Tunnels - and evidence!

Moderators: John, Sharon, Fossil, Lucky Poet, crusty_bint, Jazza, dazza

Tunnels - and evidence!

Postby Ronnie » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:55 pm

At the risk of inflaming the many lovers of tunnels (and what would Freud have made of that?), here is a great example of someone folowing up the stories and rumours of tunnels under his home town, and producing the documented evidence - and photographs - of subterranean Portsmouth.

For what it's worth, I think the most likely underground cold war construction in Glasgow is between India Street (UK government offices in modern concrete) and the adjacent motorway. In the event of hostilities, the motorways would have been restricted to government, military and emergency services, and there would need to be a quick connection here. You could add in the train station at Charing Cross, and its associated tunnels. Anyone care to follow this up in the records?

Best wishes, Ronnie
User avatar
Ronnie
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1983
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 11:22 pm
Location: Glasgow

Postby Ronnie » Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:57 pm

Errm :oops:
I should have included the URL ...

http://www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk/index.html
User avatar
Ronnie
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1983
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 11:22 pm
Location: Glasgow

Postby caine » Fri Feb 27, 2004 12:47 pm

sorry to burst your bubble, but i work in said building, and although there is the queens warehouse in here, theres no bunkers. i've checked.
caine
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2003 10:52 am

Postby john-g » Fri Feb 27, 2004 5:51 pm

caine,

do you know when they're gonna demolish those old Strathclyde Council offices?

There's an impressive new office scheme set to replace them, but I haven't heard anything for months.

Ta.
john-g
First Stripe
First Stripe
 
Posts: 63
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2004 5:49 pm

Postby crusty_bint » Fri Feb 27, 2004 6:12 pm

Trinity project

The £100 million development on the site of the former Strathclyde Regional Council headquarters will have three separate towers with a four star plus hotel, luxury apartments and office space for up to 1500 people.

Image

Image
crusty_bint
-
-
 
Posts: 4425
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:52 pm
Location: Glasgow

Postby Ronnie » Sat Feb 28, 2004 1:27 am

Thanks, caine
Not sure what you mean by "the queens warehouse" in India Street.
It wasn't so much a bunker as an escape route I was thinking of.

And thanks, Crunchy, for the pictures of Trinity.
User avatar
Ronnie
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1983
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 11:22 pm
Location: Glasgow

Postby Some Guy » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:05 pm

Ronnie wrote:Thanks, caine
Not sure what you mean by "the queens warehouse" in India Street.
It wasn't so much a bunker as an escape route I was thinking of.

And thanks, Crunchy, for the pictures of Trinity.


"The Queens Warehouse" is where they take all the seized goods to be stored pending (enter as appropriate). There's also an incinerator down there.
Some Guy
Busy bunny
Busy bunny
 
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2003 9:08 am
Location: Glasgow

Postby escotregen » Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:59 pm

Ronnie,
Maybe of relevance to your suspicions/suggestions of escape route arounf India Street. About 3 years ago there was an article in the 'Herald' based on New Years release of official papers. In the event of a nuclear strike on Glasgow 'displaced persons' were to be gathered on the other side of the river almost opposite India Street, just maybe more than a coincidence this is all around the same bit of the city. Conspiracy folk might suspect that the motorway was to be closed to anyone but fleeing military etc whilst the poor civvies were to congregate on open ground at the other side of the river. and... you'r going to like this... they were to be 'transported by the municipal bus fleet' (gosh, the Larkfield garage must have been nuclear bomb proofed for the fleet to be intact). Then it gets better, because the displaced were to be transported to Clarkston and Newton Mearns to be 'rehoused by the locals'; now as we all know the Newton Mearns constituency is full of very progressive folk who would of course rush to help their destitute neighbours from Glasgow! I just fell about laughing over the rank stupidity of officials planning this sort of black farce. Unfortunatly I lost the article (being handed around the pub too much)and could not retrieve a copy, the Herald archives were (and I think still are) patchy and almost random and they could not help me trace it.
escotregen
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1073
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:35 pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Tunnels - and evidence!

Postby JayKay » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:06 pm

Ronnie wrote:
For what it's worth, I think the most likely underground cold war construction in Glasgow is between India Street (UK government offices in modern concrete) and the adjacent motorway.



Glasgow's cold war HQ was in East Kilbride. They obviously reckoned much of the city centre would be a very deep smoking crater shortly after the outbreak of WWIII so there was little point in putting a regional seat of government bunker there.
User avatar
JayKay
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1440
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 4:29 pm

Postby caine » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:19 am

dunno when or even if the new building and hotle will be built now, as we have decided to stay put as the plan was to demolish this building and the council building to make way for it all. but i think we(or the powers that be) have scuppered that idea somewhat.
caine
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2003 10:52 am

Postby stunev » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:56 pm

All the talk about the India Street area has reminded me of something, there is a building in Elmbank Street called the Theatre Hotel, it's on the end of the row with an alley to the side.

About 30 years ago this building had a large extractor fan on the side wall and was listed in the phone book under "Glasgow Corporation" as "Storm Damage Headquarters" and then, I think as "Civil Defence Headquarters"
stunev
Busy bunny
Busy bunny
 
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 11:32 am

Postby crusty_bint » Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:35 am

Shiny shiny shiny!!!

An update on the Trinity project

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5024775.html
here i go, it's coming for me through the trees
crusty_bint
-
-
 
Posts: 4425
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:52 pm
Location: Glasgow

Old Strathclyde buildings development

Postby gap74 » Tue Mar 23, 2004 9:44 am

I see the plan for this site is now to build a single, 139 metre tower with 39 stories of retail, office and housing space. If built, it would by far be the tallest building in Scotland.

Am I right in remembering that Glasgow City Council at least used to have a rule on the height of new developments? Anyone know what it was?

Wonder if this means the footbridge to nowhere will finally get somewhere to go to??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3558563.stm

Gary
User avatar
gap74
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1532
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:33 am

Postby Ronnie » Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:24 am

Yes, Stunev, that building was the City Council civil defence section. A late friend used to work for the council and he said he found a huge cache of photographs there, of the victims of the Clydebank Blitz, which were a bit unsettling. It was in that building, too, that I say the banned episode of the BBC "Secret Society" series, on Project Zircon (just Google it). So quite an interesting building - wonder if there was anything interesting found when it was renovated as a hotel?
Best, Ronnie
upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart
User avatar
Ronnie
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1983
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 11:22 pm
Location: Glasgow


Return to Hidden Glasgow Projects

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests