Forgotten Tunnels Under Chicago - EXPLORING The History of Chicago Tunnels - IT'S HISTORY (VIDEO)

Below the sewers and subways of Chicago, are over 60-miles of forgotten 19th and 20th century train tunnels. This mysterious labyrinth, once connecting the majority of the city’s most prominent buildings. Has sat in abandonment and disarray for the better part of a century – today, we will uncover the forgotten story of the Chicago Tunnels. Around the turn of the century, the City of Chicago was one of the most congested urban spaces in the United States of America. Chaos, might even be the most proper word to describe it. Between the horse drawn carts, were street cars gridlocked by the pedestrians moving in every direction. And although the city attempted to alleviate these issues in 1892, with the introduction of elevated rapid transport, known locally as “the L” the foundation of the new track structure obstructed valuable curb areas otherwise useful for loading. On some streets, the train commuters indeed saved time – but cargo loading guaranteed lane blockage – reeking havok on the trolly cars making their way through out the loop. And as if that was not already enough to cause high blood pressure, factors were grossly compounded by another component known as coal. You see, Coal was a primary power source for Chicagoan’s, and demand was abundant. Looking back, It’s Almost ironic to consider that the city literally emerged from ash to become covered in ash. The delivery of coal was a massive element of the cargo logistics impeding the cities quality of life. Not only jamming up already overcrowded streets, but dirtying them with the removal of its byproduct – ash. Even the Chicago Tribune gave its warning in 1874, that the huge increase in factories, hotels, and new skyscrapers with their steam-powered elevators, was a serious problem. On journilist argued "So dense is this volume of smoke that, unless there is a brisk, stirring breeze, the whole of it settles down in the central part of the city and leaves its dirty imprint,". From todays prespetive, this type of commentary presents strong contrast to the tourist praised city of glorious architecture that we know today. Another example comes from, author Rud-yard Kip-ling who was quoted on Feb. 8, 1891 in simply saying that “Chicago’s air is dirt”. News paper editors crusaded tirelessly against the "smoke horror." Proclaiming that "The city will shortly be blackened in appearance, new as it is, and grow unhealthier”. And although there was not a great solution for the so called “air of dirt” – containment of the ash and resulting congestion of the street could be addressed by moving it all 40 feet underground. I’m your host Ryan Socash and your watching - IT’S HISTORY. The History of The Chicago Tunnels This story’s orgins began Under the watchful eye of chief engineer George W. Jackson, As the Illinois Telephone and Telegraph company built the first 26 miles of tunnel to hold telegraph and telephone cables. In 1899, a narrow-gauge railway was laid with in the tunnels with excavation,
However, the project stalled after the Company ran out of money. And this is when things became interesting. In 1905, the Illinois Tunnel Company took over construction, expanding the network to 60 miles and On July 7, 1905, an 11-car train was dispatched from the Erie freight house – marking the starting a new era.

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

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[ITSHISTORY]

BIG NEWS! WE ARE BACK! SO "SMASH THAT BELL" 👍 In the meantime, we are happy to address any questions about the channel in the comment section of this video before the video launch.

We are excited to announce the return of IT’S HISTORY, with a special episode premiering later this week about the forgotten Chicago tunnel system. Moving forward, a particular emphasis will be placed on the idea that urban decay exposes the remains of bygone eras and faded societies. In discovering the stories of abandoned monuments of the past, we can experience the most tangible form of time. Upcoming episodes will be hosted by Ryan Socash of the channel ​Kult America, who some viewers may recall from the URBEX adventure he organised to Ukraine with Indy Neidell and ​The Great War​. Socash has also been a long time producer of IT’S HISTORY and associate of channel founder, (Spartacus Olsson / TimeGhost History​ ).

[man_on_wheelz]

I actually watched this video on my tv but I had to come to the comment section on my phone to give you guys respect for accurately describing these tunnels I have frequently had to go into myself. I work in telecommunications engineering and I have a confined space entry certificate that I have to renew every 2 years, most specifically so that I can enter these tunnels at a moments notice. I learned quite a few things in this video that I didn’t know and I trust it’s accurate because the parts I do know were spot on! Not to mention those maps shown in this video, those are the only maps we have to help navigate these tunnels. We’ve made copies of our own that indicate known and discovered dead ends and certain obstacles. One thing I find interesting is the bulkhead doors you have to open and close to cross the river. You have to check the little valve just below the door to assure no water is in the corridor, then you open the door, a red light turns on above the door which also alerts the entry monitor standing by at City Hall. You crawl through, then close and lock the door back behind you. Then you proceed to walk through an isolated corridor underneath the river to another bulkhead door where you do the same thing. This section is typically a bit flooded too, usually up to around the knees or so. In fact, there are a lot of tunnel sections with high standing water which is why we must enter with waders on… I’ve waded water as high as my stomach. Oh and the majority of it is dark… can’t see your hand in front of you DARK. While some parts are well lit with lights provided by ComEd. I once had to climb a 4 and a half foot wall and shimmy between the wall and a pipe to get to the other side. The tunnel is a very interesting place… and communications are non existent so it’s important you travel with at least one other person and the monitor needs to know where you plan to go, what route you will take, and about how long you intend to be down there just in case a rescue is needed. My coworker got banned from ever entering again because he abandoned the construction crew he was with and exited the tunnel alone to use the washroom.

