~~
JoeDaDude
;) Surely you are talking about the Donner party [1] cannibalism incident.
Coincidentally, the film The Road, which also featured cannibalism, had a
short scene filmed at one of the tunnels on the closed Pennsylvania Turnpike
[2].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_(2009_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_\(2009_film\))

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tonywastaken
Not sure if it’s an Easter egg from the author but the title of this page is
“All you clowns in the Art Dept can kiss my __*”:

[http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/subway-
portaltour4.html](http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/subway-portaltour4.html)

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mastazi
Note: contrary to what the linked page says, the tunnel is not immediately
usable in its current state because it houses the city water main, that can be
seen in the Youtube video byt "The Proper People" channel, linked elsewhere in
this comments thread.

~~~
reportingsjr
A redundant water main was built in the 90s partly so the one in the tunnel
could be quickly removed if needed.

The new one was built as part of the Fort Washington Way rebuild.

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PakG1
So it's actually legitimately feasible for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to
find a home in an abandoned subway station. I had always wondered why on earth
there would be abandoned subway stations. The free working electricity may
still be a stretch though.

~~~
flurdy
London has several abandoned stations.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_and_unopened_Lo...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_and_unopened_London_Underground_stations)

Mostly due to location no longer suitable, ie too close to another station, or
issues with access. Or structurally unsafe and uneconomical to refurbish,
maybe some was damaged too much from the Blitz.

And not all are passenger stations. Some were for maintenance, post etc.

Royal Mail did have its own tube line:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Post_Office_Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Post_Office_Railway)

~~~
robk
You can ride the postal rail now Google Mail Rail for tickets via the
transport museum. It's super fun.

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nameless912
Growing up in Cincinnati, people constantly talked about this tunnel like it
was some kind of holy grail of urban exploration. That fantasy was reduced a
little when I found out when I was older that you could buy a tour from the
museum center. I've yet to go, but it's on my bucket list.

~~~
EvanAnderson
In the last 5-ish years they've discontinued that particular tour, citing
insurance reasons. The tour was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I got to do it and
bummed that others aren't getting to. I got a bit of a "megalophobia" feeling
standing beside the immense water main that runs down the southbound tunnel.

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AtomicOrbital
Manhattan's 2nd Ave subway was famously shut down by mayor LaGuardia who
happened to be a large shareholder in the nascent automobile industry

~~~
neuromantik8086
Meh. What you're saying is sort of true although I wouldn't put my tinfoil hat
on about LaGuardia. The 2nd Avenue subway was shut down because it wasn't
actually a subway, it was an El. El's make a lot of noisy ruckus that people
in the surrounding area weren't keen on and trains can't run as fast on their
tracks. When the El was torn down it was assumed that a new subway tunnel
would be built where it used to be in short order (it's kind of a bit
difficult to bore holes under a street that's supporting an elevated structure
so it was supposed to be done in phases). Unfortunately due to bureaucratic
snafus, lack of funding, and general apathy, the 2nd Avenue Line has only
recently sort of come to fruition (but not really).

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purplezooey
It's also well known that General Motors purchased bus systems in the 50s and
60s and intentionally bankrupted them.

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Touche
Interesting! Was there a time when it was thought that every mid-sized city
could have a subway? Today even Chicago (the third biggest U.S. city) doesn't
have one. I can't imagine there being enough urban space in Cincinnati to
sustain one.

~~~
deepfriedbits
Chicago certainly has a subway. Sure, only a portion near downtown runs
underground, while the rest is elevated (the L) but their system is the
second-largest in the US.

~~~
cozzyd
Well, I think technically BART and the DC Metro have more track miles, but
according to
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_tr...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership)
the "L" narrowly has the second highest ridership.

~~~
bunderbunder
Some of that may be a difference in focus. The L barely extends outside of the
city proper, and a separate rail system almost exclusively serves the suburbs.

The division of responsibilities between the rapid transit and commuter rail
systems in DC and the Bay Area is different in a way that might account for
both the greater total system length and the lower ridership per mile compared
to Chicago's system. Or Boston's T, for that matter.

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RyanShook
Why did construction stop?

~~~
cleetus
Growing up there I remember hearing that there was some problem with the
tunnels being too narrow and the cars not fitting - but that was probably more
local folklore than anything else.

Cincinnati is pretty hilly - not San Francisco or Seattle hilly - but enough
that I would think developing any sort of system would be pretty expensive and
difficult.

