Any Drainers or Urban Explorers Out here ?

[n2ize]

Since I was in my teens I was into "urban exploration". Since I was a kid old abandoned buildings (and some non-abandoned ones), old abandoned sites, abandoned burned down buildings, etc. always interested me and beckoned me to come into their interiors to explore them and learn more about the buildings, what type of works/things were done there at one time or another. Particularly the older the building the greater the call for me to come and explore what lies within. In those pre-Internet days urban exploration wasn't organized and popular as it was today so most of my explorations were done alone... Today with the Internet many urban explorers of all differnt types of background explore in groups, take pictures and share them over the Internet and even have exploration conventions where urban explorers throughout the world get together and share experiences and places to explore. Things have changed a lot since the early days when it was basically a lone venture, namely me and nobody else.

As age caught up with me my explorations dwindled and today I rarely explore anymore. Although my curiosity is still just as strong and if I stumble across the right opportunity the temptation to explore could still overtake me. :) My last exploration was back around 1990 when I explored an old burned down mansion shortly before it was demolished.

I am however interested in draining. Draining is basically the exploration of old storm drains, sewers and abandoned tunnels. A few U tube videos have sparked my interest in draining. However, if I actually become a drainer at my age remains to be seen. Most urban explorers and drainers tend to be younger..

Any others out here into urban exploration or draining ? Any former urban explorers or drainers out here ?

Here is a video of a couple of guys doing some draining. Pretty cool shit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6Xru1pOiM

[KG4CGC]

John, I didn't know you were an old spelunker.

[NQ6U]

The only thing I drain is my lizard.

[W2NAP]

oh hell yeah.

Last place I checked out was in 2002. the old ABC Rail Property across the street from me (now tore down) Place closed down in Aug 1999 IIRC.
Back in my cb radio days. the few times a year they would close the factory for holiday id drive the security people nuts setting off the building alarms.

[n2ize]

John, I didn't know you were an old spelunker.

I wouldn't say I was a spelunker. My past history was more of an above ground urban explorer as the majority of my explorations were above ground, i.e. old abandoned buildings, old vacant factories, burned down buildings, a couple of old abandoned mills, etc. However, when i was 17-18 I did explore some parts of Grand Central below ground. My interest in draining is more of a recent thing. I might get into draining (urban spelunking) but then again at my age and with my claustrophobia it may not be the best of ideas. As I said, its been about 20 years since I last did any urban exploration. But I was there and I was doing it long before it became popularized on the net. And in those days I was doing it alone. Today most people do it in groups which is probably a lot safer than going it alone as I used to. Had anything happened to me nobody would have known. Much safer to explore in groups the way they do today.

Here's an interesting video documentary of modern day urban exploration and draining.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6TsEqWy_CE

[KG4CGC]

Do any parkour? I've been getting into that lately between perusing CL for a bike.

[n2ize]

Do any parkour? I've been getting into that lately between perusing CL for a bike.

Some do. At the very least you have to be agile to be a good urban explorer as you may have to pass across narrow beams, scale walls or fences, jump weak gaps or holes in floors, etc. That is why I question getting back into it at my age. Last time I did a jumb I lept from my garage roof onto a table and wrecked up my knee pretty bad. I could barely walk for a few weeks and experienced pain for months after. But I was quite heavy at the time. I have lost a lot of weight these days and continue to trim down.. So perhaps in a few months my agility will peak out and I'll be able to do stuff like that again without hurting myself. maybe at that point I'll get back into exploring or become a drainer.

[N8YX]

Eh, what the hell...IN!

9632

[KC2UGV]

Do any parkour? I've been getting into that lately between perusing CL for a bike.

I'm not that young anymore...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMppD-bUNWo

That being said, last Urbex I did was in 1999, and that was of the NFTA subway tunnels.

[KK4AMI]

This'll just cement my Geek Quotient. I love exploring rail yards, old school grounds, abandoned homes, even shallow river bottoms with my metal detector. I get old 1800s coins, old horseshoes with cleats, silverware, antique locks, old civil war bullets (no real collector value to speak of). I sort of adapted Johns urban exploration to my country environment.

[AE1PT]

Yup! I have always had a penchant for this. My favorite has always been abandoned industrial sites. First out of curiosity--and later carrying about a backpack full of camera gear. Most of these places are a goldmine of photo opportunities. Back in the day most sites were poorly or completely unsecured. Not so much anymore--and it takes longer to gain access. In any city where I have some spare time I am off and away--but not so much for climbing anything... With the rise of gangs it pays to do a bit of research and stay away from certain neighborhoods.

