I found industrial tube intercom in abandoned building and it's still running

[Pennk2]

That is SOOOO cool, Pennk2! I must've missed some side discussions on where this is or how old B/C I don't see that stated anywhere, but like, did you flip some switches and things started to hum and lights came on? Did you speak "check, check..." into the mic? Did you start to sing in it?

That is REALLY Halloween-ey and cool. Mental hospital would've been good, but trash incinerator is the nest best thing, maybe better (for the disposal of bodies in those horror films...).

Hey b-rider, It looks like I got so worked up I must have omitted the history. The trash incinerator was completed in 1955, I believe the fire was started on May 3, 1955. I know this because in the head office this is a mounted picture frame with the first match and other pictures. And yeah I walked up to this at least 10ft tall Westinghouse control board covered in levers and buttons, so naturally, I started messing with them believing that the building was decommissioned due to its decrepit state. The next thing I know the lights are coming on, I hear the amp heat up, and whatever trashed machines trying to start up. The trash incinerator is in Montgomery County, PA I'm not going to release the exact location. Also, my exact thought would be a plot for a horror movie where some dude burns his victims in an abandoned trash incinerator.

 

[b-rider]

When you say "fire was started...", I assume you mean when the unit was first made operational? How many years has it sat idle?

The fact that it was "abandoned" isn't so surprising, assuming the municipality found other means to dispose of the trash or it became un-economical to use, but what makes it sound like a post-apocalyptic scene is that there was still power, you were even able to gain access, and the fact that there are "first match" and other things in the office that would have been salvaged for posterity in any other situation. Sounds JUST LIKE a sci-fi thriller or Twilight Zone episode where everyone just disappeared.

 

[Pennk2]

When you say "fire was started...", I assume you mean when the unit was first made operational? How many years has it sat idle?

The fact that it was "abandoned" isn't so surprising, assuming the municipality found other means to dispose of the trash or it became un-economical to use, but what makes it sound like a post-apocalyptic scene is that there was still power, you were even able to gain access, and the fact that there are "first match" and other things in the office that would have been salvaged for posterity in any other situation. Sounds JUST LIKE a sci-fi thriller or Twilight Zone episode where everyone just disappeared.

I so agree with you on the sci-fi/Twilight zone, I'm not sure exactly when the place closed but from the paperwork it definitely after 1988.
And yes I meant when the facility was first operated( by the first match), I do know a load of trash and garbage from Philadelphia was used as a test load. The picture below is the only remaining one, it was taken 1956 when the new fire suppression system was turned on, its a pitty the picture of the crane and first load are gone, theres a before and after photos the black one is after a fire broke out in the storage pit after someone decided to blow up a propane tank, that's why some of the pics are black,its all the tar on the walls
But anyways enjoy the pics and ask me if you want to know more about the place or talk about records and old tube radios

 

[motorstereo]

That is cool that you can take a walk through like that. Amazing as well that there is still power going to the building. I wonder who's paying the electric bill as I'm sure someone must be?

In 1972 as part of a high school class trip we toured a trash incinerator which at the time was state of the art. The trash would get dumped into an open air concrete trench loaded with high power fans directed at the trash heap. The fellow giving the tour poured a gallon of gas on the pile; told us all to move back and then threw a match on it. About a minute later the fans turn on and now there's a huge fire all out in the open. This was very impressive for a teenage kid but even then I didn't think this is quite the way to do things. This method did not work out well as the glass in the trash melted and the machines were unable to dig in and get the ash out. That incinerator was also retired after a very short life and name "Klinkerbelle" because of the molten glass. I remember the controversy surrounding the failed incinerator as it was a lot of money spent only to be abandoned a short time later.