Underground Shelter Made With 42 Buses
Born in Winfield, Kan., Bruce Beach was a general contractor and professor of computer science for over 4 decades. After retiring, Bruce moved in the 1970’s to Horning’s Mills, Canada, onto the family property of his second wife. There, he dug a giant hole and buried 42 school buses to create a 10,000-sq. ft. nuclear fallout shelter.
Beach chose to use school buses due to their open floor plan, and because they’re built with steel beams that are strong enough to withstand the weight of 14 ft. of dirt he stacked on top. He paid $300 for the initial bus and acquired the rest throughout the early 1980’s.
It’s unclear how much the entire project cost, as Beach relied on bartering and volunteer labor. Throughout the decades of its construction and continuous maintenance, Beach frequently hosted work groups on his property. Everyone who helped was promised space in his shelter, assuming they could get to it in time in a doomsday scenario.
His motivation for this project was entirely altruistic. Beach wanted to provide a way for society to avoid total collapse and equipped his bunker with everything he deemed necessary for establishing a new world order. The bunker’s name, “Ark Two,” started as a joke but stuck as the project’s “Noah” continued to expand on his plan for saving humanity from disaster.
Ark Two was designed to protect a small community for up to three months. At peak capacity, it could house around 500 people - most of whom would be women and children. Its wings include buses filled with child-sized bunk beds, separate spaces for both preparing food and the clean-up process, a nursery, and even a dentist’s office outfitted with 1980’s technology. The entire compound is secured behind a concrete door - the only part visible to the outside world. Just past the door was a decontamination chamber to prevent the spread of infectious disease into the compound.
Beach thought through just about every detail for survival. The bunker was continually stocked with up to 3 mos. worth of food, fresh water, diesel for electricity, and a septic system. It was even equipped with a radio system that could send and receive messages across North America.
Maintaining a fallout shelter for hundreds of people to use at a moment’s notice is not without its challenges. Beach threw away tons of food in the decades he maintained it as provisions inevitably went bad. Likewise, Ark Two has had its share of legal trouble over the decades. The government of Ontario has attempted to shut it down on numerous occasions, citing safety concerns and a lack of permits.
While the bunker has never been used for its original purpose, it became a meeting point for preppers and survivalists to work together at annual summer gatherings.
Bruce Beach passed away from a heart attack in 2021 at 87. With him, some of the vision for Ark Two has died, and the bunker’s future remains uncertain. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ark Two Online Community (www.webpal.org/SAFE/aaaarktwo/).
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Underground Shelter Made With 42 Buses BUILDINGS New Techniques Born in Winfield Kan Bruce Beach was a general contractor and professor of computer science for over 4 decades After retiring Bruce moved in the 1970’s to Horning’s Mills Canada onto the family property of his second wife There he dug a giant hole and buried 42 school buses to create a 10 000-sq ft nuclear fallout shelter Beach chose to use school buses due to their open floor plan and because they’re built with steel beams that are strong enough to withstand the weight of 14 ft of dirt he stacked on top He paid $300 for the initial bus and acquired the rest throughout the early 1980’s It’s unclear how much the entire project cost as Beach relied on bartering and volunteer labor Throughout the decades of its construction and continuous maintenance Beach frequently hosted work groups on his property Everyone who helped was promised space in his shelter assuming they could get to it in time in a doomsday scenario His motivation for this project was entirely altruistic Beach wanted to provide a way for society to avoid total collapse and equipped his bunker with everything he deemed necessary for establishing a new world order The bunker’s name “Ark Two ” started as a joke but stuck as the project’s “Noah” continued to expand on his plan for saving humanity from disaster Ark Two was designed to protect a small community for up to three months At peak capacity it could house around 500 people - most of whom would be women and children Its wings include buses filled with child-sized bunk beds separate spaces for both preparing food and the clean-up process a nursery and even a dentist’s office outfitted with 1980’s technology The entire compound is secured behind a concrete door - the only part visible to the outside world Just past the door was a decontamination chamber to prevent the spread of infectious disease into the compound Beach thought through just about every detail for survival The bunker was continually stocked with up to 3 mos worth of food fresh water diesel for electricity and a septic system It was even equipped with a radio system that could send and receive messages across North America Maintaining a fallout shelter for hundreds of people to use at a moment’s notice is not without its challenges Beach threw away tons of food in the decades he maintained it as provisions inevitably went bad Likewise Ark Two has had its share of legal trouble over the decades The government of Ontario has attempted to shut it down on numerous occasions citing safety concerns and a lack of permits While the bunker has never been used for its original purpose it became a meeting point for preppers and survivalists to work together at annual summer gatherings Bruce Beach passed away from a heart attack in 2021 at 87 With him some of the vision for Ark Two has died and the bunker’s future remains uncertain Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ark Two Online Community www webpal org/SAFE/aaaarktwo/
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