The Largest Abandoned Subway in the World - EXPLAINED

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Cincinnati's subway was one of the most ambitious projects in North America. It was designed to link the populous downtown, with the Ohio River Valley, and then onward to the east and west suburbs. There was a long-term plan to extend it all the way to Indiana.
But what happened? Why did Cincinnati, who had a world-class mass transit system in place, build an expensive highway called I-75 instead?
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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[@ITSHISTORY]

Get your Ekster Wallet now! Our viewers will enjoy 20% off. shop.ekster.com/itshistory

[@irsmedic]

I can verify - as a good friend of Ryan's, I can verify that his wallet was really embarrassing on those very few occasions when he took it out. LOL. So you can imagine - I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Ryan and his Ekster Wallet. So many cards to choose from!!!

[@ChattanoogahasHistory]

The lookout mountain from Cameron hill illustration might be from Chattanooga Tennessee

[@TheCeki1982]

Fun fact for those who want to know what the word EKSTER means. Ekster is the Dutch worde for Magpie. Magpies are popularly known for "stealing" shiny objects like jewelry and silver teaspoons and bringing them to the nest. The magpie is an unmistakable bird with its black and white plumage and very long, shiny green tail. The magpie often builds covered nests. A Belgian.

[@planetarysolidarity]

Ironically, Cincinnati is the only US city to own an interstate railway, the Cincinnati Southern. It's still in use with tracks terminating in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

[@drsnova7313]

Having had back pain from your *wallet* is pretty laughable...

[@JonReams]

The problem with using the Cincinnati tunnels is that they don't sit unused. One of the trackbeds carries a large water main that would have to be relocated. Old phone and modern internet lines use the tunnel also. The Cincinnati subway as it was envisioned is dead.

[@imchris5000]

they took the money to make a street car that goes to nowhere

[@jblyon2]

@@imchris5000 That's my preferred Ohio destination: nowhere

[@bobainsworth5057]

@@imchris5000 surprise,surprise,surprise!

[@tetraxis3011]

The internet cables can stay, as they run on the walls, the pipe is still a problem though.

[@interwebtubes]

@@imchris5000 the real question is do you get your money back after riding the train to nowhere??, I’m just asking???,

[@freetolook3727]

When I worked at GE (General Electric) in Schenectady, NY, there were abandoned small rail car systems within some of the factory buildings that I found fascinating.

[@shanelipe2552]

That sounds REALLY really interesting. I'm a huge railfan. Do you by chance have any links on some of those abandoned rail systems? Videos, pictures or documentaries? Thanks for your time .

[@freetolook3727]

The tracks were inside the manufacturing buildings inside the GE complex. Most of those buildings no longer exist, torn down during the Jack Welsh administration.

[@Rae-Bandz]

I believe its proof of the ACTUAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. THAT WE KEEP FINDING PROOF OF. THAT THEY SAY NEVER EXISTED. jus a lil critical thinking🤫

[@dathpo]

Were these inter plant freight only?Was employee transport included?

[@freetolook3727]

Small tracks. Probably used to transport materials to and from different buildings.

[@JohnathenSweeney]

I live in Cincinnati and I think of all the choices Cincinnati's leadership did throughout the years that prevented us from being a bigger and better city. It's really sad all the potential that Cincinnati was wasted. Like literally our Carew Tower and Roebling Bridge inspired the Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge!

[@franzzrilich9041]

Cincinnati's problems were not easily predictable, ahead of time. Also, big city politicians in Ohio were still possessed by a mindset that they easily could meet the threat of the most productive workers fleeing the cities by just annexing the suburbs. However, suburbs had been given Home Rule--I think between 1900 and 1912; The multiple impacts of Home Rule had not yet become obvious to big city politicians.

[@electricalsociety5593]

The Brooklyn bridge was inspired by the roebling bridge

[@frankpienkosky5688]

@@franzzrilich9041 relax....you've got a good football team...better not lose another one though...

[@franzzrilich9041]

@@frankpienkosky5688 I used to be a newspaper reporter, and came across stuff about Big Football that was depressing, so I then went into technical writing.

