Exploring the Location of New York’s Lost Pneumatic Subway 

This is the track level and original ground floor of the sub-basement. Back in the time of Beach there were only two floors of this sub-basement the lower floor housing the Beach Subway. This original floor space took up two rooms which is why the ceilings are so high in pictures/ illustration we have of the Beach Subway. After the fire and the building was converted into a clothing store they converted the sub-basement to house three floors which is why the ceiling is so low in the sub-basement today. I miss spoke in the video saying we are three floors below Warren St. technically there are three floors to the sub-basement but we are only around 15-20 feet below the ground level. Take this with a grain of sand as the workers told me there were three floors to reach the sub-basement but I never went up the stairs to see these floors only the bottom floor.I will film another video coming soon where I prove why I believe the Dixon Iron Entrance remains. the brick wall next to the curve that is not covered up by the BMT concrete is original from 1900 when they last sealed up the tunnel from the 258 Broadway entrance. I think behind there is the Dixon entrance. Stay tuned !

@@kbhastheanswer so from documents I’ve read, track level is around 25-27 feet below street level. The stereo graph also gives and idea ceiling to floor at track level and it seems like the floor you’re standing on is a decent amount higher than what I would speculate track level To be at.

@@xmetal54If this is true that would fit what I heard that there are three floors to the basement including the bottom floor or sub-basement of 258 Broadway today. I see where you are coming from and it could very well be plausible. The only flaw I see in this logic is: I believe after the fire they rebuilt the sub-basement yes, but most likely they used the same foundation and some of the original layout of the original sub-basement hence why the curve and boiler room are still present. I do not see why they would’ve went out of the way to fill in the floor higher than the original ground level instead of just rebuilding the building from the original ground up, just changing some of the layout to fit modern power needs. Also what you are saying would invalidate the BMT Construction theory. I theorize that the BMT built around the beach tunnel and blocked off only half of the portal entrance to save concrete and prevent people from breaking into the tunnel, (this is 12 years later they were trying to save money). I do not see why the construction company building 258 Broadway would waste this money filling in the whole portal and tunnel section. Also what explains the odd BMT construction in the sub-basement if there is nothing behind the brick wall wouldn’t it have been easier to rip it up and finish the BMT concrete foundation ? I am hoping my theory is correct as it would much easier to make a hole in the brick wall and the Dixon entrance is there, if you are right it is truly lost forever, but would be very well preserved under the dark floors of the sub-basement.

@@kbhastheanswer they way I understand it, the waiting room In the old Devlin’s clothing store basement was in the second basement. I’ve never read 3 sub basements. Originally you would enter the waiting room through stairs that went through a set of two double doors, think like an entrance to a modern school building to help equalize the pressure in the waiting room/platform loading area. I believe the height of the waiting room at the top of the stairs is even with where you were standing. Now imagine if you will they dig a cutout for the platform down into a pit of sorts which is where the track level would be. I theorize when the devlin’s building burned down and the opened the tunnel for inspection, they first re-sealed it with the new concrete walls, and likely filled in the “pit” consisting of the track level and then poured a new concrete floor which you were walking on. I feel like you’re right about the iron curved start of the tunnel being there, that would not have been easy to remove. I think the nearby active subway lines are far enough away from beach’s tunnel entrance because they had to be to avoid what was left

@@xmetal54 I appreciate your interest in this topic. I am on the quest to get behind that brick wall of 258 Broadway. I will be speaking to the building super and I will ask your question and see if I can find a definitive answer. Either way we will solve this mystery as to what really happened the Beach Tunnel.

Thank you !

Appreciate you ! I didn’t think it was possible and I admit I got very lucky. Everything worked out perfectly for this to happen and I’m glad you enjoy !

Thank you ! The vaportrap is the beat for LUCKI-“Noticed Ya”. I am happy you enjoyed the video, stay tuned, I will be releasing an update video on this topic with important new information I have on the Beach Subway as well as my journey to get behind the brick wall of the sub-basement !

@@kbhastheanswer Thanks again and i wish you good luck for finding what's left of the tunnel or station.

❤ thank you

Thank you !

Those were used to power the building before we had the generators we have today. Those wheels would spin like a car engine and would generate energy to power the building. Circa 1900 technology!

