Urban Exploration

what exactly is it? i've done reasearch on it and it seems like all it is, is railfanning except more illegal.

i'll admit, i tresspass once in a while for a good picture, but i never considered it urban exploration.

theseaandalifesaver wrote:what exactly is it? i've done reasearch on it and it seems like all it is, is railfanning except more illegal.

i'll admit, i tresspass once in a while for a good picture, but i never considered it urban exploration.

Probably just kids exploring old buildings and stuff. I googled it and the first thing that came up was http://www.uer.ca/ It seems to have mainly a youth fanbase (could be a form of rebelling against 'the man' )

Aside from the illegal part it looks like it could be fun.

W.E.Coyote wrote:

theseaandalifesaver wrote:what exactly is it? i've done reasearch on it and it seems like all it is, is railfanning except more illegal.

i'll admit, i tresspass once in a while for a good picture, but i never considered it urban exploration.

Probably just kids exploring old buildings and stuff. I googled it and the first thing that came up was http://www.uer.ca/ It seems to have mainly a youth fanbase (could be a form of rebelling against 'the man' )

Aside from the illegal part it looks like it could be fun.

Like exploring the cutoff... the viaducts, stations, towers.. or any abandoned railroad structure I suppose could be called 'urban exploration'

Urban exploration, urbex or UE, is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilization. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as Infiltration, although some people consider Infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. In the USA, Urban Exploration may also be refered to as "reality hacking," "urban spelunking," and "urban caving."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exploration

My friend does what I'd consider urban exploration:

http://www.ocrail.com/gallery/index.php?cat=5

I don't know how urban exploring is defined by others but for me documenting the rail scence in urban areas is my favorite part of railfanning. It is exciting, sometimes challenging, and yes, sometimes risky but I feel obligated to record this urban scene, particularily around what is left of American industry before it entirely disappears. I find it very rewarding to capture railroads doing what they traditionally did for so many decades, serve American industry. Each year there is less and less of this sort of thing and I am determined to capture on film, or media cards, what I can before it entirely goes into oblivion. Just last week I returned to the now abandoned Bethlehem Steel site in Pa. to see what was left. I got some pictures of abandoned rail equipment rusting away amidst scenes of industrial ruin. I compared them to some slides I took about 15 years ago. What a difference. The slides recorded images of bustle and activity, with switchers going back and forth hauling gondolas of ore and flatcars of fabricated steel. I am so very glad that I was able to capture those earlier images. It is so very sad now to observe the silence of desolation, the abandoned ruins slowly disintegrating into, into nothingness. It will not be long now until our photographic record will be the only proof that there was once such a thing as American industry.

kevikens wrote:I don't know how urban exploring is defined by others but for me documenting the rail scence in urban areas is my favorite part of railfanning. It is exciting, sometimes challenging, and yes, sometimes risky but I feel obligated to record this urban scene, particularily around what is left of American industry before it entirely disappears. I find it very rewarding to capture railroads doing what they traditionally did for so many decades, serve American industry. Each year there is less and less of this sort of thing and I am determined to capture on film, or media cards, what I can before it entirely goes into oblivion. Just last week I returned to the now abandoned Bethlehem Steel site in Pa. to see what was left. I got some pictures of abandoned rail equipment rusting away amidst scenes of industrial ruin. I compared them to some slides I took about 15 years ago. What a difference. The slides recorded images of bustle and activity, with switchers going back and forth hauling gondolas of ore and flatcars of fabricated steel. I am so very glad that I was able to capture those earlier images. It is so very sad now to observe the silence of desolation, the abandoned ruins slowly disintegrating into, into nothingness. It will not be long now until our photographic record will be the only proof that there was once such a thing as American industry.

The Smithosonian is building the National Museum of Industrial History on the site.

Visit their website to learn more: http://www.nmih.org/

The term "Urban Explorer" encompasses pretty much everything from the amateur industrial archaeologist and photographer, to kids who like to break into abandoned mental hospitals because it's like soooooo Goth, man.

The issue of trespassing aside, some very interesting photo essays have come from urban explorers, including abandoned amusement parks, RR stations, mines, shipyards, and various tunnels.

Among the most haunting photoessays of industrial abandonment is by Shaun O'Boyle, who twice visited the Rossville Boatyard at Staten Island. O'Boyle's photos are not to be missed.

Another of my favorite sites, very entertaining, tho less than scholarly, is the "Unquiet Tomb." Unfortunately it seems to be currently under reconstruction and not viewable.

Another good one is "Undercity." As you might imagine from the name, the site mostly focuses on tunnels...and the obligatory abandoned mental asylum.

"Urbanadventure.org" offers some interesting views, including the Newark subway tunnel at what was Kresge's department store.

Is alot of this stuff illegal? Sure. Would we get to see these photos any other way? No.