[richardlovins]

In the mid 80 I was a concrete cutter and had access to the the tunnels it was amazing how thick the concrete was
That was a great job I got to see a lot of things around Chicago but now I’m a old man with great memories of the things I got to see

[AZAFVET]

In the early 1980's I worked for a communications company, located in the Marshall Field Annex Building, south, across the street for the Main Store. One of my projects was to construct a a huge battery backup for a new piece of equipment. Because of the weight of the batteries and the age of the building, they had to be installed in the third basement of the building. This was the level where the subject of the film, the old tunnels. Of course I was much younger back then and just had to explore them. It was quite impressive. They were laid out under all the main streets and all the intersections were marked accordingly.

[kennethkenevan]

I was very lucky to have been granted access about 10 years ago. I worked on installing some conduit for fiber between buildings. Got to explore the tunnels with and engineer who spent years in the tunnel system. I have tons of great photos and even found some train cars submerged under water. We were told everything was removed after the flood when they allowed the scrappers down in the tunnels to clean them out, however there were areas they never got to. We went through a long process to get access including homeland security. I’m so glad I had the chance to explore

[GilturnerknocksoutphonyFloyd]

My dad was a plumber that helped build many of the high rises in Chicago. He told me about these tunnels many years ago. His knowledge of old Chicago was amazing. My grandfather was a plumber who helped build the Merchandise Mart.

[mmhoss]

It is mind boggling to me that a city could simply throw away or abandon such a monumentally useful, widespread piece of infrastructure and relegate it to holding fiber optic lines here and there. I can't think of any city that wouldn't kill to inherit something this incredible.

[gibhacker]

This channel is like Hayley's comet, it comes back every 86 years

[ptaylor]

In 1918 my grandmother was 18. Her first job was to be posted in a tall tower of the Chicago rail yard and record the number of every railcar that passed through.

[function]

Excellent video, and I should know. I have walked and inspected every inch of the Chicago Freight and Trolley Tunnel System (CFTTS). I have walked literally hundreds of miles in the CFTTS, while almost always wearing steel-toed hip waders (some of the tunnels are partially or completely flooded). From about 2006 to about 2010 I worked as an engineering consultant for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT). The CFTTS is filled with fiber optic cable, concrete encased high voltage power lines, and steam pipes. I imagine this tunnel system will be maintained for many years to come, because it is very useful in the Chicago Loop for the aforementioned utilities. I no longer live and work in Chicago, but I have a ton of interesting and fond memories of this tunnel system.

[fubartotale]

I remember when Great Lakes Dock and Dredge poked a hole in one of those tunnels and flooded the whole damn system, baements flooded, transformers shorted out, a real mess.

[ethanworner]

If they ever make a 3D fallout in Chicago, I hope they feature these tunnels.

[Hotspur]

seems to me like this would be a good thing to get running again as getting delivery trucks into city centres gets harder every year

[tomnook]

Being from Chicago, I’m hyped for this episode

[silvercoinedge]

The old Chicago tunnels played a prominent part in the 1997 science fiction horror film "The Relic". The idea of a terrifying monster hiding somewhere in that maze of dark tunnels was a good one. Some scenes of flashlights in those tunnels reminded me of that B movie. Really interesting history.

[bowl-of-chicken-soup]

So they broke through the wall with a wooden pylon, and then waited for 6 months before working on it? They were basically asking to cause a flood at that point

[BaltimoreAndOhioRR]

They'd be so interesting to explore!

[obosumba]

A few years ago a company was hired to seal a portion of the tunnel under the Kennedy expressway downtown. They pumped the tunnel full of concrete. The tunnel then swelled up causing a huge bump accross the expressway that sent cars flying. After a bunch of accidents the expressway was shut down for repairs causing a backup from Wisconsin to Indiana.

[nickvenuto]

Wow this channel is back i’m surprised

[TheRange]

I was working as a trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange the day the tunnels flooded. We lost power and had to go on backup. Within an hour or so, the powers that be decided to close the floor down for the rest of the day. Walking outside and just across the street, one could see divers in full deep water suits being lowered into the basements of the Chicago Board of Trade Building from an outside access shaft. I swear it was something I never thought I'd see anywhere except a movie. The crews they called in to patch up the hole that led to the flood were geniuses. They just kept pouring high pressure concrete of some sort into the hole until the whole leak was stopped. One of the many cool stories about growing up in and working in Chicago. Still a city with a million untold stories.