America's Largest Abandoned Subway - Cincinnati Subway Explored!

in this episode we're taking you through one of the most amazing abandoned pieces of infrastructure in the United States the massive Cincinnati subway this thing is miles long and we're going to be taking through every inch of it so come along as we explore [Music] this video is sponsored by Squarespace start your free trial today at squarespace.com slash proper people to get 10% off your first purchase today's mission brings us to Cincinnati Ohio where we hope to find our way inside America's largest abandoned subway system the main tunnel runs for over two miles beneath the city and contains several complete stations it follows the path of Central Parkway so this is where we'll begin looking for signs on the surface of the subways existence so right now we're driving down Central Parkway through Cincinnati and this road actually used to be a canal back then about a hundred years ago this canal was seen as a huge nuisance because it was very polluted there were a lot of people throwing trash and just using it as their sewer basically so in 1916 when a vote was held about whether to drain the canal and replace it with a subway 80 percent of people voted yes ground was then broken on the subway in 1920 and work continued for five years until the original six million dollar budget ran dry due to rising inflation the estimated cost to complete the project balloon and the plans were put on hold just a few years later America we faced the Great Depression dashing any last hopes of completing the subway if you drive through this intersection you might not think anything of it but underneath it actually lies a fully built subway station the only thing left that you can see from the service is the suspiciously large metal grate we're gonna look around and see if there's any other surfer signs that the subway still exists so we just got to the site of another abandoned subway station the Lynn Street Station and that is actually just underneath this intersection and we've been looking around there really is not much to see above ground it's been many decades since they've scrapped this project so they've pretty much erased almost all the signs that this thing ever existed we did find some grates on the ground that could be ventilation for the subway but we don't know for sure so this is where the subway would transition from being underground to above-ground the tracks would have came out of this tunnel and went right down where that road is there should be a tunnel right down here to all these people sitting in traffic could be taking the train that way but there isn't one how big do you think two of those holes are right there well two of those holes how big you think they are not that big got them no way to get a person no at this point we still had no idea how we were going to get inside the subway based on our Intel these doors are always locked up tight we decided that our best plan was to return at night when the darkness would allow us to be a little more bold in our search [Music] all right yeah first we headed back to the main tunnel entrance we knew our chances of getting in this way were slim but we wanted to give it a shot anyway oh my god that was [ __ ] easy holy [ __ ] we're it this is [ __ ] too easy okay let's get lights out Wow we are in the subway so based on how easy it was to get in here I definitely think there's a good chance that we won't be in here alone so we definitely keep our guard up here's the other tunnel that right next to it yeah whose wooden or metal supports up here oh the weird noise the echoes are insane [Music] see I think for the vast majority of the line it's a to tunnel side by side I don't think they ever really become one full tunnel except for in a few areas what is this in the middle okay always a drainage systems it's some sort of city water mean it doesn't look in good shape though I thought this was still in use maybe it is this is the water it's looking good is put in the tunnel yeah I know there's also fiber-optic lines in here yeah this pipe is not looking I don't think it's look it's used and I don't hear anything running through it so I can't be used in our heart disease look how nasty that looks oh this is the fiber-optic lines well assuming here yeah right here fiber-optic cable those are some heavy-duty conduits right there oh yeah there's a lot of water leaking in from where the seams of the tunnel are from the surface so it's a lot of puddles in here getting in deeper look at these looks like a cave almost with the build up as we progressed further into the tunnel we began to feel more and more unused every little sound was turned into a ghostly reverberation making it difficult to tell what or where it was coming from yeah I heard that that's got to be direct landing on something other than water I really hope so oh really so - stance they could still be direct seasonally though hello I think it strips hello I think its troops laying on the tarp for this pipe okay see how the whole thing's covered in a tarp I know it's just [ __ ] creepy Oh check this out rapid transit subway station or coming up on a station baby maybe we're hearing something in a station like dripping yeah oh man when ice truck comes by outside it literally sounds like the drone sound effects that we normally put our video is to make it creepy but it's a hundred percent real this time acoustics in here so while the noise is just water dripping on this pie it covered in tarp we still might not be alone it's a lot of subways not really gang clear a fraction of its so far though I feel like we're due for a station as a stationary up there we go all right as I said that it's not much of like just a pretty plain looking station after about 30 minutes of walking we had reached our first station right in place let's try to go up on the platform this is [ __ ] freaky check this out I don't know if you can see on camera but the platform is actually sloping downwards this way definitely was not designed to be that way the stairs there too [Music] let's go up over this okay this is really dusty this is where I would have went up to the street see if you can see the bottom of the metal cover or something well that's just wooden boards that's probably concrete somewhere I can hear people this way though [Applause] she's just a room that I'm gonna oh my it's just a great is not a non-event yeah that last one from outside it's closed off right well that's the street all right one station down three more to go that's bricked off that was probably an access shaft that's closed off there's one on each side oh this one's open though those are the vents on the sides of the road oh yeah you're right maybe these arrows were pointing that way which is the exit because people maybe lose their sense of direction I mean how can you lose the other one two ways to go it goes straight here for quite a while I'm shining a light full power and I can't even see the end of that [ __ ] you proceed no further or die it's pretty threatening graffiti I don't know should we proceed let's die let's die that means proceed right yes okay let's go proceed to die wow that's a lot of build up some random like teal stuff in the middle here we go here's another station this might be the one that's completely sealed off though yep yep they just completely got rid of this one where's the station do you think it still exists behind this wall are they filled it in I think it still exists behind