Thank you for your interest, I will answer both of your comments here. I suggest reading the history from Joseph Brennan I left in the description of my most recent video on the BPT. To answer this question radar and x-ray would be great to look for the iron entrance to see if it’s plausible but I am not sure how to find a cheap one if anyone could help that would be great. But if we refer to Bob Diamond and his quest to find the hidden locomotive under Atlantic Avenue, this radar only tells you so much about what possibly is there. For The Beach Subway I want to get behind the wall to end the speculation and gather important information as to what happened to the Beach Tunnel. Unlike Bob Diamond and the Cobble Hill Tunnel. The Beach Subway does not have much lure behind it hence why nobody goes looking for it. Answer to your second comment. If you watch my most recent video and skip to the time stamp for 1898 you can see that the original building that housed the BPT station of 260 Broadway was completely destroyed in the fire. We know from newspapers that the entire location where the BPT was located was completely renovated not only from sources at the time saying this is true but from the footage in this video we can also see that the layout of the sub-basement at 258 Broadway is different from the original sub-basement of 260 Broadway. For the location of these support beams in the 1870 BPT photo to be present in the brick today this would invalidate that the whole sub-basement was rebuilt after the fire in 1898 which we know happened. It is hard to find an exact reference point to find where the tunnel entrance exactly was from this side of the wall because it was all rebuilt in 1900. Unless we can see being the walls, we can only speculate as to what happened when they built 258 Broadway. The most plausible to me is that they filled in the floor with concrete so much so that the top of the Beach Subway entrance would be where the top of the half cement foundation is in the sub-basement corner today. I think chiseling a hole right above this area is the best chance at finding the Beach Subway entrance if it is there.

@@kbhastheanswer good luck on the endever. I've always wondered what it looks like down there. Thanks for putting in the leg work and doing this project!

@@natejones902 without your interest I wouldn’t be here so thank you !

That would be awesome but sadly impossible because of the modern day subway tunnels that occupy Broadway. The amount of utilities under the streets today would make it a difficult task to pull off. On top of this, the building is residential and the subbasement that used to occupy the station and tunnel are now used as a storage for the residents and maintenance workers.

My pleasure !!

Now that I read your comment a second time, being in the sub-basement I was tempted to stick my camera into that hole in the brick you are referring to to see what is behind it, it is most likely a hole dug for the pipe but I will make sure to get good video of this hole next time I am there ! Thank you !

@@kbhastheanswer can't wait to see. Keep up the good work exploring. If in theory the metal part of the tube is still there, then it's possible maybe part of the brick entrance might still be there

@@natejones902 you should read Joseph Brennans history on the Beach Pneumatic transit that’s linked here: web.archive.org/web/20151002040655/www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beach/index.html In theory, until we figure out what is really behind the brick wall of the sub-basement at 258 Broadway, you could be correct. Based on my research I could give you a plausible answer to your theory. I believe the brick portal entrance you are referring to was demolished and replaced with the brick that we can see today where the portal entrance used to be. It is important to note that we have newspapers from journalist who saw the construction of 258 Broadway document that the foundation was ripped up and bricked over again. This is the main source to debunk your theory. We know for sure from my most recent video that there was activity in the sub-basement of 258 Broadway from 1912-1915 when the Degnon contractors building the modern day BMT line built the foundation of the subway or the cement we can see in the sub-basement at 258 Broadway today. Most likely during this time the portal was demolished. Maybe the portal entrance could’ve been left the way it was seen from the pictures we have after the fire from 1899. But it was surely destroyed when the Degnon Contractors built the subway foundation. Now that I am thinking about it maybe the brick portal entrance could’ve been covered by the Degnon Contractors? Hence why the foundation splits where the the tunnel entrance was approx in the sub-basement at 258 Broadway today. What you are saying is maybe inside this protruding cement is no utilities, instead the remaining top half of Beach Portal entrance. I can see this to be plausible. Your theory could be deemed plausible or debunked if I get the green light to see what is behind the brick wall in the sub-basement at 258 Broadway. If the hole leads directly into the Beach iron entrance that your theory is debunked. Your theory is plausible if the hole leads to the top outside part of the Dixon iron entrance. Which would tell us that at least half of the whole entrance to the Beach tunnel was concreted to make the floor of the sub-basement at 258 Broadway flush. The remainder of the Beach tunnel entrance was covered by the cement foundation of the Degnon Contractors from 1912-1915. We will see for sure soon.

