They lurk beneath your feet at this very moment, snaking through the campus like an inconspicuous labyrinth. No, it is not a scene out of 'Harry Potter,' it's the UW-Madison steam tunnel system.
Covering 20 million square feet, which encompasses all of the campus buildings and more, the steam tunnels, via three separate heating plants, officially serve as the campus heating system. But unofficially, the tunnels are a playground for curious students looking to explore new grounds.
The tunnels first appeared in the late 1800s, though new ones are built constantly. In fact, new tunnels are being constructed beneath Observatory Drive at present.
Though it may seem counterintuitive due to the tunnels' concealment and almost ominous quality, Physical Plant director John Harrod claimed that most major campuses harbor similar underground tunnel systems. According to Harrod, this can be attributed to the tunnels' economic aspect: They are much cheaper compared to the price of heating each building separately.
Although he refused to disclose the exact locations of the entrances to the tunnels, Harrod did reveal that they are 'not hidden,' but rather can be found in the mechanical rooms of many campus buildings, the basements of others and some can even be accessed from outside.
'The entrances aren't hard to find,' said an anonymous UW-Madison student who has been a frequent visitor of the tunnels. 'In fact, they're pretty well labeled.'
He went on to explain he knows of entrances in several buildings including Mechanical Engineering, the basement of Memorial Union and Science Hall.
Also, he explained that by following any of the several 'yellow lines with words in between that say 'steam tunnel'' imprinted on the sidewalks, 'sooner or later you're going to hit a grate that's going to be an entrance.'
This particular student, along with many others, has ventured into the tunnels, although the act is strictly prohibited'potentially resulting in expulsion and legal prosecution, a measure of which they seem to be well aware.
'If we find people in the tunnels, they'll be turned over to the police,' Harrod said.
These severe consequences derive from the imminent dangers the tunnels contain, including that of the chemical asbestos'which tears at your lungs upon inhalation'and of course, burns from the scorching pipes.
Harrod stated that people, though he is unsure if they are students or not, are arrested approximately annually for breaking into the tunnels. He also said he has heard reports of injuries, but not deaths.
All this hype can be enough to make one wonder what is actually down there. The general consensus among students who have been in the tunnels is that it is very, very hot.
The anonymous source also said he 'tried not to get stuck by the rusty screws that are sticking out of the walls,' but basically, 'it's a tunnel with pipes in them.'
Justin Zimmerman, a 2000 UW-Madison graduate, added to the description. 'The tunnels change in size,' he said, 'Sometimes you kind of have to stoop down a little bit ... there are definitely points where you can't crawl at all. It's really strange, you lose all perception of which direction you're headed ... it's definitely a maze, I actually have no idea how we ended up figuring our way back out.'
Zimmerman also recalled making his way into buildings that 'you're really not supposed to be able to get into.' Apparently, during one visit to the tunnels, he emerged in a building in which he found a tank of liquid nitrogen.
'You can tunnel your way through, get in there and totally steal a tank of liquid nitrogen,' he said.
Zimmerman, along with 2002 UW-Madison graduate Steffi Krolikowski, were both supervisors at the Rathskeller while they were students. It was there that they became acquainted with a Union regular, the legendary Tunnel Bob.
'Tunnel Bob is really close with the Rathskeller employees,' Krolikowski said. 'We used to play tunnel tag ... he would go down into the tunnels and all of the Rathskeller supervisors would pick a night and go down and take flashlights and try to find him.'
Krolikowski said the event would take place around 2 or 3 a.m., after several rounds of beer.
Zimmerman recalled, 'When we caught him, he was like, bad, so we took him to the sausage [Oscar Meyer Weiner] factory and he'd have to walk back.'
According to Krolikowski, Tunnel Bob 'just has some quirks about him.' He reportedly gave nicknames to all of the Rathskeller supervisors'all of the girls received color nicknames'Krolikowski's was 'White.' Zimmerman's nickname was 'Chicken Man.'
Apparently, Tunnel Bob also had a few catch phrases. He would say 'you talk like sausage' if it was a lie, Krolikowski said, while talking like 'hamburger' meant telling the truth.
Although graduation has come and gone for these alumni, they still make the effort to see one another frequently. 'I think it's a great little stitch out of history that there is this group of people who work together and some crazy middle-aged guy,' Zimmerman said. 'We all get together about once a year, usually around homecoming, and [Tunnel Bob] somehow knows where we're all going to be and shows up to say 'hi' ... I think it's funny that Tunnel Bob just throws himself into our lives like that.'
Neither Zimmerman nor Krolikowski know whether the game continues today.
Although Tunnel Bob will be remembered by the Rathskeller staff for their late-night excursions into the depths of the tunnels, according to Tunnel Bob, most of the time he just goes alone'at least every week.
He said he was around 18 when he discovered his passion for the tunnels while 'seeing a hole dug in the ground while they were building a new one. So then I just crawled in there and looked around.'
During the 1980s, while Tunnel Bob was in his 20s, he was actually employed by the steam company, changing burned-out light bulbs 'and stuff,' but refused to say why he no longer works there. He did say, however, that Harrod is considering letting him return to work in the near future. Harrod reported that Tunnel Bob stops by his office every so often to discuss what he has observed in the tunnels, although Harrod has instructed him not to go in them.
Tunnel Bob's tunnel exploration began with UW-Madison's tunnels, but by no means ends there. He said he has explored the campus tunnels in many places, including Milwaukee, Michigan, Minnesota and Chicago.
He said he does not come into these foreign places with a plan for getting into the tunnels, rather, he just looks 'around for what looks like a tunnel entrance.' If this fails, however, 'sometimes I got to just find a power plant ... if I can find a door that's open, I'll just try to walk in, then I'll have to be very careful not to be seen,' he said.
Most of the time, though, 'I find them on the campus or from building utility rooms,' he said.
So what exactly does Tunnel Bob uncover in these tunnels that have so deeply intrigued him?
'Just more places to go,' he said. He likes to 'explore' because, well, 'I just do.'