[@harutakagura4886]

even a little thing like the PNC building missing it's pointed top, just leaves the skyline missing something of old world beauty. people don't even realize that PNC building upon completion was the tallest skyscraper outside of NYC, and we can't even replace the original pointed top today so they just removed it and didn't bother replacing. stuff like this frustrates me, it's a coverup of history, and it's only a small historical detail removed.

[@TheStammzilla]

2:12 just a minor correction. Cincinnati was incorporated in 1819. Not 1891.

[@Obospeedo]

I thought Id share because I did an assignment on this recently for college. There was a major city barron (forgetting his name atm) at the time who whipped up public desire for the subway project and he also had alot of leverage on city officials to do it. When he died in the early 1920s those city officials wanted to distance themselves from the fallout that occurred with his passing and ultimately the subway system was one of the projects they abandoned too.

[@Right-Is-Right]

Of course it was the evil barrons fault, not the three person city appointed board that signed off on a subway too narrow for the tight corners and the ity council themselves. It never is the government or appointed boards fault for signing off on a white elephant, for something the city was paying for, and retaining ownership, giving the barron no profit motive, so what if someone supported the principle, I'm sure many workers did too, the government is to blame.

[@Obospeedo]

@@Right-Is-Right you don’t have to believe me. I’m just telling you what I was told by historians who run the Cincinnati Room at the Hamilton County Library 🤷‍♂️

[@kaytay5197]

The proper people here in KZbin have a great video showing the tunnels with the water mains and cables running through them

[@BCaldwell]

Love those guys 🤘

[@Right-Is-Right]

Never heard of them before, so just to check their icon is two white human figures, in ties?

[@wizardsghost876]

Nothing that cant be solved. To reuse the tunnels for transportation a lot of work has to be done to meet todays standards (security and so..) It wont be cheap, but maybe still worth it.

[@deejayimm]

Those guys have some great content.

[@albertcarello619]

​@@wizardsghost876I think the subway can still be revived for future rapid transit use . The tunnel should not be dismantled.

[@xaenon]

You can actually see the entrances to some of the tunnels from I-75.

[@dathpo]

The curves in the subway ARE wide enough for subway cars. Definately wide enough for street cars. The story that they are too sharp is false.

[@phaasch]

It sounds, and looks, more likely that there wasn't sufficient headroom between the cars and tunnel roofs to safely install the overhead trolley wires without the risk of flashover

[@dathpo]

There is head room. The Cincinnati subway was to use a third rail not overhead wire. The original cars design was for 60' cars similar to Bostons red line cars. Note: the designer for Boston's Red line extention in Cabridge designed the Cincinnati subway I believe.

[@phaasch]

@@dathpo Yeah sure, I get that. I was referring to the proposal to repurpose the subway for streetcars with overhead pickups. Or do you mean that the streetcars were to use a 3rd rail pickup in the Subway sections?

[@cieludbjrg4706]

@@phaasch that is perfectly possible. Chicago ’s North Shore Line’s cars ran onto and through the Loop. The luxurious Electroliners did the same. Using overhead wire in the ’burbs and third rail on the El. Oslo had subway cars doing the same (switching to and from third rail/overhead).

[@dathpo]

I was referring to the as designed system from the 1920's using 3rd rail. The Cinti. subway tunnel height is 14'9".from top of the rail. Cinti's CAF urbos cars are 11' 1.75" high. (roof/pantograph?) Boston's Green line tunnels are 12' - 15' they've been in operation for more than a century.. The Cint subway tunnels can handle lightrail. When, where, and at what cost? Who knows.

[@kennethsonier1766]

Abandoned subways are really quite interesting, thanks for sharing 👍☮️

[@htopherollem649]

does anyone else have the "Simpson's " township singing "Monorail " playing through their head?

[@mattrost2574]

Our group toured the subway (via the Historical Society) in around 2010. For our group to gain access, the huge water main inside the subway had to be turned off. It was a required safety precaution. I'm guessing that's why tours are no longer offered. One part we toured was the beginnings of a large restaurant. We also saw many bunks and lockers in the shelter area. Very interesting. And also very humid with constant drips and ceiling stalactites.

