Found Huge 1940s Bunker Complex with Power & Water 

Wow, seriously, the fact that mercury rectifier is still present, installed, connected, ready to go... And fired up like it was nothing. What a monumental testament to these technologies....

That Rectifier is single-handedly the most awesome thing I've seen in a bunker! They sure don't build things like they used to!

9:10 That thing is a mercury vapor rectifier.... Very Rare. The fact that you got modern video of its operation is absolutely fantastic!!!! Thank you!!!1

As someone who has made an entire career of installing and maintaining elevators, those two units look to have been maintained and not as old as the bunker itself (the 2nd one looked to be newer and even had rail oilers on top). In fact, the controls on the first unit looked to be pretty new. Also, for those that didn't know, they were also riding on top of the elevators not inside. All modern elevators have an inspection station on top that allows a person to run the unit at a slower "inspection" speed. This one, because it is a small unit was running at normal speed.

It’s amazing to see how many abandoned structures there are around the world. Thanks for sharing with us!

Hey shiey, if you want to remove the strobing/flickering with the indoor lights, record in 50fps rather than 60. The 50hz flicker of lights in Europe causes that strobing when mixed with the rolling shutter of a camera filming at 30/60fps.

Shiey's ability to "find" locations, while also being given a tour by locals is truly inspiring.

That thing you picked up at 6:00 is a very old hard drive from the 1970s. Depending on the generation it could store anywhere from 35 to 70 MB.

This is a bunker that has been repurposed for records archive cold storage. If you look on all of the old beds they have bar codes on stickers, these are to allow people to find the location of a specific record if they need to retrieve it. Its the perfect place because of the stable environment and how easy it is to secure (or was, you guys have obviously made it in!). The kitchenette is almost certainly in active use - or was until recently when the records were removed. I imagine it has only recently been shut down as the fire extinguishers are all in groups ready to be taken away by the supplier. Good find!

Drop everything the king has uploaded!!!

Nice to see Matt again :) And to see that 80-year-old technology still works seemingly flawlessly, is fucking incredible. It shows that some things are really built to work for ever. Really cool.

Holy crap! The electricians in the 1940s had to have been first class electrical engineers. It's amazing how stuff from back then fires up today like no time has passed at all. That's quality. Cold war was a crazy time, but the project innovations that came out of it were spectacular. Look how far fear and competition propelled the major geopolitical powers of the world forwards into the future. Mind-blowing how quickly everything has developed. 66 years from the Orville Brothers' first successful flight to the first man landing on the Moon.

As a brit I can almost guarantee that kitchenette area you found is still used frequently- I have a box of the same tea in my cupboard!

Got in to the ones at Clapham North 13 years ago. Looked pretty much identical with the same layout, but more empty albeit cleaner looking. There was a pocket of gas down by one of the lift shafts on the lower level and I couldn’t breath. I had to run up the lift shaft staircase to regain oxygen. Official visitors are required to wear a gas detector. We got out of there soon after that but spent around 5 hours down there. The oddest part was on the lowest level pump room, there was a loud noise of running water. We lifted a metal sheet on the floor we were standing on and there was what looked like a river, flowing at full pelt below us. That was terrifying being that far down and in an enclosed space, with it literally beneath our feet.

This channel went from exploring abandoned places to electrical engineering management of bunkers real fast

That isnt actually a "Generator" it is taking incoming AC and covering it to DC for use underground. It is called a Mercury Arc Valve and it is pretty damned amazing technology for the time. They were replaced by solid state rectifiers in the early 1960's.

That Mercury Arc rectifier is the most incredible find in any urban exploration video. Incredible even more that it works!! I sincerely hope that place is now properly secured to keep the vandals out!

love what you do man. hope things are working out for you.

My dad used to tell me stories of these enormous underground cities of homeless people when I was a kid. The summary was that homeless people go wherever they want and usually sleep in the subway because nobody really kicks them out. People also know that there are specific rooms and storage spaces for subway workers that are abandoned. There are also entire subway stations isolated from the surface due to various reasons. With the rising number of homeless people, I think that places like the one my dad described might actually exist. Even looking at these videos makes you wonder: Could homeless people just find a working bunker such as this one and turn it into their home?

Brave lads trusting that old rusty elevator.

We all go through different phases in our lives. Some are tough, some are a little easier. Some are interesting but short, but some are terrible and way to long. Shiey's apparently in his ride-on-top-of-elevators phase now :) Love this stuff! That electric generator thing really looks scary.