I have had an interest in old mines as well. Where I lived in Kentucky the countryside was full of them, many completely unsecured. Really dangerous, and gets boring after a while. Old schools, hospitals, and other large buildings also top the list. Several I documented extensively and later prepared proposals for adaptive reuse that resulted in historic preservation projects for housing and community use.

Can't do as much as I used to. Age and rheumatoid arthritis are slowing me down more than a bit. :(

[KG4NEL]

Virginia Tech supposedly had a pretty extensive network of steam tunnels under the campus. So I'm told ;)

[KC2UGV]

Virginia Tech supposedly had a pretty extensive network of steam tunnels under the campus. So I'm told ;)

MIT as well. In fact, it's rumored that's where Urbex got started, as a actual hobby.

[K7SGJ]

Sounds like this might be a prereq to ham radio. When I was a kid, a few of us explored many old abandoned houses and commercial buildings. We found a ton of junk that was interesting to a kid, and a few things of some value. After a new explore, we would lay around under one of the many mulberry trees in the neighborhood, and come-up with all kinds of ridiculous scenarios about the things that went on in those old dark places. What a hoot.

[KC2UGV]

I have to correct my above statement. My last Urbex adventure was in 2003, in K2 Airbase in Iraq. We explored all the buildings after we secured the area.

[AE1PT]

Sounds like this might be a prereq to ham radio. When I was a kid, a few of us explored many old abandoned houses and commercial buildings. We found a ton of junk that was interesting to a kid, and a few things of some value. After a new explore, we would lay around under one of the many mulberry trees in the neighborhood, and come-up with all kinds of ridiculous scenarios about the things that went on in those old dark places. What a hoot.

You may have something there. Whilst scouting about not only were there many vestiges to imagine what sort of equipment or machinery inhabited the space--but often there were remnants. Some of this junk found itself homeward bound with me.

I am a little reserved about exploration these days--especially the urban type. In previous states I had a permit to carry--and did so as a matter of course. NYS is very restrictive and anal about this. We are not a firearm friendly state.

[WØTKX]

Limestone caves along the Minnesota River. Fossils everywhere, especially Crinoids.

[n2ize]

You may have something there. Whilst scouting about not only were there many vestiges to imagine what sort of equipment or machinery inhabited the space--but often there were remnants. Some of this junk found itself homeward bound with me.

I am a little reserved about exploration these days--especially the urban type. In previous states I had a permit to carry--and did so as a matter of course. NYS is very restrictive and anal about this. We are not a firearm friendly state.

I never carried a weapon when I explored. I also used to explore mostly by day because I wanted to avoid using a flashlight. Flashlights attract attention and tell people exactly where you are. Although some places were so dark even by day that some sort of light was mandatory. I carried a pocket flashlight but tried to avoid using it. I suppose if you explore at night it might be a good idea to use infrared,

[n2ize]

I am a little reserved about exploration these days--especially the urban type. In previous states I had a permit to carry--and did so as a matter of course. NYS is very restrictive and anal about this. We are not a firearm friendly state.

Unless you are in a large city it shouldn't be hard to get a carry permit in NYS. Now, NYC is a whole nother smoke. If you do get a NYS carry permit do NOT carry in NYC. You will be arrested and can end up serving time. They are wickedly strict down in NYC.Even pocket knives are heavily frowned upon in NYC and if you do carry a pocket knife it had better have a blade less than 3 inches and it had better be hard to open.

[n2ize]

Virginia Tech supposedly had a pretty extensive network of steam tunnels under the campus. So I'm told ;)

Most large old university campuses do.

[KG4CGC]

I think the homeless have most of these places mapped out and rented now.

[n2ize]

I think the homeless have most of these places mapped out and rented now.

Most of the encounters I had with homeless people I met during my lone URBEX expeditions in the 70's and 80's were good encounters. Some of them were avid talkers and would tell a lot of stories about the places they were living in, what they did before they got homeless and tons of other shit they would talk about, almost every subject imaginable. Some were quite intelligent and were well educated and had professions before things changed such that they could no longer function in the "real world". Others were quiet and some paranoid, perhaps fearing a cop or someone coming to "take them back".

