Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A train graveyard at Uyuni, Bolivia


Most travellers who visit Uyuni, located at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above sea level up in the Andes of Bolivia are probably there for the famous Salar de Uyuni, the word's largest salt flat which is used for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites.

Another tourist attraction of Uyuni though is the 'Cementerio de trenes', the antique train cemetery, 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) outside the town. From the end of the 19th century till this day, Uyuni has been an important transportation hub for trains. The rail lines, constructed between 1888 and 1892, were built by British engineers who were invited by the British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies. For the next decades the trains were used for carrying minerals from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean ports.

During the 1940's the mining industry collapsed, partly because of mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned outside Uyuni, forming this mass train cemetery. The train cars and locomotives, many of them dating back to the early 20th century, are now rusted and eroded by the salt winds blowing over Uyuni. Many pieces of metal have been stolen as there is no fence or guards. 



SEE ALSO: More abandoned trains and railway stations around the world // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, May 20, 2013

An abandoned building complex in Taiwan

This abandoned building complex used to stand in the Zhongzheng district of Keelung city in northeastern Taiwan. The residential buildings were left unfinished and had been slowly overtaken by nature. 

According to flickr user cock_a_doodle who took these spectacular photos, the buildings which resemble Hashima, the ghost island of Japan, were demolished before 2012.






SEE ALSO: More abandoned ghost towns around the world // More abandoned places in Taiwan // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Friday, May 17, 2013

An abandoned mansion in the Philippines


"The Ruins" as the locals call it, is an abandoned mansion located in Talisay City in the Negros Occidental province of the Philippines

The mansion was the ancestral home of sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, built in the 1900's in memory of his wife Maria Braga, a Portuguese he met in Macao. In its time, it was the largest residential structure in the area. During the World War II the building was set alight by US forces in a bid to prevent the Japanese using it as their headquarters. The fire burnt for 3 days and when it was put out only the mansion was reduced to ruins. 

Starting in 2008, the beautifully preserved mansion opened to the public and is now visited by locals and tourists at any time of the day. 





SEE ALSO: More abandoned houses around the world // More abandoned places in the Philippines // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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Monday, May 6, 2013

Deserted football pitches from around the world

'Desert pitches' is a project of Australian photographer Dick Sweeney. Sweeney took photos of deserted football (soccer) pitches while travelling to remote places around the world. In many of these photos, the makeshift goalposts are the only signs of human presence. 


SEE ALSO: More abandoned sport facilities around the world // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES 
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