Mans living life like a madman and I can’t get enough of it

This reminds me of when I took a job at a Canadian Government Ministry of Agriculture research station back in the 1970s. The place had been in operation sine around 1900. Scientists would come out, use recently purchased equipment, then leave it in storage and head back to Ottowa The equipment would just sit there, left behind forever. So you could look in a shed and see only slightly used farm equiment from the 1920s, still in working order. One of my favorites was this experimental manure spreader, a one off that cost a half million in taxpayer money to build. Abandoned because it would catch up the driver in the works and throw him out the back end.

That was so awesome and brings back old army memories of a bunker city under a Hawaiian military reservation. I was brought into a group of about 5 people who knew about the bunker. We used to go into it and party till all hours of the weekend mornings, blasting music, playing cards and smoking cigars, knowing we weren't disturbing anybody. That had an 800 KW multi-fuel generator with a triangle of 3 huge exhaust fans each double the size of the ones you've shown here, geezus the engine alone was about 15 feet long. Only two people in my battalion were supposed to know about it and one was a mechanic tasked to maintain the generator as a log book on a steel work bench was up to date not two months prior. Unfortunately didn't get to explore very far, there were two 15 foot steel doors welded shut and a 1" thick chain link wrapped around the door handles. I was happy with what little we explored, but always wondered what lay behind those giant doors. Now there's a whole neighborhood of military housing covering the property, the entrance we had used and all the intake and exhaust dog houses. Back then it was just a wide open field with an old air-strip surrounded by the Dole pineapple plantation. Our entrance was just hidden behind a couple small trees and bushes. Wonder if anybody living in that housing has found a secret entrance in there home. I bet there is at least one structure that never gets occupied lol. Thank you for an incredible adventure video and a stroll down memory lane!

this is the Camden town deep shelter, one of the 8 deep shelters under London. apparently this shelter is being rented out to a archive company, which offices are shown at 7:08, so thats probably why the power is still on.

airsoft war in there would be a Metro: Last Light simulator

That "thing" or "device" at 6 minutes exactly (06:00), is an old mechanical hard disk, or I believe also called a "disk pack". It was connected into a dedicated box or cabinet that was about 3-4 feet high and approx 3 x 6 feet in square dimensions. That BIG DISK stored between 20MB and 40 MB - YES - MB. NOT GB 🙂

8:23 i love how even this place is abandoned,he still cares for electricity

The Metro, is what we call the Tube. There are actually a few of these abandoned underground areas in London including some old train stations that were never actually opened after being built.Amazing video as always

You have a knack of finding large abandoned places with power!!!!

Outstanding ! What an amazing find , I'm surprised you were able to access it ! It's in incredible shape , and should be maintained to some standard , as the way the world is starting to become ! Thanks for sharing this incredible find !!! 😎

When you put in a disconnect in your adventures, please do so with your non-dominant hand. If possible stand next to the enclosure (to the right of if you are right handed) in the same plane as the back of the enclosure you are putting in. Do not stand in front of the switchgear when you switch shit on. That way if the door is blown off you are not in the field of fire. Also make sure the door is closed as well and wear your gloves.

LOVE THE OLD ELECTRICAL. Railways are still using relays from the 40s and mercury based tubes on major lines that are being tested monthly by maintainers, like that rectifier should have been that why it still works. It was properly maintained. You guys did so well. I cheered and clapped again !

The length of time between Shiey’s videos builds the anticipation and he does not disappoint

The fact that the elevator still works... Is crazy and also the fact that you're not scared to ride then is also crazy

The mercury thing was awesome. Like 1950 mad scientist, space weapon lab thing, vibe. Riding elevators together, down there, seems a bit risky. At The secret vault, Matt almost get trapped in one of those old elevators. Then again Shiey could easily climb out of there. The man has done some insane roof climbing. Made me feel dizzy, only looking at it on a screen.

6:00 that looks like an old hard drive, 70s vintage I'd guess. Could be a whole 10Mb! 10:10 that 30s? 40s? mercury rectifier! in use! holy heck that is cool.

I occasionally get on with my daily life and think to myself, man I miss SHIEY. Your videos are the only door to the outside world unexplored I have. I'm a mother of 2 little babies now so my exploring days are over.

use to explore in my younger years / rock queries / abandon houses and tunnels, nice to see we still have young people willing to see the rewards of taking risks at times...... the risks of exploring that is.... i think it opens a freedom most will never understand or know.... stay safe my brother and fellow explorers

That was cool going back in time. Just imagine what was life like back then. Thanks for sharing this video.

I love this channel because it's like going through a time machine. All of this history is documented for us now, which would otherwise be lost to time.

Working arc rectifier!! that is amazing to see

this is one of the funniest channels i've ever stumbled across lol. just the concept of gen zers wandering around old abandoned buildings and going "yeahh boiiii" is too much lmao

just love the way Matt turns the elevator on - hes so experienced and chill

6:01 - That's an old mainframe computer disc right there similar to the ones I used to use when working as a computer operator in the late eighties with Digital Dec Vax Mainframe Computers. We used them as backup/restore discs.