[@BekBob]

The streetcar shown at 7:06 is a TTC streetcar. Toronto Transit Commission. You can see the TTC logo and the route names Weston and Dundas, these are Toronto streets. Also there is an ad on the front of the car for CHUM radio, a Toronto radio station. I really enjoyed the video regardless.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I knew it was a Toronto streetcar right away because I noticed the "Dundas" in the nearest scrollsign

[@cwp2580]

Haha I noticed that too

[@mattbosley3531]

Something similar was done in Rochester, NY. When the Erie Canal was rerouted they used the old canal bed through the city for a subway.

[@hungrysoles]

I was not aware that Cincinnati had inclined planes. Pittsburgh had the same problem since it is also a hilly riverside city. At one time there was a total of 17 inclines, Only two of them still operate as popular tourist attractions. I has a small downtown subway system built from a railroad tunnel and the former Pennsylvania Canal that was built in the 1980s. It was built to take the surface streetcar system out of the way of traffic. Johnstown also has an incline, built after the tragic flood of 1889.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

that one on Johnstown was bigger...actually carried cars...much like a ferry....Pittsburgh had a huge boondoggle when they built an unnecessary,half-billion dollar tunnel under the river...its munchkin subway system ended right there...probably a big mistake to move away from streetcars as most cities have done...the system was efficient, clean & green and should have been retained....

[@joegordon5117]

First came across this lost underground when The Proper People urbex channel went exploring in it. Amazing how much was built, yet not a single train ever ran on it

[@johnlawrence7097]

That's what she said

[@vassa1972]

When I think about that city I remember a tv show called wkrp in Cincinnati that ran from 1978-1982, it was about a am radio station and the characters were funny, rip to some of the actors, Howard hedsman who played Dr Johnny fever and Frank Bonner who played the sales manager

[@nelsonphilip4520]

I thought Turkeys could fly!!! LOL

[@MrThecroatian]

If you have over-the-air TV, there's a WKRP Weekend Binge going on next weekend on the Decades channel. Oh, and Gordon Jump has also passed away.

[@vassa1972]

@@MrThecroatian Yes and the producer Hugh Wilson died too great show

[@paulboger3101]

Loved that show!!

[@HoosierDaddy_]

Freaking great show! Great theme song, too!

[@americansaxon2101]

PLEASE DO A STORY NOW ON CLEVELAND'S FORGOTTEN SUBWAY

[@ocsrc]

The station shown at the end of the video with the stairs leading up to the doors, you can access these. They are in the sidewalk. You literally can just open these giant doors and walk down into the subway. This is the only public access to them.

[@billberg2002]

Location?

[@deejayimm]

It's nice to see this being talked about... I grew up 40 minutes away from Cincinnati and didn't know about it until I was in my 30s lol.

[@gregoryferraro7379]

I'd like to think there's an alternate universe where Cincinnati has a Schwebebahn like what is shown proposed at 7:16.

[@imrytebeehyneu]

America was THIS 👌close by having that monorail. And that monorail still exist in Europe, looking like that.

[@warrenlemay8134]

On a side note, there was a second streetcar system in the Greater Cincinnati region that served the cities on the south bank of the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky, known colloquially as the "Green Line." It had a more conventional setup with a single pole powering the trolleys, which was incompatible with the system in Cincinnati. It did enter Cincinnati via a small spur route from Covington across the Roebling Bridge terminated at the Dixie Terminal between 3rd Street and 4th Street, where riders could disembark and head up to the street-level transit hub at Government Square on 5th Street a block to the north. The Green Line system was entirely dismantled by the early 1950s, much like the streetcar system on the Ohio side of the river, with buses continuing to use the Roebling Bridge and old Dixie Terminal until the 1990s. Excellent research and good coverage of this subject, thanks for sharing!

