Deep basement

Deep under Grand Central, there is a basement that is as tall as the main concourse itself. For decades, the basement contained this group of rotary converters, which turned A/C power to D/C power. Security was very tight around the converters during World War II, because the government worried that saboteurs would try to ruin them by pouring sand into them, effectively shutting down Grand Central and stopping the movement of materiel and troops in the Northeast. Indeed, a Nazi plot to do just that was discovered and stopped before it was too late.

Click here to read the related behind-the-scenes story on the secrets of Grand Central Terminal. And click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.