That bulb was beautiful, I can't believe it still worked.

The arch generator was amazing and that it still fires up is even more amazing.

This is a testament to old tech that was purposefully built to last unlike today. Wonderful vidya! I want these places to be documented regardless the legality. Wonderful content.

Beautiful mercury arc rectifier! And it's still in working condition! Just awesome.

9:40 is a mercury arc rectifier, it pretty much does the opposite of what your friend was saying. it uses mercury vapor to turn alternating current into very high voltage direct current, the large bulb on top is to cool down mercury that gets superheated by the process. they were used on old electric railways and to charge car batteries in the early 1900s, when electric vehicles had a brief period of commercial success. today similar rectifiers can just be made of silicon, so mercury is no longer used because it can become hazardous. they look sooo cool though!

I like how these guys do not break anything. They have a feeling for how stuff works...

That's awesome. Abandoned, but still made ready if needed at any time.

From 'Power-and-Beyond' ; "The mercury-arc rectifier is used to convert (or rectify) alternating current into direct current. The basic form is a glass bulb valve featuring one or more arms with steel or carbon anodes, and a cathode consisting of a self-restoring pool of liquid mercury. This liquid cathode sets it apart from many other types of rectifiers, making it more durable and capable of transmitting much higher electrical currents. The AC heats up and vaporizes the mercury, causing the current to travel through the vapor to the other side of the bulb. The current is prevented from traveling backwards, so the effect is like that of a diode." Such a cool piece of technology, I'd never even heard of it, love this channel.

There are a number of these in London, one of which you can sometimes get a tour of. At least a couple of the others are/were used as document storage facilities. Fascinating places and thanks for the your - I'd never fit through those ducts!

You guys are CRAZY.... and AWESOME! This is my first video of your's and I'm addicted. My fiancé is subbed to your channel and like I said....all it took was this one video that I happened to see while he was watching it, and I subscribed. I'm so HORRIBLY claustrophobic and my next worse fear is heights and you all just forge ahead fearlessly. Thank you for sharing your adventures!

The rectifier is a wonderful bit of kit and it’s fantastic to see it (apparently) fully functional. That much mercury in 1940’s glassware tho. . . . .

9:25 the excitement on his face after turning on the generator is just too good!!

i cannot get enough of these videos... also it just blows my mind that the rectifier is still working and yall didn't die when turning it on lmao

what an Incredible place,you guys have found a real Gem and it is still in great shape, Awesome Job

That 40s generator thing was fucking sick, what a find. 🔥 Thanks for firing it up and showing us!

Wow that's a serious testament to just how well built that bomb shelter was designed 👏 and the fact that it's all kept in working order would be extremely comforting to know if I lived in the UK

That rectifier is one of the coolest things I've seen on your channel-thanks for your hard work making these videos!

Really enjoy your videos, bro. Keep up the good work and keep us traveling with you!!!

There's no other youtuber that gets me as excited as I am right now when I see new videos from you in my notifications Please keep it up brotha I seriously love all your videos 🙏🔥😍

7:25 That Tee is not that old cuz there is a facebook logo on it.. :D

It's so captivating and strangely alluring finding places like this underground or abandoned buildings despite all of the well known dangers possibilities . When I was in my early 20s my friends and I did this kind of crazy stuff from Alaska to Kentucky, but life set in and about 13 years ago I had 2 children and after they graduate in the next 5 years i will be close to retiring from my primarily employer. I will only be 46 God willing I have more time to live life with less restrictions and a better grasp of rational fear. I can't thank you enough for creating these videos, they mean different things to everyone.. it gives me inspiration personally and others I am sure start out on their first adventure because of your fearlessness and bravery but please be safe out there, I know everyone has people that care for them and would be heartbroken if something serious was to ever happen.. life is so much more beautiful and longer then you can imagine and I know you know this every time you discover something new but that changes with one bad decision. God bless the spirit of the adventuresome.🇺🇸

That was so cool. I can’t believe that rectifier started and the eeriness of its blue glow……WOW!

I work with high voltage, if there is one tip I could give it's don't screw around with high voltage it's not worth it a silly mistake is easily made. God knows how many amps are running though that thing. It's not the voltage that kills it's the amperage. None the less it's a very cool piece of equipment tho!

5:45 The tape could be audio (24 track, like the stuff used by Queen) or video tape. The 'clip' on the left says 'ampex'. Such wide tape was pretty common for TV studio tape recordings, and also for the most important audio recordings. It is not data tape. Data tape did not use the hubs with the 3 notches, and usually was not 2" wide either. I'd say video is the most likely. It likely contains important archive footage (it could very well contain those 'lost' Doctor Who episodes!) and i hope the folks who are tasked with keeping the bunker from flooding, pick it up and send it to the BBC.

that's great. from the 1940s and works like the first day. the whole bunker complex looks as if it would be kept ready for emergencies, because everything is still working. the elevator, there is electricity, lighting. the microwave works. So you could theoretically move in immediately if needed

One of my favorite vids yet Shiey! This is amazing.