this wall and they just filled it in I mean they just put the wall let's strange why they would do that okay so that means that the next station is going with the fallout shelter and then the one after that will be the final station that has the platform in the middle at this point we're only a third of the way into the tunnel but we've already been underground for over an hour we began to realize that exploring the entire subway would be more of an extreme undertaking than we previously thought each step we took deeper inside would be another step we have to take to get out what is that looks like a fan to fan all the ventilation holes probably have one of those before and for some reason this one didn't get removed looks old here's another station finally we had arrived at the Liberty Street Station this is one of the more interesting stations on the line because of the fact that it was converted into a fallout shelter in the 60s many remnants of the shelter can still be found here today let's check out this site there's still lights up in this part this was the fallout station I mean far shelter yeah yeah let's go up here this whole head bumper wow this thing actually keeps going I'll hear stairs up this is what we were standing on before the big one so there was a time though this was abandoned that this place was still stocked with food and everything obviously no that's here anymore from what I've read this didn't even been a very good fallout shelter it was mortgaged to provide a sense of security and to actually provide any real safety it was just way too small for a city with a population of Cincinnati here's beds this is cool I didn't expect to find he's still here this department of civil defense drinking water I don't know if the Department of Civil Defence still exists even though it doesn't it was pretty much just for the nuclear arms race this is definitely the sharpest curve in the tunnel that we've seen so far this is because we're under downtown now so it has to make much sharper turns to stay with the street grid see how Bank this turn is because it's so sharp what's the radius for modern-day subways what I don't think modern-day I would even be able to go on this I know the New York subway does some pretty tight turns it'll it'll be like the ones in New York that make the craps on a noise probably that's pretty sharp whoa your Forks I don't have park is what would actually go somewhere who do you want to follow the main tunnel first G is on the way back okay this ceiling is really tall here - yeah Forks again just like tunnels going everywhere here finally some more interesting graffiti pieces yeah they waited to the end to the good news wait you know what's funny to me we went around this right here that's awesome that's really interesting finally we made it to the last and largest station on the line race Street which has beneath downtown Cincinnati this room is cavernous so here's where each line would have split and this was the only center platform station that was constructed this is probably one of the largest rooms in the system oh look they would have had this very track right here so this was like a triple station let's see if this stair just go anywhere or if they just completely walled it off yep just cemented right off there's another set of stairs over here and goes down oh no got satanic rituals yeah I look there stairs that go to a hatch over there I don't know where these go yeah that's it these are for why do I feel a cool breeze going from here the watermen era maybe if they wanted to add another level down maybe or just and other entrances to the station maybe it does go down more just under this disgusting water the steps could keep going I don't know I'm gonna get the diving gear no I don't think she's gonna flick the conus right there yeah there's no stairs you just jump that yeah my god from here on out I have no idea how far it goes I honestly thought it would end right at that station so we'll see where this goes - so this is coming on this side now and that side is empty I mean that could go somewhere - oh look at splits okay no it just ends but it's another track should we go over the cross there shall we okay so now we're on the side of the pipe it's like stuck on this side oh sweet and exit this thing keeps going it's turning right again who knows how far this goes how long have we been in here about two and a half hours and all that time getting in we're gonna need to get out also yeah yeah there's two more branch to this end stuff you won't get yeah we gotta go the other way it's a brick wall here yeah yeah let's hop over here can we get over this it's the brick wall - I think that's it this one keeps going so we should have stayed on that side of the pipe yeah also you can't up you want to hear shine as far as you can't see if it actually keeps coming he actually keeps coming that's crazy we have to check it out that's really we can get through this fight I don't Thanks plus we climb up here what is that that's like I don't know yeah there's another hatch up there I'm not gonna help get on the other side of the yeah it's not the pipe those are some old bricks I guess we'll go back uh-oh it looks really wet here yeah that looks pretty deep try just walking along the edge might be okay it actually seems more shallow on this side I can make it wow I really underestimated these boots they did not flood it all up to you about these boots that these dudes you're just trying to flush yeah I prefer not to get these pants wet I also didn't get as deep as I thought it would all right there we go knocking a little little bit of water stop us so we're past the end of the other tunnels now let's see where this water pipe leads well that looks like an ending oh wait but that goes somewhere to the wall weird zip wall okay let's see if this goes anywhere though that's it the end well I'm still glad we got to the end this way you know we didn't miss anything we have those two forks to go check it now that's true also we can say we conquered this whole thing yep let's head over there now okay okay so that's the way we came from where I go down this way I'm sure doesn't go up too far probably not probably gonna hit a brick wall - out of this corner but you never know [Applause] yeah that's it probably a place to store the trains or a future expansion work for them to make a u-turn on the tracks do you think it's long enough for that it depends on how long the trains were that they were running I guess that's the end [Music] so this was definitely amazing to see the size of this is just unbelievable we've been walking for miles it's been like four hours it's 4:00 a.m. and we need a head out so we're gonna go back the way we came [Music] whatever I'm walking in a city I can't help but wonder what secrets are hidden just below my feet today we got to see one of those secrets up close and personal we hope you enjoyed coming along on our subterranean adventure [Music] so much cooler I am [Music] thanks to Squarespace we were able to easily set up a shop website where we have a handful of high quality prints available for purchase Squarespace is an intuitive all-in-one platform that can build any kind of website as a built-in shop module made our website possible with it simple yet feature-rich inventory and transaction management if you need to create a website make sure to sign up using the link squarespace.com slash proper people for a 14-day free trial and 10% off your first purchase [Music] [Music]

