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spectacular sewers

Thanks to an intrepid group of urban explorers, some of the most magnificent hidden engineering triumphs that lie, hidden, beneath the streets of the world’s cities are being recorded and posted on underground (no pun intended) websites.

Here are some of our favorite sewers and drains, from Paris’ tourist attraction sewers to London’s Escher-like, arched, Victorian Gothic drains, to still working ancient Roman systems and the infamous giant storm drains beneath Tokyo. Vote for your faves.

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(Ranked by user votes) Vote on and review the contenders below.
1
The original site where these truly amazing pictures of subterranean Tokyo were posted is no longer functioning. However, they have been picked up at so many sites that you can still marvel at them. Click on the picture to see more, words simply do not do them justice.
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wistit »
The Infamous Tokyo Storm Drain. more...
(votes: +124)
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2
This is one of the seven overlooked wonders of the modern world. A mile from the falls themselves, sits a disused unlikely neo-classical power station that contained Tesla’s very first AC generators. Billions of gallons of water were sucked in from the nearby Niagara river and flung 10 storeys underground onto giant turbines. Huge tailrace tunnels then channeled the waste water right to the foot of the horseshoe falls.
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wistit »
Rankine Tailrace Niagara Falls. more...
(votes: +48)
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3
This shot shows a stunning parabolic arch. in the Megatron drain under Sheffield. Click on the image for more great shots.
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wistit »
Sheffield storm drain - England. more...
(votes: +43)
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4
The results of the legendary urban explorer duo Jondoe and Stoop’s expeditions can been seen after the link. This shot in a London Storm Relief Sewer, nicknamed the Labyrinth, is truly cinematic.
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wistit »
Labyrinth - North Western Storm Relief Sewer. more...
(votes: +18)
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5
The Tyburn River, like many of the Thames’ tributaries that crossed central London became the course for a sewer. Although not as Grand as sewers favored by London Urban Spelunkers, such as the Westbourne, its a spooky wonderland, no less so because its name is infamous as the place where public executions were traditionally carried out.
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wistit »
Tyburn River - Kings Scholars Pond Sewer. more...
(votes: +15)
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6
It is ironic to be posting a link to a sewer in a town whose name is the same as perfume.
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wistit »
Roman Sewer in Cologne. more...
(votes: +13)
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7
Separate storm drains are common beneath Australian cities and are commonly explored by the notable urban exploration group called the Cave Clan.
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wistit »
Australian underground drains. more...
(votes: +13)
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8
Paris’ current sewers were hailed as such a triumph that, so the story goes that, their builder drank the water to show how safe it was, and died of Typhoid. Today they are still a tourist attraction, complete with exhibits such as this giant iron ball which was used to clean them.
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wistit »
Sewer Cleaning Cannonball Paris. more...
(votes: +9)
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9
I found this collection of pictures of Moscow sewers via the always excellent EnglishRussia. Click on the image to see the rest. The images are very professionally lit, suggesting another source.
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wistit »
Moscow Sewers. more...
(votes: +8)
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10
One of the earliest sewage systems, the Cloaca Maxima is more than 2500 years old, and has parts that are still used as backwash passages in the modern sewage system in Rome.
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wistit »
Cloaca Maxima Roman Sewer. more...
(votes: +8)
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11
Fleet street in London was where the major newspapers were traditionally based. It is also named after the river fleet, which was became an open sewer leading directly into the Thames. This eventually became a major storm drain and sewer system with classic Dickensian Victorian gothic creepiness.<p /><p />Its become a classic place for urban explorers who have taken some marvelous shots such as this. Click on the image for more in the set.
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wistit »
Fleet Sewer - London. more...
(votes: +7)
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12
The classic 60’s heist movie, The Italian Job, was set in Italy’s car manufacturing center, Turin, but it starred classic British cars such as Jags, Land Rovers and the Mini Cooper. The famous chase scene culminated in an actual drive through a storm relief tunnel leading to the river Po. One of the stunt men died as a result.
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wistit »
The Italian Job Mini Cooper Sewer Escape. more...
(votes: -6)
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