Man Who Buried 42 School Buses To Make A Huge Doomsday Shelter Finally Showed People Inside

Before Beach passed away in 2021, he hailed from Horning’s Mills, Ontario. He was a “prepper” — someone who’s taken action in case of a civilization-threatening emergency. Beach wanted the human race to survive — even if the end of the world was nigh.

Back when Beach was a young man, the Cuban Missile Crisis had turned the specter of nuclear war into a very real and present threat. Ever since the end of World War II, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union had been growing. And they had then reached crisis point in October 1962.

When Soviet missiles were found in Cuba, it seemed as if the world might really descend into nuclear war. And for those alive at the time, it created a life-long fear of the carnage that would follow such a conflict. Thankfully, the confrontation de-escalated, but the Cold War continued to drag on for nearly three more decades.

By the 1980s, it seemed as if nuclear annihilation might be back on the table once more. In the Soviet Union, officials worried that the U.S. might target them with a pre-emptive strike. In the White House, meanwhile, President Ronald Reagan questioned whether or not this apparent fear was merely a clever act.

Then, in November 1983, a military exercise nearly sparked a conflict that would have changed the world for good. Known as Able Archer 83, the activity was intended to mimic the onset of nuclear war. However, in the Soviet Union, some suspected that the United States was actually planning a real attack.

On high alert, the Soviets prepared their own weapons and were ready to respond in kind. But the drill thankfully finished before any retaliatory action could take place. And even though it did not end in disaster, the event is considered among the closest that the world has ever come to nuclear war. Bruce Beach was no doubt already contemplating how to survive.

In the case of the 1983 nuclear scare, it would be years before the public would find out just how close they came to total annihilation. But they didn’t need to know the details of exercises such as Able Archer to live in fear. Egged on by an overzealous media, citizens around the world believed that a nuclear attack — and thus impending doom — was a real possibility.

Not one to sit and idly await his fate, Beach decided to do something. So he began work on an underground bunker that would house around 500 people in the event of a global catastrophe.

Compared with the hideouts that other people had been burying in their backyards, Beach’s bunker was something altogether different. What he ended up constructing, in fact, is thought to be one of the planet’s biggest privately built nuclear shelters.

The bunker, which is situated on Beach’s property, measures 10,000 square feet. Nuclear fallout above ground? No worries, said the prepper; anybody living inside the shelter would apparently survive unaffected.

As for the bunker’s history, work began at the start of the 1980s when four old school buses were installed at the site. Around five years later, Beach added the last of a total of 42 buses — all of which were subsequently covered in a thick layer of concrete.

But why did Beach choose such a strange foundation for his unique fallout shelter? Well, school buses are typically constructed with roofs made from reinforced steel — making them ideal for resisting impact from above. And because the prepper was able to purchase them at around $300 per vehicle, they were fairly cost-effective as well.

Using this somewhat unique method, Beach created a vast underground complex that he believed is capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. And ever since its construction, it has sat empty beneath his land. But what is it like inside the bunker that could safeguard the future of mankind?

Today, the bunker is protected by a series of locked gates and doors. And once inside, visitors are greeted by an area intended for firearm storage. According to those who had been down into the structure, the complex suffers from damp and bad lighting. But even so, Beach maintained it has everything that survivors might need.

“We have all the comforts of home,” Beach told the National Post in 2017. In reality, though, the bunker is far better equipped than your standard house. It comes complete with two kitchens, a chapel, and a decontamination room — a necessity if survivors are ever to return to the world above.

Beach also considered what might be needed if things go awry below ground. As well as a mortuary and chair for dental treatments, there is a “brig” — a military term that typically refers to a prison. It’s not all doom and gloom, though, and the bunker is even stocked with chess sets to help inhabitants to pass the time.

Beach’s bunker also seems curiously low-tech in some parts. In one room, for example, there is an old bicycle that was set up so that residents could pedal to grind wheat. And in another, a number of security monitors provide an overview of the complex. But rather than swish 21st-century models, they are makeshift devices cobbled together from dated Commodore 64 computers.

Similarly, there is a telephone line connected to the bunker — but it is accessed via an old-fashioned rotary dial. While some parts of the complex might be dated, everything is in working order. And in the case of a nuclear emergency, a generator is set up to provide power for the survivors.

Beach said there’s even a clever plumbing system to take care of sanitation needs. And although the bunker is stocked with plenty of toilet paper, the prepper imagined an unusual purpose for this stash. He told the National Post, “Those aren’t for use, but for bartering.”

