ghosts of pneumatic tubes past

It seems just that sort of week to continue on with the theme of movie posts, with Oscar antics not far behind us. For the last two weeks I have written about movies where pneumatic tube networks play cameo appearances hidden in the walls in office scenes. Time now to head underground, to one of the classic films of the late 1980s: Ghostbusters II.

In the sequel the busters are saving NYC (i.e. the world) yet again from those nasty ghosts. Their investigations lead them to bury beneath First Avenue. Suspended from a cable, Raymond is lowered underground through an air shaft. Soon he enters a tiled chamber, glowing pink. His flashlight zig-zagging around, he discovers that it is none other than a chamber of the abandoned pneumatic transit line. But that isn't the only surprise. Down below, bubbles the river of psychomagnotheric slime.

It is interesting to think about the different uses of these underground infrastructures over time, as often tunneling underground for one technology may be used for another in the future. In this case from pneumatic tubes to slime! Later on in the movie the Ghostbusters head further into the tunnels, following an old transit map. Read more about their adventures on the Ghostbusters Wiki, or click here for a Youtube of the section of GB2 where Raymond is lowered into the tiled pneumatic tube chamber.

Images from Ghostbusters.Wikia.