It's pretty cool you going to other countries and looking at their bunkers and being able to look back and compare them to each other because they're all built around the same time.

A functional Mercury Arc Rectifier?! That is insane.

11:04 I wish I could forget or "lose my way" the way everyone seems to be able to. One time I got drunk at a party, then got a ride from a friend to a second party with a lot of turns. Even drunk, and confused, at night, with my eyes opening only every few minutes. I was able to drive my friend and I back home, backward, just as I was sobering up that same night(he couldn'tdrive his own car). My friends ask me how I remember certain things so well. And the best way I can explain it is like this. Let's say you put 99 strangers in a room, and only 1 is your mother. As you go through the room and see all of the new faces, but then when you see the face you know, your mom's face; their's a strong familiarity in your mind compared to that of the faces of those strangers. For me, I have that familiarity, but for everything I've ever seen or heard. I do wish a lot I could forget something. Because the look on someone's face when they take a while to remember something, looks so enjoyable!

good to see you out and about love your videos man

The crazy thing is that it all looks to be recently used. There are barcodes with bin labels on the bunk sheling. I highly doubt it's been abandoned for 20+ years based on the condition of those labels and shelving alone, but who knows.

Damn, I'm going to have to arrange a mission to London... Love these places! Great work man!

Pretty awesome!!! Matt is smart about that site! Love you guys! Be safe!!!!

Blows my mind that you guys can find and access all these amazing places. And to be responsible and not blow them up/expose them. I'm jealous though! I love exploring and wandering but I've never gotten into urban exploration or climbing

Love your your videos brother keep them coming! 👍

Some great history here. That generator is so freaking cool!

they are like best friends on this journey

That mercury rectifier is absolutely beautiful! Last time I saw an active one in use was in a gold mine in South Africa.

Geil! Pünktlich zum Feierabend ✌️

Your channel's notifications always put a smile on my face! Stay safe out there man!

6:00 is an old hard disc storage device. As you can see there are several discs in it. I worked at PPPL in the mid 80's and we used this and real to real computer tape. The stuff was old even then.

That thing was sweet from Wiki - A mercury-arc valve or mercury-vapor rectifier or (UK) mercury-arc rectifier[1][2] is a type of electrical rectifier used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is a type of cold cathode gas-filled tube, but is unusual in that the cathode, instead of being solid, is made from a pool of liquid mercury and is therefore self-restoring. As a result, mercury-arc valves were much more rugged and long-lasting, and could carry much higher currents than most other types of gas discharge tube. Invented in 1902 by Peter Cooper Hewitt, mercury-arc rectifiers were used to provide power for industrial motors, electric railways, streetcars, and electric locomotives, as well as for radio transmitters and for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission. They were the primary method of high power rectification before the advent of semiconductor rectifiers, such as diodes, thyristors and gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs) in the 1970s. These solid state rectifiers have since completely replaced mercury-arc rectifiers thanks to their higher reliability, lower cost and maintenance and lower environmental risk.

I have intense anxiety that a door leading somewhere will close and lock behind you, leaving you trapped. I can deal with heights, but underground freaks me out.

Best RU-vidr I know, this stuff is gold, love it man! 👍🤘

That arc rectifier was amazing! Man, they made things well in the old days. I actually have an iron from the 1940s and it works perfectlly.

Someone being officially related to this installation have been down there since the fifties and probably also more recent than twenty years ago. The barcodes on the bunkbeds is fairly modern inventory system. Since the installation is also not very tidy and quite a bit in shambles, I'm guessing it's a maintenance crew of some sort having been down there to take stock and update records of inventory for later processing.

Pretty sure that rectifier emits UV so good you didn't turn it on for long

Nothing hits quite like seeing that shiey new video notification. 👌🏻

English engineering at its finest - 1940's tech (that's around 80 years old!!!) and works perfectly! Amazing footage guys, thanks so much, this was a real pleasure to view. 👍

Amazing video shiey, that rectifier is unlike anything I’ve ever seen

shiey thanks for you and your friends for going on these journeys, I enjoy seeing what it's like in these places you find. Cheers and hope all stays safe and healthy!

With every new video I'm glad you're still alive. Really appreciating your videos👍

This is the best thing I have ever watched on RU-vid. Congrats, mate!

That's amazing- I've never seen generator like this one, Thank you!

I just thought about watching a video of trainsurfing and you posted man