[@cieludbjrg4706]

Cincinnati was probably worried about "vagabonding currents", which is return current following such things as water or gas pipes back to the rectifyer station, when the resistance in the rails become too great (due to, for example, poor joining), or poor connection between tracks and return cables). Where the current leaves the pipes, it "etches" holes in them. It's probably for the same reason London’s Underground uses two rails for the power (it could also be because much of the tunnels are in iron/steel pipes, and they didn't want return currents going astray). Nominal voltage for tram systems, subways and trolley bus systems has been 600 volts. The overhead was energized at 600V= +, and the tracks were at the same potential as ground. Some trolley bus systems used +600 V in one wire and ground in the other, common in cities where they also had trams. Other systems used (and use) +300V and -300V in the wires, probably making for easier installment. London’s Underground uses ≈ +400 V and ≈ -200 V in its conductor rails. If your system is totally insulated, like Cincinnati’s, you won't have to worry about vagabonding currents.

[@blxvkpxndx]

What a waste 😫 a whole subway line that never saw the light of day.

[@xxdesertstorm]

7:10 dude please double check what photos you use as some are not even close to where you are talking about this one is a TTC (Toronto Transit Commission not Cincinnati

[@ChrisBrown-pu8sm]

I found your comment interesting. If true it's difficult trusting any source.

[@mikeholland1031]

@@ChrisBrown-pu8sm it is true. Says TTC right on it and Dundas on sign board which is a big street in Toronto

[@freetolook3727]

I've always said that if I had a time period to live in reincarnated it would be the early 20th century just before WWI. It was a period of time for scientific discovery, technological advances and hopes for the future. Man built wonderfully beautiful buildings. Living was done more for the advancement of mankind rather than the almighty dollar. Then the First World War ruined it all.

[@billwesley2213]

The select few banks and corporations grew so powerful from the war effort they began to exert that to further their own aims. Like GM buying Cincinnati’s street car lines just to shut them down and sell more cars. That happened all over the country.

[@TuneStunnaMusic]

Youre romanticizing a horrid time in this countrys history, especially for the "Have nots". Great time for people with no empathy whatsoever.

[@Right-Is-Right]

You just have romantic notions of yesteryear and no appreciation of the tech you are on now.

[@freetolook3727]

Technology is great...when it works!

[@Right-Is-Right]

@@freetolook3727 Cry me a river about that time your phone did not work, lets ignore that telegraph then phone lines would go down for months in the "good old days". You are not tough and there is no spark in that brain case of yours. Just whaaa I'm so opressed by all the air con heating and transport available, as well as everything I would ever want to know about any subject at my fingertips.

[@MrShaclakclak]

Proper People explore this tunnel if you want to see what it looks like on the inside very cool.

[@christophermichael.w.7577]

I think that it would have ended up looking alot like the subway system that runs under Baltimore.Many people who live there are not even aware that the city has a subway system. The people tend to confuse it with the light rail train system that the city also has, but they are two entirely different systems.

[@ChrisBrown-pu8sm]

You are very smart Chris W. In Los Angeles we have the same issue. People confused about what is as opposed to what's not. Our metropolis is growing beyond it's capacity and the future is predetermined. I can only pray for a successful outcome.

[@lejo4]

Love seeing a video I recommend you guys do! Keep it up

[@porkfriedsloths]

I will say the bus system in Cincinnati is pretty good, I just moved here not too long ago and it takes me no more than 20 minutes to get downtown. I think along Vine and Central they could definitely do BRT or even extend the street car they have. But it's not terrible!

[@grahamsawyer831]

definitely had my history fix... absolutely first class, great work.

[@remi_gio]

It’s the BOW ARTS guy! 😂🤗

[@edl617]

Columbus Ohio had the same overhead electric bus system up till the mid 1960’s when they start to disappear an replaced by smelly diesel buses. We used to park up by town and county shopping center and take the bus down to COSI

[@frankpienkosky5688]

remember those electric busses...we rode them when we were in town to tour that army supply depot...needed them to escape that army sgt who spent all day counting toilet paper...we wanted to get down to the OSU campus and get at those co-eds

[@Subgunman]

Oh yeah! I do remember these "electric busses" quite well. Running through the major downtown section was all electric. The old power station still exists along the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy river. After the electric busses ceased to exist the power plant continued to run providing power to the downtown buildings for about another decade until it was merged with Then Columbus And Southern Power system which was later merged with AEP. There was also a secondary bus system that served the Suburb of Upper Arlington for almost two decades until it merged with the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA).