Yes!!! It was rediscovered during the BMT line construction in 1912

@@kbhastheanswer kind of wish it was preserved or a plaque put down too honor it. Refurbishing this room for it would be nice too

@@lorumipsum1129 there is a Plaque in the lobby of this building marking the site. I spoke to the building owner who is aware of the history which is nice to know!

I wish you could have experienced the sound of the Subway from inside the sub-basement. The sound was very faint and I have done research of the surrounding areas, looking inside the vents at the corner of Warren St. and looking on google earth/satellite location from the platform edge in BMT city hall station. There must be at least 20 or more feet separating the wall of the sub-basement from where the BMT Subway track is. Including the odd foundation of the sub-basement wall if there is anything of Beach behind this wall I expect it to be significant. We also have to take into account how the area and streets around Warren St. have developed over the years specifically the streets we are talking from 1918-2023 and how accurate the maps from the Scientific American are in relation to the lay out of the streets today. Let me know what you think. Please email me at benitezk2001@gmail.com if you’d like to discuss. I review this further in my second video of the topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TytB6u22-X4.htmlsi=b4qcHMlJhL6W6zbC

​@@kbhastheanswer After reviewing this footage a few times I believe you are not actually in the old pneumatic area under the sidewalk, but in the sub basement of the 258 Broadway building it self. The curved wall you show is _not_ the one following the curve of the sidewalk of Warren Street and Broadway, but the wall of the building it self. If you were, there would have been thick walls and supporting pillars between that space and the sidewalk wall. But there isn't. Everything you see in the video is dating back to circa 1900, including the boiler room. The bottom of the pneumatic tunnel was about 20 feet under the sidewalk. You claim you are on basement level 3, meaning you are deeper than 20 feet. The staircase we see is just a access staircase to the basement, not something that's left from the pneumatic transit.

@@ultraswankhello, Please email me at benitezk2001@gmail.com if you would like me to send you addition footage. You are correct that the sub-basement was completely redeveloped in 1900. I will be making an update video soon better clarifying my footage but long story short everything you see for example the staircase and toilet room were apart of the Roger Peet Clothing store that occupied the basement of 258 Broadway. When I filmed this video I knew a lot less about the sub basement than I do now, for example I said the sub basement is 3 floors below ground level when it is actually 2 floors. I assure you the room with the curve is located approx. under the sidewalk as you can see the outline in the foundation of the vent located directly at the corner of Warren St. I have additional footage to prove this and it is a big issue for the building owner today as this area has water problems due to how the Subway contractors constructed the Subway foundation, on top of the building being over 100 years old. I am sure this curve is the approx location where the Tunnel Entrance used to be and it is sad that nothing is left.

@@kbhastheanswerok I MAY have an answer for the faint sound. One, with the use of brick and or concrete especially if it’s a foot thick or more it’s going to muffle the sound. Second, bear in mind the R/W lines don’t arrive into City Hall at full speed due to the curve ahead which necessitates a timer signal. Mind you these are my guesses and opinions but I work for a tour company that does a tour of the subway system and we used to stop and talk about Beach’s subway so I got VERY acquainted with the speed the trains came in at that platform. That being said well done in getting access and be safe out there!

@@ayindestevens6152 thank you for the insight ! Since I made this video I know a lot more about the area I was in and will be making an update video explaining / answering some of the questions I had in this video and my most previous one on this topic. Coming soon !

Well it was very obscure in NY history and it was demolished 50 years before historic preservation laws were created as a result of the demolition of the original Penn Station in the 1960s. As cool as it would be to see this today, it was at the wrong place at the wrong time. What is very sad is how the artifacts from this transit were neglected to the point where there are no traces of the Pneumatic Transits existence besides a few photos. If there are any artifacts they are virtually impossible to find and are in hands of those who may not understand their origin/significance.

