Yes, this is real. If you get bored you can check out the YouTube channel www.dwbs.video . Or google Death Wears Bunny Slippers. Warning... you'll end up at our YouTube channel and could likely waste a lot of time. I own a decommissioned Titan II nuclear missile silo. I have the launch control center opened and well under way. But, I've been considering opening the silo portion. Its a BIG JOB. I see it having three distinct phases. I'll outline the challenge / advice I'm seeking in each phase. Moving enough dirt to get to the opening. The top 25' of the missile silo was blown off and a 60' x 3' concrete cap was poured in place. So, I need to move enough dirt to get to that cap. Given that its 60' in diameter, I figure I should have 120' of total space at that depth. Question: What's the best way to move that much material? Again, I need to go down 25' with a total platform of 120' in diameter. Then of course proper angles to work in it safely. Material is a mix of broken up shale and dirt. Breaking up the cap: Again, the cap is 60' in diameter x 3' thick concrete and TONS of rebar. I'll post a pic if I can figure it out. From people I've talked to they recommend a big excavator with a needle to break it up. I figure I'll need a few people on torches to cut the rebar. Any thoughts here? Now, dig out the silo. The silo is 145' deep and the part that's filled in is 25' ish in diameter. Its filled with gravel and random debris. That random debris could be parts of the blown up missile silo walls... junk from topside... really anything. But I do know that they filled it in with a lot of gravel. How the heck do I get all of that out at that depth? My only thought has been a clamshell on a crane. But I don't even know if those are still in use. Thoughts there? I think that's it for now. Any thoughts are most appreciated! GT
Why do you want to remove the silo ? Seems the most expeditious method to break up the cap is explosively. Drill and shoot.
I don't want to remove the silo, I want to open it up. The top 25' was blown off and that cap installed. I want to get into it. As far as explosives go, I've been told that its cost prohibitive these days but I was only told that by one person so can't say its correct info. GT
Sounds like you need to rent a nice size digger for that one! ..and with a thumb..and maybe the jackhammer change out too..
Leave the cap, but make a fall hole and use some fencing to draw zombies to it......cause they are coming!
I was thinking a clamshell and a crane too 3 inch thick concrete should not be to bad to break maybe a wrecking ball also
Lol, so, for the record, they fill them up with crap, then pour concrete on top. It's a big, vertical pipe with the end cut off, filled with crap and capped. Keep in mind, if they dumped the demo down the hole, which they likely did, it could be damaged and unsafe to enter. If that's a risk you are willing to take.... and excavator with a lot of time and fuel would be your best bet. As well as a rock truck or 2 for haul off. A chop saw would be better than a torch, but that's just me. If your spending the money, you could get another excavator with a sheer. Once you get thru the cap, and as deep as you can get, a crane and clamshell. Ya. It won't do well against rebar and debris. You may have to lower a mini/mid sized excavator down there. You need vents and air sensors so as to not suffocate yourselves. Good luck with your luxury Nuke condos. It'll be a ton of work.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to see some photos of this process! Lol
I read the original post as three (3) feet thick.
Since I don't think anyone has asked.....WHY??? Im trying to think what it would be good to use it for, it seems pretty small, but the amount of work it's going to take to just get to it and then get whatever goodness they filled the inside of it with out, is going to cost a few sheckles. Also, like someone mentioned, if they dumped the demo debris inside of it,there's a chance it has compromised the sides of it, if that's the case you're out a whole lotta money. Seems like a very interesting project though....
That's quite an undertaking GT Hill ! I'm amazed with the infrastructure itself & what it took to build and make it all work . In my hillbilly thinking it resembles a grain elevator operation only underground . Thank God it did not have to work ! Spotted a story & some old photo's on another forum in construction . https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/can-you-spot-the-missile-site.1628513/page-2#post-23351500 Be interesting to tour the "Titan Missile Museum " in Arizona . http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/home
This is the first episode from the link to his channel. 9/11/2016
I'm watching episode 6 and he heavily mentions what I was talking about when I said vents and air sensors. Doing things like this, it is a very good idea to have someone with confined space training, as well as excavation and structural competent persons. Digging past 4 feet suddenly becomes more dangerous than most are aware of. Then having multi chamber or multi direction's becomes dangerous in invisible ways. Hazwoper 40 with confined space and fall protection training would be my recommendation for anyone who wants to get into something like this. To the OP. Can you re iterate the dimensions with feet or inches. Just wanting to make sure all your dimensions are in feet.
So I've now watched a couple of your videos an I think I know what you're up against. As far as excavating the fill and removing the cap goes, it seems to be fairly conventional stuff, ie. excavator/breaker/trucks. The only variable is how much money and time do you have? The interesting bit is excavating the silo. IMO, you're going to need a crane but because of the unpredictable size of the material, some sort of grapple won't work. I would suggest a basic skip/tub with someone at the bottom filling it with a mini excavator and/or slinging the large chunks as required. As for the type of crane, I can envisage either casting a concrete pad level with the broken top of the silo and putting a crawler crane on it, or casting four smaller concrete pads and erecting an old industrial gantry crane over the hole.
I do not think you will find any compromising of the silo walls. My father in law, a retired Air Force lifer was early in his career when they were being built. The walls are heavy enough to hold up to a Titan missile launch. Wall thickness is in feet, not inches. I would be most concerned about big voids that may let go during removal of the interior rubble. A good retractable type safety harness and adequate ventilation is a must along with a written confined space plan. You must also have emergency personnel extraction equipment ready if you want to avoid huge fines and possible jail if someone has a injury or worse. Many good safety supply stores can help you form a safe plan and rent personnel safety equipment as needed.
I agree, after watching most of the channel. Wall stability won't be an issue. Platforms, however, will be a problem. I would say, use a skid steer. A smaller one will take more time, but put less stress on the structures. One level at a time, and you can drop a rubble bin down with a crane and load it. Since you have water issues, I think this is the safest way, as well as the cheapest. Maybe have a mini that fits thru a door, and a normal sized with a 4 in 1 bucket. Both on rubber tracks.
There were quite a few in AR, I assume this isn’t Damascus lol. That one was a rather large cluster!
Still many in NE North Dakota. Supposed to be all decommissioned but they are still fenced and if you muck around them, it don't take long for the troops to show up. Must be guarding that rubble for practice.
Every rock is TOP SECRET until declassified. Most military facilities won't even let you haul dirt off site during construction.
I used to pheasant hunt in SD, my friend that lives there told of a local that got stuck in a blizzard, low on fuel he spotted a silo fence near the freeway. Made his way to it, grabbed the fence, shook the heck out of it. He was "rescued" by some very unhappy MP's in short order. Ed
I don't know anything about Titans. I have been in an Atlas F, which was also a vertical storage missile site. The Atlas F were not destroyed like your Titan site. The Atlas F walls were a full 10' thick. In one of the access ports for utilities, I stretched out full length with my toes inside the silo. My fingertips were still probably 3' from the outside wall. Istr the doors on top of the silo were 30 tons each. Before I'd put much money into the project I'd get an environmental assessment. The military used to disregard all environmental laws, and left lots of contamination. TCE, a common degreaser, is a very frequent find.