[@vibingwithvinyl]

1:44 to skip the wallet ad.

[@karengreenwell8842]

I'm just impressed that his old wallet was giving him back ache when he had it in his back pocket... What the heck was he carrying in it !?! 😂

[@jackimeharder1418]

@@karengreenwell8842 them youtube bux🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@nikburton9264]

Dayton, Ohio still has the overhead power lines and electric buses in a few spots

[@campkohler9131]

"It was well on tract to becoming reality." Egads! The word is track, like the same in, oh, I don't know, the subway.

[@patrickasselin2326]

Could the tunnels be converted to underground sidewalks to protect Cincinnatians from monster blizzards (or Les Nessman from monster lizards)?

[@Musique61414]

Unfortunately the city also built a huge station to serve the Banks. It's basically storage that cost 1 million/yr. to maintain. That's so Cincinnati is a common expression. 😢

[@esilk4780]

That's Warsaw, Poland at the beginning! - the Old Town in Warsaw and a view of Warsaw :))

[@freetolook3727]

Cincinnati was an important jumping off point in the American civil war. Close access to major manufacturers, railroad systems and the Ohio river made it a strategic place.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

once known for its pigs...

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

In the 1990s I got to visit the massive Cincinnati train terminal with was already a shopping center though most of it was unused.

[@tbrizius]

The train terminal has been restored as is museum and still serves as a train station

[@zafoid42]

When I was a teenager some 30 years a go we walked the Norwood tunnel. Came up the hill and sat on the roof of a building that was at the crescent of the hill. Watched the cars from the Ford plant get loaded on to the train cars. Big gate over the entrance now.

[@robertyoung9403]

I did the same 60 yrs. ago

[@themoreyouknow7418]

An Austrian guy getting shot in Bosnia causing the end of a major construction project in a city in Ohio. It’s quite fascinating just how interconnected the modern world is eh?

[@lukedahlinghaus6019]

I can’t imagine what Cincinnati would be like today if the subway was ever constructed. So much of the city has been torn down to make ways for cars it would have been amazing if the city had held on hope for the subway or at least the street cars. Cincinnati could be a beautiful city if it’s leadership would take the drastic steps necessary to get there. I don’t know how our cities were so willing to tear themselves down for cars but now can’t even get proposals off the ground to fix this mistakes. Our cities could have been amazing in the US, instead they lack almost everything needed to be a place people want to live.

[@rswpt]

the proper people youtube channel (urban explorers) has a long video where they explored the whole tunnels with cameras and flashlights and showed the abandoned stations and everything, very interesting stuff

[@henrygalka8064]

Why are there the odd photos of TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) embedded at some points in this video?

[@theScrupulousBerserker]

@ 06:25 BOOM! Thank you sir!!

[@ronblack7870]

that streetcar with the single power pole looks like it's in toronto . sign say dundas.

[@ravisriram6746]

Sad that it was never put into operation as it had such tremendous potential for bringing mobility for people with limited transportation options. I guess it's safe to say that it's abandonment was a triumph for the fossil fuel and automobile industries.

[@deejayimm]

They would have been burning coal to make that power. The New York City subway uses 1.8 billion kilowatt hours a year, which would require about 1.5 billion pounds of coal to produce. I doubt it would have much of an impact on the automotive industry either considering how most people who would ride the subway already take the bus.

[@jim2lane]

@@deejayimm that's not the subway's fault, that's on the power companies. If the subway is consuming coal power then the rest of the city and populace using that grid is doing the exact same thing

[@scottcharney1091]

*its

[@OpenbaarVervoer2D]

The only viable option i think would be if they ran a lightrail tram in there that could run as tram in other places when it comes out of the ground. A bit like premetro in Antwerp for example. I sort of could see that happen one day.

