Well, here's the truth. Newman Library was opened in 1955, and later expanded (the curving section by the bookstore). Until 1953, there was another library on the same spot, built in 1905. However, this library was not called Lockel. In fact, I have found no records of any building being named after someone named Lockel. The only evidence that points to the library being called that, is "LOCKEL LIBRARY" spray-painted on the wall next to the library sub-tunnel.

And as for the tunnel itself? I crawled down it (VERY hot and cramped) and yes, it ends at a locked door to the Library. Newman Library, not an older library. If you compare the steam tunnel map to the library floor plans, you can see where the tunnel hits the library.

Update, March 2003:

I had believed that someone had just made up the name Lockel, until a friend of mine proposed a different theory:

"...maybe someone didnt make the name up, but maybe the spraypaint was meant to say "locked library" as in..."this tunnels leads to a locked entrance to the library..." thats conjecture but it could be true"

Update, September 2003:

So we went underground to investigate this rumor, and were able to confirm that the tag actually says "LOCKED LIBRARY". Or at least it used to, it looks like part of the D has faded over time.

I really can't imagine how this on got started. Miles Stadium was the predecessor to Lane stadium. It was built in 1926, and razed in 1965. Miles was located between War Memorial Gym and Washington Street, where Pritchard, Lee, O'Shaughnessy, Payne, and the New Residence Halls are now. Some of Miles Stadium was underground, but most was above ground. I have found no mention anywhere in Tech's records, of an underground locker room. For all I know though, it could actually be down there. But why would Virginia Tech fail to destroy something that could be an obstacle to future construction? I haven't found any locker room, abandoned or otherwise,  accessible from the steam tunnels.

Update, September 2005:

I've thought about this a lot, because I keep getting e-mails asking about it... This legend almost certainly got started when someone saw the line of surplus urinals along the wall in Lee's crawlspace (unfortunately, all the urinals have been stolen now). Think about it - Lee is in roughly the same area as Miles Stadium was, and the layout of the crawlspace (large room with many pipes running down the middle, urinals along one wall) could possibly be mistaken for a locker room. This wasn't ever a locker room, of course. Until someone shows me an actual hidden locker room somewhere on campus, I'll stand by my belief that the Miles locker room is nothing more than a myth.

Now, this is possible, sort of. Of course there are no pedestrian tunnels from the dorms to the other side of campus. The only pedestrian tunnels connect Pamplin and GBJ, and Davidson and Hahn. But it would be possible for people to enter the Agnew - New Chemistry steam tunnel through certain buildings, and exit into other buildings on the other side of the drillfield. Assuming all the correct doors were unlocked, of course.

The big question is, would Virginia Tech allow it's faculty and students to use the steam tunnel as pedestrian tunnels? I doubt it, at least nowadays. However, I've heard several stories of the Virginia Tech administration and police turning a blind eye to students traveling across campus through the tunnels, so there may be some truth in the rumors.

This is partly true. Back in 1981, two Virginia Tech employees were killed when a pipe burst while they were working in the steam tunnels. However, I have never found any evidence of a student or students dying in the tunnels. While the university could have tried to keep  it under wraps, this is the kind of thing that would inevitably end up in several major newspapers. So in the absence of any real evidence, I don't believe that anyone but the two power plant employees has died in the steam tunnels.

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