The Rusting Monsters of Lopatino's Mines
|
|
"QUANTUM SHOT" #245Huge Mining Machines, Abandoned in Russian Countryside
The "haunted" Russian countryside is an interesting place, where artifacts of the faded glory of the Soviet Empire can still be found, and where no forest patch is what it seems - with possible history of awful things that you don't want to know...
In our last article we saw some strange electrical installations, this time let's have a look at the abandoned Lopatino Phosphate Mines. Located close to the Voskresensk city (70 km from Moscow), the area is still famous for its fossil beds (and even dinosaur skeletons) from the Jurassic period. It also happens to be very rich in phosphates. The mines once saw a lot of activity, but were closed with the Soviet economy's decline. Eventually the pits filled with water, and the rusting skeletons of the abandoned steel monsters, "guarding" these lakes, would be the only dinosaurs that you could find there.
The following photos were taken by various Russian photographers visiting the area: Courtesy Adella, Vol4enka, LongFello.
In its better days, this particular digger moved on rails and was capable of loading an entire train with phosphates in only half an hour.
Maybe it's not entirely dead yet, as it seems to eat cars for breakfast...
The monsters look even better in winter:
There are smaller dwellers in the area, as well:
The mineral deposits look somewhat like flying saucers, adding to the other-worldly feel of the place:
(images credit: Adella, Vol4enka, LongFello)
Vintage Mining Machines of the Soviet Empire
Eastern European countries developed a big mining industry in the 50s-70s. Just have a look at the former East German machinery on this page. It seems that the "bigger is better" bug struck the Communists early and they never recovered from it.
Photo of the huge 1957 digger and 1960 dredge unit, both Soviet-made.
Already in 1962 they used somewhat impressive trucks:
Some of the mining machines looked like something out of Theodore Sturgeon's "Killdozer!" story:
The vast abandoned pits of former East Germany's super-mining will be covered in a separate article.
Permanent Link...
Category: Technology,Weird
Related Posts:
Even Bigger Machines Dig Bigger Holes, The Biggest (and Hungriest) Machines
Dark Roasted Blend's Photography Gear Picks:
Your Comments:
|
|
5
comments
|
READ LATEST POSTS:
|
May 16, 2008 - Quantum Shot #421 Extraordinary Art from Metal Made from "found" and military scrap objects |
|
May 14, 2008 - Biscotti Bits Mixed Links & Images incl. "A Giant Snail" |
COMMENTS:
|
SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS: Fiction Reviews: William Gibson Stories Novella Review: Charles Stross "Missile Gap" Rare Pulp Fiction: Apocalyptic Blockbusters |
MORE RECENT POSTS:
|
Anteater Coolness Life with two anteaters in the house |
|
Weird Inventions by Guys, Part 7 Special Summer Selection! |
|
World's Smallest Cars, Part 2 Great things come in small packages |
|
Soviet Futuristic Illustration: Oodles of Optimism Black-and-white rare series of images |
|
Funny Animals, Part 11 Natural hilarity reaches a new high |
|
Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 2 Manic-Depressive Creativity |
|
Shipwrecks & Sea Disasters The Beauty & the mystery of the wrecked ships |
|
Unforgettable Faces, Part 3 Cast your vote for the most entertaining expression |
|
The Tasty Art of Chocolate & Candy Never eat an Easter Chocolate Bunny Again |
|
The "Falling Towers" of New Chinese TV Center Radical architecture for outdated propaganda machine |
|
Out-of-This-World Fishing Big Fish Extravaganza, Part 2 |
|
Senseless Signage, Part 10 Don't try to figure these signs out. Get a GPS instead. |
|
Are You... You? The Wonderful World of Parasites |
|
Commercialized Clouds Lucy in the Sky with Logotypes |
|
You Know You Want This... Steampunk Gear Masterpieces plus interview with "Aaron Adding Machines" |
|
Smile! You're in Politics (Funny Pics) Politicians in paroxysms of thought and deliberation |
|
World's Strangest Vehicles, Part 4 Sheer Auto Adrenaline! |
|
Extreme Exploration: Russian Nuclear Research Facilities Deep under the mountain, or in the world's deepest lake |
|
Miniature Spy Guns, Part 2 Do not move while I destroy you, Mr Bond |
|
Never Give Up! (Funny Pics) Crazy Logistics, Issue 8 |
|
Most Beautiful Fractals Infinite possibilities for art |
|
Cool Ads, Issue 10 Visually arresting and deliciously weird |
|
Japanese Creative Barcodes Cut out your UPC label and... frame it! |
|
The Geekiest LEGOs & Rubik's Cubes The world of twisted dimensions |
|
Disturbing Wiring, Part 4 More Tangled Awesomeness |
|
Russian Nuclear Icebreakers: To the North Pole! Odyssey in the Arctic with Russian Icebreaker Fleet |
|
The Deadliest Creatures (Most Easy to Miss) The Real Terror Lurks in Quiet Darkness |
|
Strangest Christian Products & Signs Repent! the end of good taste is in sight! |
|
Lovely Ladies of Yesteryear, Part 2 Vintage eye-candy, guaranteed (very mildly nsfw) |
|
Fear & Loathing inside Abandoned Stalin's Mines Fire & Ice Underground |
|
Armenia: The Epic Land This kind of nature needs an IMAX |
|
Time Machine: World's Biggest Collider Have a loophole in time, will travel |
|
Airplane Oops! Situations Part 2 Aviation Safety for Dummies |
MORE OF THE RECENT POSTS:
FULL ARCHIVES (with previews, fast loading):
April 2008 -- March 2008
February 2008 -- January 2008 -- December 2007 -- November 2007
October 2007 -- September, 2007 -- August 2007 -- July 2007
June 2007 -- May 2007 -- April 2007 -- March 2007 -- February 2007
January 2007 -- December 2006 -- November 2006 -- October 2006
Link Latte archives
CATEGORIES:
airplanes | animals | architecture | art | auto | boats | books | cool ads | funny pics |
futurism | food | gadgets | health | history | humour | internet | link latte | military |
music | nature | photo | science | science fiction & fantasy | signs | space | sports |
technology | trains | travel | vintage | weird
5 Comments:
Love the site.
Put these coordinates into Google Maps, and you can see the machines in the satellite view.
latitude: 55.26821191135916
longitude: 38.81821632385254
I have too much time on my hands.
Wow! Those old machines make my welder's heart go pitty-pat! I make "found" metal art and those babies would keep me busy for a whole lotta years. Looks like the Russian countryside is pretty, doesn't it?
Forests in Central Russia have much in common with old English forests, quiet small rivers, practically pristine lakes and rolling hills. Not bad, but there are some creepy places, ghost villages and weird strangers. Be prepared for lots of surprises.
These are really spectacular photos! I spent a summer touring Russia with an orchestra, and I saw a great number of hulking Soviet relics dotting the countryside.
These photos are fantastic! This old machines are fearful and marvellous!
Post a Comment
<< Home