[@keastonz]

A delay of 2 months. That sounds like a dream nowadays

[@garyb5796]

Very Cool Video Indeed!! PS I'm gonna check into a Wallet too. Thanks for the tip!

[@SnickasBah]

Now the hurdle is getting the downtown streetcar up to Clifton and the University.

[@JoseGutierrez-ry1bk]

Interesting how much technology changes in 140 years

[@alexbutler9343]

You always do videos on interesting topics but you research them so poorly. Cincinnati was incorporated in 1819, not 1891.

[@bigeazy9952]

🤓 well actually Cincinnati was settled in 1788, incorporated as a town on Jan 1, 1802…then incorporated as a city on March 1, 1820

[@jamesholt7612]

Very cool video.

[@Hershizzle]

It could have connected hyde park to downtown?? 1000% better than the new multi million dollar street car that cant take anyone to work! And they already have it partially built.. cmon! #JUSTFINISHTHESUBWAYALREADY #FIXTHEPOTHOLES

[@peterzavon3012]

It may be abandoned but the unfinished subway is certainly not forgotten.

[@rafaelwilks]

4:57 see that beautiful logo on the water tower? GE Aviation (now GE Aerospace) has it's main operations nearby 😍😍😍

[@vassa1972]

Great video

[@skribblyscramiento539]

We have a similar situation in Cleveland with our "Subway," but unlike Cincinnati, our "subway" is being turned into a pedestrian viaduct under Detroit Superior Veterans Memorial Bridge.

[@garystanley6097]

Just typical of any local council throughout the world. They don’t or can’t realize what they have. Local government at it finest.

[@iowaphotos9107]

Been there, Seen it. Thanks Ryan!

[@deontemeriwether]

Imagine taking a 2 hour bullet train ride from Cincinnati to Cleveland stopping in Columbus halfway. It would cost billions but definitely would see a population economic boom in the state of Ohio.

[@Ohio_Greg]

Excellent

[@pagerhoads1531]

My great grandfather was a trolly conductor

[@darploin5071]

There is some videos out there of urban explorers walking the tunnels of the Cincinnati Subway and they're very thorough about it imagine that's where you got some of the imagery but that Subway has been abandoned now from almost a hundred years maybe even more eventually it's going to start to tearating and collapse could happen and you would find these long sinkholes along the way and where the subway used to be especially if it was a cut and covered operation

[@michaelhowardii8352]

I explored this place when I was a kid

[@voanncr]

7:09 This is a Toronto streetcar. You used it earlier in the video as well.

[@brawnbenson552]

You could have shown their modern tram lines running in downtown Cincinnati.

[@BobSmith-ui4qu]

Dundas , that in Toronto. I bet all of those streets full of people back in the 1900’s are now deserted during the day in the present day.

[@DisheveledSuccess]

Dankpods must be testing his headphones somewhere in the tunnels lololol

[@RoboP]

If I was running the city, I would be pushing to make those abandoned tunnels or such viable for Light Rail use or SOMETHING that's not a full on subway train system but could still utilize the existing built out system. (so long as everything were to be checked over and refurbished safety wise)

[@dougslittlediesel]

The only above ground that is even visible to let you know it exists. Is the on the north side of downtown area. A big door on the entrance alongside side Interstate 71/75 on the east side of the road and a huge concrete retaining wall leading up to it. Over on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. There's a lot of old railroad infrastructure and skeletal remains of trestles and bridges. At New London KY and all thru there.

[@vincenthuying98]

The Cincinnati subway was abandoned before a single subway car ever rode its tracks.

[@JaseCJay]

I got to experience the subway in Toronto.. one thing that stuck with me was the smell, not a foul smell

[@wolfic10]

MY HOMETOWN!

[@freetolook3727]

@2:59 What am I looking at? Thought it was highways but 1891 was before automobiles and buses took over. Railroads are out because I don't see any rails. It can't be a canal system as there were no canal hubs for travel and it slopes down on the right. So, how would that work with water?? What then???

[@teen_laqueefa]

A rail station

[@freetolook3727]

Where's the rails? Where the tracks should be are reflective like water.