Most people are cool be they homeless or other explorers. The real dirtbags are the vandals and arsonists. Those are real scum of the earth that have no respect for the history of anything old, except to bust it up and destroy. Urban Explorers hate vandals and arsonists and have a strict code of conduct against that sort of shit.

[AE1PT]

Unless you are in a large city it shouldn't be hard to get a carry permit in NYS. Now, NYC is a whole nother smoke. If you do get a NYS carry permit do NOT carry in NYC. You will be arrested and can end up serving time. They are wickedly strict down in NYC.Even pocket knives are heavily frowned upon in NYC and if you do carry a pocket knife it had better have a blade less than 3 inches and it had better be hard to open.

Anyone carrying in the City is a fool. Unfortunately, carry permits (or for that matter a pistol permit) delves into a lot of history that is not present in a regular NCIC firearms check in other states. Given my position, I would rather not have some of the things in my errant youth put on public display...

[n2ize]

Anyone carrying in the City is a fool. Unfortunately, carry permits (or for that matter a pistol permit) delves into a lot of history that is not present in a regular NCIC firearms check in other states. Given my position, I would rather not have some of the things in my errant youth put on public display...

My permit comes from the Illuminati. It is valid everywhere in the world, including NYC. Even when I retire from the Illuminati my permit remains valid everywhere forever. The Illuminati also grants us eternal life. :lol:

[KG4CGC]

My permit comes from the Illuminati. It is valid everywhere in the world, including NYC. Even when I retire from the Illuminati my permit remains valid everywhere forever. The Illuminati also grants us eternal life. :lol:

License to kill, John?

[n2ize]

License to kill, John?

Just call me Bond. ;)

[KG4CGC]

John Bond?

[n2ize]

On a different note (B flat) I am glad to hear there are others out here who both understand and have participated in URBEX. There is indeed a sense of fascination, general curiosity and wonder when visiting an urban site, be it an old house, an old factory or mill, an abandoned tunnel, a drain, abandoned school or any place that "once was". For example you pass an abandoned mill that beckons you to come inside, it has a story to tell you, and you see remnants of the old machinery, boxes of parts, old remnants and it gives you a real sense of wonder, what it was like when, the people who worked there over the many years or a century or more, what their lives were like, what passed through their minds, what good and bad moments, happy and sad moments happened within those premises.

I am also glad to see that it has a large interest world wide today and that people are doing this in groups and trying their best to be safe. Also glad to hear I'm not alone and other members here have also partaken in this awesome hobby.

[KC2UGV]

You may have something there. Whilst scouting about not only were there many vestiges to imagine what sort of equipment or machinery inhabited the space--but often there were remnants. Some of this junk found itself homeward bound with me.

I am a little reserved about exploration these days--especially the urban type. In previous states I had a permit to carry--and did so as a matter of course. NYS is very restrictive and anal about this. We are not a firearm friendly state.


Anyone carrying in the City is a fool. Unfortunately, carry permits (or for that matter a pistol permit) delves into a lot of history that is not present in a regular NCIC firearms check in other states. Given my position, I would rather not have some of the things in my errant youth put on public display...

Two things:

Firstly, getting a CCW in NYS, especially your county, should be a rather easy proposition. Erie county is not that far off, and both Erie and Steuben have similar processes.

Secondly: I would never carry while urbexing. Firstly, you are generally on the wrong side of the law when you do to begin with. Adding a gun to that mix, during an LEO encounter is just asking for a really bad ending. The people you'll run into while urbexing generally just want to be left alone. Give others space, and you'll get the same.

[n2ize]

Two things:

Firstly, getting a CCW in NYS, especially your county, should be a rather easy proposition. Erie county is not that far off, and both Erie and Steuben have similar processes.

Secondly: I would never carry while urbexing. Firstly, you are generally on the wrong side of the law when you do to begin with. Adding a gun to that mix, during an LEO encounter is just asking for a really bad ending. The people you'll run into while urbexing generally just want to be left alone. Give others space, and you'll get the same.


I agree. Last thing you need is for the cops to confront you urbexing and find a gun. As I mentioned above, most of my encounters with people, i.e. homeless, mentally ill, winos, etc. were not bad. Some were even quite friendly and informative.

Most dangerous part of urbexing was often the conditions of the buildings itself. My last urbex was around 1990 or so where I explored a burned down mansion. Downstairs was not so bad but once I went up the grand staircase to the second floor...lookout. Most of it was safe but there were some spots where the floor had holes or was weakened to the point where one wrong step and you could go right through. I had to tread carefully.