The Switchboard

The Switchboard is a location in the Commonwealth in Fallout 4 and is the location of the quest Tradecraft.

Background
In pre-War times the bunker was used as a secret base of operation for the Defense Intelligence Agency as can be seen written on the floor in the main hall. In closer timeline it was used as the The Railroad's HQ, its secret location proving to be a protection from The Institute if only for awhile.

Layout
There are two possible ways to enter. One is an elevator hidden behind a bookshelf in the basement of a Slocum's Joe, a pre-war donutshop west from Super-Duper Mart. The other is through the old escape tunnel that exits through a drainpipe.

The base itself is a concrete bunker in two floors. The place is crawling with Synths but some of the defense systems built by The Railroad lies dormant and can be activated by the sole survivor and can be used to take out some synths.

Notable loot

 * Fusion core in the lower level generator room.
 * A Covert Operations Manual in the central area flanked by two sets of staircases. Go up the stairs, it'll be on the right side of the desk. The room it's in overlooks a computer-filled work area.
 * Two hazmat suit can be found on a table on the second floor near where the quest item for Tradecraft is located.
 * One mini nuke on a shelf to the right of Carrington's prototype.
 * Two Stealth Boy on a metal shelf with Carrington's prototype
 * Fusion core by the elevator behind a locked security gate.
 * Deliverer, a silenced pistol obtained during the Tradecraft quest.

Appearances
The Switchboard appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * One of the terminals in this area lists DEFCON reports, and suggests that it may have been the Chinese that were the first to strike during the Great War (terminal specifically states "poss." as in "possibly"). The last entry shows that the system went offline at 09:47 hours, the same time shown on most of the clocks in the Commonwealth and the Capital Wasteland.
 * The secret elevator entrance hidden in a surface level laundromat may be a reference to the television show Archer.

Bugs
If you use the terminal in the main hall underneath the office with the Covert Operations Manual you might get stuck in between the chair and the desk. Saving and reloading will fix this.

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