[@Enevan1968]

Union Terminal station. The rails are on the back - not visible in this pcture. The reflective part is wet asphalt.

[@freetolook3727]

Ahhh, thanks!

[@usedcarsokinawa]

We’ll presented. Thank you

[@billwesley2213]

Cincinnati in itself is an example of missed potential.

[@smokeheavystudios]

You should consider doing a video on how Kansas City ignored prohibition in the 1920's and became a haven for machine politics and mob owned jazz clubs that stayed open 24/7.

[@ITSHISTORY]

Oh wow, interesting idea. So the city officially ignored the laws?

[@captainexcabier]

Honestly they ought to maintain them as fallout shelters.

[@redmane6468]

My suggestion is putting the ad at the end or middle cause you lost me with it at the beginning.

[@interwebtubes]

Yeah I been through the Cincinnati International airport, All of the people that work in there are very nice, Definitely a really good place to do some quick shopping, not to mention picking up some really good eats, My understanding is that there is, or was a Subway underneath that airport??, Since I was on very limited time, in order to catch my next flight, I took care of my Business and went to go catch my next flight, Even though I really wanted to check out the subway, So unfortunately I was never able to check it all out, However this piece is really very good, It definitely makes me want to go through that airport again, If I remember correctly?, It’s called Cleveland Hopkins International airport? , So sorry if I was wrong about the name??, But everyone In there was very nice and quick so that I could catch my next flight to Toronto, Or even Akron Ohio here in the states, The amazing thing about Akron , was the Goodyear-airship hanger, And being able to see the good year blimp , From the window of the plane, of course, But I definitely would have liked to go out there and see it operate , And as I remember, NASA HAD SOME connection to it all??, That’s just my understanding??, Take care everyone and safe travels,

[@franzzrilich9041]

Cleveland, Ohio has an above ground rapid transit system called the Red Line, that was built in the 1950-1965 period and runs from the basement of the Cleveland Union Terminal Tower on Public Square to the far east side of Cleveland, and then to the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The Red Line dips into a tunnel when it enters Hopkins. The views of the landscape of Cleveland from the Red Line are very depressing. Most of Industrial Cleveland was rapidly abandoned from the end of the Korean War and to the end of Vietnam. So, all that you see from the train are roofless factory shells with lots of large trees growing in them. The largest employers left in Cleveland are several hospitals. Realistically, the Red Line also has non-existent public toilets at most stations, so there are pools of urine in places. And groups of unruly school kids terrorizing the commuters. As regards the Airdock in Akron, it was renovated two decades ago by a wealthy buyer of a private blimp. I used to work in the buildings clustered by the Airdock, which originally were an industrial complex called Goodyear Aircraft, then Loral, and now is part of Lockheed Martin. Almost nothing goes on at Lockheed Martin, since the end of the Cold War. Blimps are not made there, anymore. NASA has a large industrial research center on the west side of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Several hundred scientists and engineers work there on propulsion systems for both spacecraft and airplanes. There are tours of the Glenn Research Center, as it is called, but you should call ahead of time. Most Americans do not know this, but NASA has a very close relationship with the Department of Defense, so you will see some strange things there. Because Glenn is surrounded by houses and Hopkins, nothing secret is normally kept there.

[@Subgunman]

The Cincinnati Airport across the river in Kentucky was designed after Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. There is an underground system that has a central pedestrian walkway bordered by a rail car system on each side of it that runs between the three terminals. This was a hub for Delta Airlines until it was abandoned due to the companies restructuring. Delta has reached out to get more regional airlines to use the facilities. Just before their pullout the Airport had just finished a runway and terminal expansion project that would have allowed the then New A380 aircraft to land there. Money all gone to waste.