​@@kbhastheanswer wow so basically it's not like someone can knock down that wall and the tunnel will still be there, like it's really all gone? No matter how hard you dig, it's just gone. Something so historical and amazing reduced to dust. Oh I'm sorry. I just pressed Like. Btw Amazing video bro. This was Kool.

This is a false rumor. There definitely is something under Reade St. but would not connect to this basement as the streets are two blocks apart.

perhaps it was already there kinda like the Erie Canal was not built but dredged?

@@sfbadboy hey ! It took them 58 days to finish the tunnel with Alfred Beach supervising the tunnel construction during the day, in fact journalist and those nearby were aware of the construction and would write about the mysterious construction and rocks being removed from under the corner of Warren St. During the night Beach’s 20 year old son Frederick Beach would supervise the tunnel construction. During this time because there was less horse carriage traffic, the workers would stick metal rods through the streets to test the alignment of the Tunnel to insure they did not intercept any city utilities/ building foundations. Basically the Tunnel was not built in secrecy like we are led to believe, but there is some truth to the fact that the Beach Tunnel was built using legal loopholes. Also, before the Beach Tunnel opened to the public, Alfred Beach would invite city hall officials to test the Pneumatic Train. Although it is not said if Boss Tweed himself visited or rode the Pneumatic Transit, Boss Tweed would eventually support Beach in Beach’s attempt to expand his Subway. Beach would fail several times over to pass the Tweed backed expansion charter due to Tweeds reputation of abusing power. Beach’s Subway design would also lose popularity in favor of better options (elevated railways). In a last ditch effort to create publicity and distance himself from Tweed, Beach would create the story we recite that Tweed was against Beach and tried to bury him from the beginning when in fact Tweed helped Beach from the beginning and played a big role in keeping Beach’s idea of expansion alive. I mention this and more in my second video in this topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TytB6u22-X4.htmlsi=W41mz2wTRaJIsZSb Thank you for your interest !

What is your opinion of Scientific American?

Erie Canal was dredged, not constructed by a bunch of drunk Irishmen cuz no engineers were involved and I'm getting the same vibe with Beach Pneumatic as out of place engineering

@@sfbadboy Alfred Beach had invented a tunneling shield specifically to build the Pneumatic Transit. The whole endeavor of the Pneumatic Transit was meticulously planned by Beach over the course of 5 years. In 1867 Beach built a test Pneumatic Transit to show off his design while attracting publicity to his idea. Alfred Beach came from a wealthy family and because of this was able to fund his passion of inventing with the best money could buy. Beach was one man trying to do something way bigger than himself so I assure you he did not cut corners in finding the best possible people the make sure the Tunnel was built to perfection. The project was also very small scale and had to be done right since it was prototype technology. Maybe the workers building the tunnels had some drinks or may have even been unskilled workers, but when building something like a tunnel and being supervised by your direct boss I’d hope the workers were on edge as opposed to the guys digging the Erie Canal. It’s also important to note, that Beach was heavily inspired by transportation in London that was miles ahead of anything in the USA during the time of the Pneumatic Transit. With the Erie Canal, the project was the first of its kind and very large scale meaning there was room for improvisation and room for mistakes to be made. Hope this answered your questions clearly.

@@superhillsider no slime but there were some pretty big rats !

@@kbhastheanswerbefore we go any further I think we should get our proton packs… just to be safe

WWWWIIIIIIISSSTTONNNN

Not much is known about what happened to the train car as of right now but I am working on finding some old photos to answer this question. I do believe it was completely demolished along with the tunnel. Being made out of wood and sitting in a dark tunnel for 50 years caused it to become dry rot and brittle. By the time it was rediscovered in 1912 it was too fragile to preserve.

Very interesting… I wish we had people around who experienced these buildings in their primes so we could know the true purpose of these rooms… meaning what the rooms were for and how they were used.

@@kbhastheanswer yeah 100 percent as a building gets renovated over time it changes and as they care less about the basements the layout can become really odd and it's really hard to figure out what's there original purpose was. The curve you were pointing out just looks like a curve you would never guess that there used to be a pneumatic railway there.

@@fkl770 exactly how I felt exploring this place. The best we can do is make these videos to keep the history alive so it is not forgotten !

Yes my bad!

Big as Beavers

🤓