This Adventure:

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    Intro/Rant

    Part 01

    Part 02

    Part 03

    Part 04

    Part 05

    Part 06

    Part 07

    Part 08

    Part 09

    Part 10

    Part 11

    Part 12

    Part 13

    Part 14

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    Main Page

 

 

Intro/Rant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

 


Radio Underground

The entrance to the antenna tunnel: Nice and round this time!  As you can see, it is a bit wet at this end.

Returning to the main junction, there was only one avenue left to us: the antenna tunnel.  At the end of this seemingly endless conduit lay the antenna terminal and its twin silos, each 27 feet in diameter and about 65 feet deep, and, if I had to guess, full of water.

The tunnel itself wasn't in terrible shape, there was some seepage, sure, but it wasn't flooded, filled with dirt or debris or leaking too badly.  I'd seen far worse: a tunnel blocked by junk from other parts of the complex and various garbage piled up and set alight leaving a light-swallowing matte black coating of soot on the tunnel walls.

A bit further along the antenna tunnel-- a lot less moisture here. 

I've seen a few tunnels like the antenna tunnel at Lowry 724-C which exhibits pronounced deformation at the main junction caused by compression over time by the enormous weight of earth resting on it. 

This site seemed much better in that regard.  The tunnel appeared nice and round and the concrete floor wasn't fractured though there was a bit of moisture seeping in somewhere.

The mouth of the tunnel looked pleasingly symmetrical as the group headed in, making the long trek down it to the accompaniment of our echoing footfalls.

This section is pretty rough from a corrosion standpoint and there is still some seepage here and there. 

Typically, the antenna tunnel provides little scenery-- even before they were scrapped the tunnels were pretty barren.  There were several pipes on the left: hot and cold water supply lines and a sanitary sewer line that shunted to the surface  along the route; on the right were several cable trays carrying power and signals to the antenna terminal and silos.  Aside from lighting above, an odd fire extinguisher and electrical outlet, there really wasn't anything else for a few hundred feet along the way.

All of that was gone here.  Not one damn thing was left behind in the antenna tunnel.  They took everything-- well, okay, the truly observant will see a bit of conduit in the first three photos, but after a ways even that was gone.

About half way there perhaps.  The paint looks pretty damn good here actually.

As you can see, there's not too much to say about the tunnel itself as it is a pretty featureless tube of corrugated steel hundreds of feet long and 9.5 feet in diameter.

Nevertheless, I did my level best to take quick and dirty photos of every inch of the damn thing as we strode quickly along.

Up ahead the voices of the others faded into the distance leaving only the sound of our own footfalls on the rough concrete lining the floor.

As always, I hoped that the area ahead would be somewhat intact and provide an interesting contrast to the empty tube we were traversing.

You can't see it yet, but the end is near!

For a long way, there was little change in the empty tunnel.  The only features to be seen were peeling paint and mottles of rust and scabby, burnt spots where the scrappers' torches had left their mark.

Just outside the antenna terminal which lies just beyond this bend.  How torn up will it be?

The Vanishing Point

No matter how many times I walk down an antenna tunnel I always find myself thinking: "Damn this tunnel is a lot longer than I remember!"  This occasion was no different and I squinted, looking off into the distance trying to see the end, but no dice.

I snapped perhaps a few too many shots of barren tunnel along the way, but I figure hey, you never know when you're going to wish you had taken more photos.

Eventually the familiar right hand jog just before the antenna terminal came into view and my heart sped up in skeptical anticipation of what I might find there.  We took the corner, my breath held unconsciously in anticipation...

At the vestibule of the antenna terminal.  Just beyond the opening there, there once stood two rows of  equipment racks that were critical to guiding the missiles to their targets--  now long gone of course.  

Well damn!  Another stripped terminal.

I've seen far worse, at least they left the floor at this one.  I've been at another site where there is a five foot drop entering the terminal and it was necessary to find something to use as a step just to climb back up out of there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although fairly stripped, at least the floor has been left intact at this site-- makes passage sooo much easier, believe me.