[@interwebtubes]

@@Subgunman interesting stuffs. Buddy, I was only in there long enough to feed my face and shop for gifts, Definitely some great hotdogs as well as Awesome fish meals, I’ve been in. There a few times, So it wasn’t like I was stiffing my face, I was either going to Toronto or coming back from Toronto,’m Still that airport was a nice experience, Thanks for the info and take care of yourself buddy

[@franzzrilich9041]

What happened here was that by the time it came to buying trains to go into the subway, the population of Cincinnati had changed. The better productive workers had moved out of town, and commuted by trolley cars and interurban trains, which were over-sized trolley cars that--outside of cities--ran across country on their own rights of way. With a diminished tax base, Cincinnati could not afford to buy subway cars, nor run them. Cleveland voted for a subway to be built in the late fifties under Euclid Avenue. However, the County Engineer pointed out that since 1950 vast numbers of Clevelanders were moving out of Cleveland. Had the system been built, the city and county would have been burdened with crushing subsidies the city certainly could not afford Instead of a Euclid subway, the money was used to build an expressway, later converted into the current Interstate system.

[@JMM33RanMA]

I wonder how Boston has managed to keep Federal money subsidizing its public transportation [The T] and the highways [The Big Dig]. Perhaps because it has a population in the urban area recently downgraded from #10 to #11 in the US, is a seaport and US entrepot for tourism and other business.

[@franzzrilich9041]

@@JMM33RanMA Actually, it has immense pull in Washington.

[@JMM33RanMA]

@@franzzrilich9041 I know, I live here, but It isn't absolutely clear why. True Harvard, MIT and a number of other prestigious universities are here. True we started the Revolution in 1774, and our revolutionary government is still in charge, but Massachusetts was a swing state when I was in 6th grade, at the time of the JFK campaign, and has since become reliably Democratic. So, to what do you attribute the surprisingly immense pull?

[@AB-wf8ek]

@@JMM33RanMA Blue Bloods Brahmins

[@franzzrilich9041]

@@JMM33RanMA The Democrats had a long-term hold on powerful Congressional committees. So, in order to get a new post office built in the Thirteenth District of Ohio, the local US congressman would have to support a US Congressional omnibus spending bill that included the Big Dig. There was a PBS show about this, and Massachusetts politicians were very upfront about the wheeling and dealing.

[@darploin5071]

Most likely they're going to be back-filled in in the entrances will be totally concreted off so even if you were to get through the concrete you would just find nothing but huge amounts of fill that's mostly the likely fate of the Cincinnati Subway

[@claudinebernadettejimdar1681]

It’s like Candy!

[@MagdaleneDivine]

What's up with the back round tinny weird music? It sounds like one if those depressing toys that starts playing even tho you took the batteries out

[@tchuryanimations]

I think Charleroi's metro is the largest abandoned metro that is partially open.

[@rager1969]

At 14:33, actual archive footage of 1974 legs. This is followed by time appropriate footage of what a train travelling above cars would look like in 1977.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Probably the narrator could stop yelling if the Simon Says toy music was turned off

[@vincentperratore4395]

I never knew they even had one!

[@donkeyboy585]

The Proper People have been down there

[@peecmkr45]

Using them as underground shelters is the obvious answer.

[@FullyCharged22]

I'm confused... columbus is way larger than Cincinnati... so is Cleveland..

[@redstonerelic]

We also have some of our metro area in Kentucky and Indiana so official numbers can vary

[@MrThecroatian]

He was referring to the MSA, or Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cincinnati's is the largest in the state. Cleveland has the largest CMSA, or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[@FullyCharged22]

By every recording I can find, both of the other cities listed have larger areas and populations. It sounds like he's cherry picking information to make the area seem bigger. This coming from an Ohioan who visits all 3 routinely.

[@tomfields3682]

Not when this was planned and built.

[@iannarita9816]

One thing I would worry about is the potential for flooding.

[@tetraxis3011]

Especially with the state of the water main running through it.

[@christopherlamitie3506]

Based on the graffiti I’d say the subway is not forgotten.

[@ocsrc]

Incredibly they could bring in cheese and mushroom companies. Cheese needs a cool dark place to age. As do mushrooms.

[@electro_sykes]

finish it as part of light rail

[@Panther93225]

Ohio legit failed/ abandoned the convenience of their it’s citizens.. at least Philly has great public transit

[@jackimeharder1418]

Cool wallet bro!