Whittier Tunnel Walk
This photo won in the "long exposure" category of the 1st Illumination
UE photo contest!
In June I attended the 2nd annual "Walk to Whiiter", an event designed to lure tourists into Whittier by walking through the 3 mile Anton Anderson road/rail tunnel (normally closed to foot traffic). Once in Whittier the newcomers would realize that there was absolutely nothing to do other than stare at the depressing architechture and spend their money at the local stores while waiting for the return busses. Fortunately Whittier has more distractions for the Urban Explorers, as covered in this page about my first visit. Since I was in the last group out I got to ride the 6:30 train back to the Bear Valley end of the tunnel.
The registration booth provided free return bus tickets and loaner
hardhats.
Upwards of 300 peole head into the tunnel. Moo!
There are 8 emergency pullouts and fire shelters between Bear Valley
and Whittier, the 1st and 8th are equipped with three jet fans for ventilation.
During the walk the 5th safehosue was open for people to look at, and a
truck parked outside provided water to the walkers.
The floor of the tunnel is made up of precast concrete road sections
with grooves for the train rails. Power lines and storm drain pipes are
hidden under metal panels between the rails. Cameras and motion detectors
monitor vehicle traffic and tunnel security.
Emerging on the Whittier side, into typical Whittier weather (sideways
rain and thick fog).
As an added bonus, we got into one of the steam tunnels under Whittier,
a large one that used to run between the Buckner building and the power
plant. We were surprised to encounter a sucession of boat engines and assorted
hardware as we approached the lower end of the tunnel, by the time we reached
an access hatch under the boat storage area the tunnel resembled the stock
room of a small hardware store. I had hoped that the tunnel would connect
to other rumored tunnels under the city, especially two that were supposed
to connect the Buckner and Hodge Buildings. Unfortunately it appears that
these may be only rumors, the extensive search of the basement (for the
3rd time) turned up nothing but more crawlspaces, and a manhole popping
expedition showed that the steam lines between the two buildings are buried
directly and accessible only through vaults rather than tunnels. We did
find more manholes into the large storm drain under the rail yard, but
none that offered inconspicuous access.
Click here for more
photos of Whittier from a previous visit.
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