Under the circumstances, there isn't much to tell about this area except that there once used to be two rows of guidance equipment that controlled and supported the antennas.

The beams (seen here in primer color) are actually supporting the floor from above.  The whole affair is "floating" above the tunnel junction below it.

 

Looking back out of the antenna terminal into the long connecting tunnel that got us here.

At the crux of the antenna terminal, the walkway leads off in each direction to the blast doors where the antennas had been.

Looking toward antenna "B".  You can see the small "gangway" leading into the silo that connects it to the terminal floor.

 

Blast valve protecting the vent shaft to the surface from the antenna terminal.  Brave folks could well try to get into a site this way.  I myself would not recommend it in the slightest... for LOTS of reasons of safety and sanity.

The opening of a vent shaft can be seen in the photo above leading some 60 feet to the surface.  I would  not recommend trying to enter through one of these vertical shafts.  There are people who might still be alive today had they not tried to enter a Titan 1 or other missile site through a vertical shaft.

A closer look at the mostly absent blast valve mechanism that once closed off the terminal in the event of a blast detection.

 

Entrance to antenna silo "A".  Here you can see depicted in graffiti the eternal struggle between good and evil.

The antenna silos themselves had been pretty busy with cat walks, rails and a bunch of nifty gear, but once again, this place was stripped really badly leaving only half-witted graffiti on the walls.

Inside an antenna silo: below the floor is about 25 feet of flooded space.  This silo has been fastidiously stripped down to damn near nothing.  I'm surprised that railing is still there.

Inside the silos and beneath the floor, there is a mysterious area some 25 feet below the floor that contained some mechanical and pneumatic equipment for raising the antennas to the surface along with sump pumps to keep water out.  I have yet to encounter a site where this area was not flooded!

More graffiti in the antenna silo.  This Justin fellow has rather a high opinion of himself I should think.

 

About 20 feet of cold, dark, arsenic-laced water.

As you can see here, this site is just as flooded as the rest with murky, cold water repelling my terrible curiosity to see what, if anything might still be down there.  Since it is an area that is left kind of blank on the blueprints, they don't offer much insight into this area either.

Personnel access to the lower level.  A one-man elevator was once located in this spot that serviced the upper and lower levels.

 

I'm always amused at the lengths to which people go to bring spray paint into such a place, only to have nothing to say once they get there.

 

Another shot of the silo and its tagging.  The doors are several stories above.

I keep hoping for a site where this area is magically dry, but since it is a low spot where everything drains to, I think it unlikely that I'll ever get a good look down there unless someone sumps out all the water first.

Looking into the water beneath the silo floor.  I don't need to tell you that I never went down there.

For now, these murky photos of soggy steel beams are all I can see of the lower portion of the antenna silos.  

Another look below the silo floor showing some of the steelwork left behind.

 

Access ladder to the lower level of an antenna silo.

 

Looking up at the catwalk level.  I'm a bit surprised to see some steel left behind up there.  

 

Another look at the catwalk level.  There's a lot of dust in this shot messing with the flash causing the small circles to appear as it reflects the light back.

This large open area in the center of the antenna silo is where the antenna and its elevating mechanism used to reside, waiting for action.  I have seen the empty platform that supported the antenna at a couple sites, but here it has been removed from both silos.

Catwalk level showing more detail.

 

Catwalk and a glimpse of the silo doors.

 

A better view of the silo door and the rails on which the antenna assembly was elevated.

 

One last look at the antenna silo doors.

 

Where do we go from here?  Well, I rather skipped how we arrived some 60-odd feet underground and began blithely traipsing (yes traipsing!) about in this underworld of asbestos and intrusive ground water.  I have exhausted all avenues from the main tunnel junction, and as the launcher tunnels are blocked, I'll have to go topside to get to them.  So next time we make our way back to the surface and have a look around for the way to reach the launcher silos.

Tune in soon for the next installment:

Part Seven - Portal #2: The Bird Crap is Not a Lie!

Intro/Rant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14