Channel: The Proper People

Views: 2,818,586

Rating: 4.9066458 out of 5

Keywords: abandoned, urban, exploration, urbex, exploring, haunted, proper, people, theproperpeople, subway, abandoned subway, abandoned tunnels, infiltration, danger, death, abandoned places, abandoned places in america, usa, history, documentary, urban exploring, urban exploration, adventure, travel, forbidden explorers, forbidden, decay, cincinnati, ohio, cincinnati subway, metro, public transit, infrastructure, america, dangerous, tunnels, urban spelunking, city, scary, spooky, creepy, overnight challenge, police, station

Id: nY6A0_uxyvs

Length: 29min 33sec (1773 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 17 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Izawwlgood]

THE DOOR WAS JUST UNLOCKED WHAT THE HELL

[u/Yacan1]

Yesss. I love you guys, please keep it up. Visit Pittsburgh and I'll buy you guys tacos.

[u/M1LK3Y]

I've been in there! Early in the video when they're looking at the door to the subway they think the holes above it are too small to enter but they arent! That's how my friends and I get in. Its very difficult and you gotta be kinda skinny but both of them could've done it. Their camera equipment could be another story though

[u/frostrambler]

Great video, but what about the other tunnel? You mentioned there was a second tunnel where the track went from above ground and then went back underground.

[u/AxelYoung95]

I love how i have this same exact video playing while browsing reddit to have this post show up on my feed.

I love me some Proper People exploration videos. Thank you for doing these videos so i can get to know the world just a bit better. :)

[u/Thompy]

Awesome video! Surprised how dedicated you guys were just to reach the end. And habing to walk back on yourselves too, how long was that in total? Must've been at least 8 hours.

[u/ryan-g]

I’ve lead tours and have traveled the subway at least 8 times. You can honesty go explore it if you’re smart about it. I can remember them leaving the main doors wide open for the weekend at least a dozen times this year. One of the station latch doors was left open for months. Do some research and you’ll find that the grates along the subway route lead down into the subway, but they are all welded shut. Or are they? 😈

[u/Ravensphere]

Loved this video. It gave me the same feeling as when I played metro 2033. Would have been cool if you'd put in some ghostly train sound effect just to mess with us.

[u/DeadBabyDick]

Excellent work, guys! Was heading to bed about 4hrs ago and got stuck on your YouTube channel. Enjoyed every minute of it!