Chicago Frieght tunnels

50tonloco · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:18 pm

This is the address to a website about the chicago frieght tunnel system
A system that ran mine like trains under downtown chicago

http://users.ameritech.net/chicagotunnel/tunnel1.html

miner490 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:32 pm **Posts:** 783

Good site. if I remember a while back the History channel's lost worlds ( ? ) did a story on them. Pretty cool stuff.

Miner Greg · **Posted:** Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:15 pm

Thanks for posting this up. Pretty neat, all narrow gauge! I like!

Miner Greg

esaresky75 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:02 am

miner490 wrote:

Good site. if I remember a while back the History channel's lost worlds ( ? ) did a story on them. Pretty cool stuff.

I check The History Channel's site and IMDB and the only episode that might contain the tunnels would be "Al Capone's Secret City".

miner490 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:32 pm **Posts:** 783

Might have been Discovery. It was over a year ago. One of the ways in to the remaining tunnels was through a door in Chicago's city hall basement. When they were doing a project near the lake they dug into the tunnel network. 80 percent got flooded. The remaining tunnels are now used as steam tunnels. With a few small segments looking the way they did when abandoned.

Doug · **Posted:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:53 am

Was that the "Northern" Tunnels? :lol:

50tonloco · **Posted:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:50 pm

They use a small part of the network for steam pipes, some for electric cables, and other parts have fiber optic cables running through them.

The track is still there because it is imbedded in concrete in the floor.

If you look on that website there is a section about how some of the equipment was recovered from one of the tunnels and comostically restored at the illnoia railway meseum northwest of Chicago.

A guy I talked to there said the locomotive could still run if they had a power supply, would the folks at Ohio vintage coal know how to do this, could it be hooked up to batteries or would a trolley wire be needed?

Miner Mike · **Posted:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:36 pm

Very interesting. Are there any sections that were driven through solid rock (as opposed to clay) or were NOT concrete lined (like a mine)? Also, do you know how deep underground the tunnels were?

miner490 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:32 pm **Posts:** 783

http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r047.html

50tonloco · **Posted:** Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:10 pm

As far as I know they were all concrete lined and to answer your second question they were 40 feet deep expect at river crossings and a few other locations

rail haulage miners · **Posted:** Sat Dec 19, 2009 7:29 am

We could test run it. We have portable dc power supplies but that piece you are referring to is on a small piece of panel track at that museum. If the locomotive was under water then there is a lot more that needs to be done before putting the juice to it.

Pete, OVCC

UGMiner Banks · **Posted:** Sat Dec 19, 2009 9:33 am

very funny doug :lol:

50tonloco · **Posted:** Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:46 pm

The tunnel this locomotive was removed from was higher then most of the tunnel system so it was not exposed to water.

Also it has already been comestically restored, not sure about mechanically

Also it is kept inside

Chicago Frieght tunnels

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