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BUSS: EMMC Drain

Hazard Level: 4

Main Tunnel Clearance: 3-4'?Tidal Coverage: NoKnown # of Tunnels: 2?
Hazards: Obstacles; Slippery Surfaces; Falling; Head Injury;
Construction Materials: Corregated Steel Pipe, Cement, PVC, fiberglass
This is a drain that runs under one of the parking lots at Eastern Maine Medical Center. It is a long and strait drain that does not do much besides get smaller and smaller. The entrance is near the railroad tracks by the parking that has Hancock Street on one side. Just go down over the hill and walk along near the tracks while listening for running water. This drain has one of the most interesting features we have found in drains around here. A short walk/crawl past the first manhole room is a rectangular (purhaps 5' wide by 15' long) room with two floors. The first floor is the flat and slippery floor of the drain, the 5' high ceiling consists of steel grating. At the far end of the room is a five foot tall, quarter circle shaped slide which is very slippery. This slide leads up to the "second floor" area. The most of the second floor's floor is steel grating. At the far end of the room there is a 7 or 8 foot area with no floor. This is where the slide comes up from the floor below. At the top of the slide is a water-filled pit that is as wide as the room. On the wall above the pit, about five feet up, is where the tunnel continues. On each side of the watery pit are a set of brackets (originaly to hold up more steel grated flooring, but thats gone now) which can be walked on to get to the rest of the tunnel. There use to be a bunch of junk in this room that makes it look like someone may once have lived there. Last time we went in, there is part of a metal garden/sewer rake, and a child-size winter glove.

From there on the tunnel goes strait and gets smaller and smaller. There is a spot where it forks into two smaller tunnels, and another place with a manhole room that has a small side tunnel that looks like it leads up to a gutter box or a culvert (this would be in the grassy/rocky drainage area of the parking lot between State and Garland. We have explored up to somewhere in the area of Garland Street.

This might be a fun drain to explore on an old skateboard. Just need to be weary when nearing the two-floor room because there is a large drop off and a waterfall.

Photo of the entrance to the drain, taken while walking east on the railroad tracks.
Photo of the stone culvert that carries water from the drain under the tracks and out to the river.
Photo taken during the winter, looking out of the entrance towards the culvert under the tracks.
Photo showing the slightly squashed looking corregated steel pipe that makes up the first two sections of tunnel.
Photo taken while entering the lower floor of the two-floor room. Twisted remains of a floor grate are lodged into part of the slide.
Photo looking up into the tunnel that leads deeper into the drain from the first floor of the two-floor room. In this photo, the under side of the brackets for the missing grated floor sections can be seen.
Photo of the deep pool that must be crossed to go further up the drain. The top sides of the brackets can also be seen here.
Photo taken from the vantage point of the tunnel with the waterfall, looking into the divided room.
Photo, same vantage as above, this time looking more into the lower half of the room.
Photo same vantage again, but looking into the top part of the room.
Photo of the fiberglass drain section. This area was strange, the color and texture of the walls reminded us of being inside some great beast's digestive system.
This way to main index.
Photo of the furthest area we've explored to. This area of green PVC is barely large enough to turn around in.
Photo of Wally's ass.. okay, this was really taken to show that the water is actually fairly clrear, not the nasty brown that the previous pic suggested.
Photo of the blind albino drain-dwelling Trojan Fish? uhhh.. no thanks.