Underwater Railfanning Trip

scubadude

Member
Good morning all. Judging by my screen name, you may have figured out I scuba dive for a living. I have noticed over the last few months there are a couple other divers on The Gauge, (Old Tanker and others). Have any of you dived the Bonne Terre Mines in Missouri?? It is an old abandoned lead ore mine frome the turn of the century that is now full of crystal clear water. It still has all the mining equipment, tools and buildings underwater in a labyrinth of trails and tunnels. There is also a narrow gauge loco and various ore cars and tracks, etc. I have dived there several times over the years, but have never been in a position to focus on the railroad. I usually am leading tourists around the more accessible areas. Would anyone like to plan to meet there sometime and railfan the railroad equipment?? It is an awesome dive!! It is about an hour south of St. Louis, about a 12 hour drive from here in Dallas.

I am in the planning stages for an n-scale layout, I have benchwork and foam, playing around with track plans now. I am thinking about trying to recreate the railroad in the mines. Anyone interested??
 

scubadude

Member
No, I don't have any pics. That's one reason I want to go back so I can take a few. You can go to www.2dive.com/pictures/htm and can view pics on their website. There are a couple of the locomotive and horse drawn ore carts on rails. Most of those pictures show the mine while it was still active, I think most of the stuff on the pics is now underwater.
 

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
Wow... I have never heard about this! Of course, I've only lived in MO for the last 6 years and I'm on the other side of the state...... I don't dive but if anyone ever does go, I would love to see their pics!
 

scubadude

Member
You don't have to be a diver to go. They have walking tours that take you down to the water level. There is plenty to see on the top as well.
 

Jim Krause

Active Member
Sounds like an intriguing dive. I'd be happy to join you, but age, distance and expired certification come to mind most readily. I would recommend scuba diving to you younger folks. The only problem there is that you would probably like diving and there goes more money into a new hobby. So many adventures. So little time and money.
 

scubadude

Member
You're right, Jim. That's why I won't learn to snow ski, I'm afraid I'll get obsessed with it, become an instructor, start a ski shop, move to where the snow is, etc.......
 
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