The aim of the shelter is to provide a functioning living environment for its inhabitants for up to three months — the length of time deemed necessary for any nuclear fallout to dissipate. The bunker is therefore stocked with plenty of diesel, while a well provides the residents with drinking water.

Beach apparently even kept the bunker stocked with enough sustenance to see any survivors through the long months below ground. But keeping supplies replenished was, it seems, a difficult task. He explained to the National Post in 2017, “I don’t know how many tons of food we have had to throw out over the years.”

Ark Two, as it is sometimes called, can also communicate with the outside world — assuming anybody else survives a catastrophic event such as a nuclear attack. Theoretically, the shelter is capable of launching a weather balloon to monitor conditions, while radio equipment would allow messages to be broadcast across North America.

Although some, perhaps unsurprisingly, branded Beach a “doomsayer,” the man himself believed his project a service to society. Ark Two’s purpose isn’t just to save humankind; it’s also a tool by which civilization can re-establish itself after a nuclear catastrophe.

In the event of the shelter being needed, Beach expected many of its inhabitants to be children — even if that means their parents staying above ground. He told the National Geographic Channel’s Doomsday Preppers in 2012, “We’re going to say to people we have room for your children, but we don’t have room for you.”

When Beach was alive, he said that those who join the group would have to help with shelter maintenance and take part in various activities. He welcomed anyone to sign up — regardless of religious, cultural, or political leanings.

Beach reckoned a nuclear war would kill 80 percent of people on planet Earth. This means, naturally, that any survivors would be tasked with the mammoth job of restoring the human race to its former glory. And that is, of course, where the prepper and his community came in.

Despite his inclusive approach, however, Beach struggled to get people to commit. Even when he hosted regular workdays at the bunker, the majority of people would only visit once. In 2017, for instance, there were just 50 regular community members with a place on the invite list.

“I’ll probably have trouble getting people to come in,” Beach admitted to the National Post back in 2017. In fact, he claimed that even his own partner and children had lost interest in his talk impending of nuclear war. Beach admitted, “It wears on my wife.” But will his huge efforts be vindicated in the end?

Beach didn’t leave any instructions as to what should happen to the bunker after his death, but it seems some members of the community are still keen to be involved. If Beach’s family allow that to happen, and a nuclear disaster does strike, then life for the underground inhabitants will go on. And when he was alive, the prepper had some very clear ideas about what his subterranean society would look like. Would people stand by his wishes?

Beach envisaged that people living in his bunker wouldn’t be part of a democratic society. The prepper said that a commander would have to be appointed, while crew members would each have designated tasks. He had bunks allocated according to age and gender, too.

Adult residents, in Beach’s plan, would have apparently been expected to work 16 hours a day. True, it doesn’t sound like much fun, but the Canadian explained on his website that “the facility is a lifeboat, not a luxury cruise liner.”

Yet while some considered Beach and his epic shelter as mere eccentricities, he occasionally found himself at the center of battles with the authorities. In 2000, for example, the fire department deemed the bunker unsafe and ordered its closure.

Beach claimed to have made the necessary amendments. But in 2015 he was again approached by the authorities, who were worried that the structure is a hazard. That didn’t stop various explorers from wanting to take a peek inside, though.

In July 2019 a video featuring the bunker was uploaded to YouTube. Hosted on the channel Exploring with Angelo, the 20-minute film shows Beach giving a tour of the underground complex. And while the structure is beginning to show signs of age, it’s still equipped with all the necessary gear for nuclear survival.

In the video, Beach points out the fact that the bus forming the entrance is set at a right angle to the rest of the structure. The prepper explains, “That’s because radiation only goes in straight lines. It can’t make this turn and come down in the shelter.” What has made its way inside, though, is a vast collection of clutter and junk.

As Beach guides two explorers around the bunker, it’s possible to see stacks of homemade newspapers, supplies, and furniture piled up around the structure. However, some of the complex appears woefully underprepared. Both the library and the nursery, for example, seem empty of essential items such as books and toys.

Back outside, the filmmakers quizzed Beach about his plans for rebuilding society in the event of a nuclear apocalypse. Beach explains in the video, “My plan here is take people and to train them about LERNs [Local Economy Recovery Networks]. A LERN is 150 individuals above the age of 15. And so, we form several [of them] in the village, and each [one] elects five individuals. These five are the legislation, the administration, and the judiciary all combined.”

Beach seemed adamant the end of the world was on its way. But he passed away before it happened. The fate of the bunker is still undecided, but the prepper’s followers think he’d prefer to see it maintained and usable in case of an emergency. And Beach’s family buried him close to his ark, so who knows? Perhaps he’ll still be keeping a close eye on proceedings if it is ever put to use.