drb rss about
suggest
advertise
subscribe
rss rss
rss

Friday, January 25, 2008

Train Graveyard in Bolivia


"QUANTUM SHOT" #358
link



Steam locomotives, rusting away in Dali's desert of time

In the first part of this travelogue, we showed the serene and fantastic beauty of the Uyuni's Salt Lake in Bolivia - the weird cactus forest, salt formations and volcanos surrounding one of the most desolate landscapes on Earth. We also mentioned the train graveyard, and now we have some pictures to prove it.

Torgeir Bull from Norway has recently traveled in these parts, and brought us a report... no less outlandish than the last article:



There were plans to develop the area near the city of Uyuni (3660 ft above the sea level) into a great railroad hub and terminal station. The construction started in the late 19th century, but was never completed. Today, the empty husks of steam locomotives are rusting away under the watchful sun, like some kind of discarded metal carapaces - while the soft pinky-flesh train "kiddies", no doubt, roam the desert, chewing on some lamas... A picture worthy of S. Dali, perhaps entitled "Time & Rust" -












(image credit: Travis)

Weird skulls and bones are spread here and there -





as the flattest plain on Earth recedes into vastness of space and time -





More shots of salt pyramid structures. Some of them are arranged into patterns only visible from space... just kidding.







Torgeir writes:
"...We traveled to the Uyuni Salt Pans, the largest in the world - a sea of salt, a fantasy world of its own. It looks like an endless frozen over lake or a white expanse of desert, and is actually the evidence of a prehistoric sea that existed there.

This site gives additional info: The lake's total area is 10,580 km2, average annual temperature ranges from 20°Celsius in the daytime to -25°C at night; the climate is dry and cold, with low rainfall and intense solar radiation. As a result of the instant evaporation of ground water that occurs in the southern high plateau due to the dryness of the air, enormous flat salt beds have formed, consisting mainly of the sodium chloride... The surface crust is 10 m thick, and the amount of salt in the Pans is estimated at 64000 millions tons"







The "forest" of giant cactuses - goes well with the playground of gutted steam trains.







To solidify the Salvador Dali connection, this area even has a (huge!) Dali rock -



and a "wave of lava" -


(images credit: Travis)

and so the Jeep disappears into a wide blue yonder -






More great Bolivia experiences

The road just outside Sucre. The roads during the rain season are not (read NOT) in good condition... The rock slides are common and buses have to navigate around them almost every 50 meters.





Many taxi drivers in Bolivia use imported cars, so they have to move the steering wheel over to the left side. This picture is taken from the right front seat.



Strange bridge found near a village. Image taken just before a bunch of dogs decided to go after us.



Even more fantastic bridge, found between Sucre and Potosi - styled after some fantasy castle:



A fitting ending to the bizarre country and landscape tour, the closest thing on Earth to the "Salvador Dali-Land" theme park.

READ PREVIOUS PART HERE

+StumbleUpon

Permanent Link...
Category: Travel,Weird
Related Posts:
Rusting Mosnters of Lopatino Mines, Creepy Abandoned Tunnels

Dark Roasted Blend's Photography Gear Picks:


READ LATEST POSTS:

May 10, 2008 - Quantum Shot #419
Weird Inventions by Guys, Part 7

Special Summer Selection!

May 9, 2008 - Biscotti Bits
Mixed Links & Images

incl. "Parkour, First Person View"
(for other daily "Biscotti" issues - see our main page)

COMMENTS:

5 Comments:

Blogger Spike said...

Those are some really amazing pictures. Thanks so much for sharing them.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those tracks look like they're still in use... no rust on the too.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wonderful pictures,

___  
Anonymous IISK said...

trust me, those tracks ARE rusted; but that doesn't mean they don't use them, hehe; in Bolivia we use stuff until they break, hahaha.

___  
Anonymous Trav said...

My wife and I went to Bolivia to see the salt flats based on a previous posting on DRB. It was truly amazing. It was really fun to play around in the train graveyard. The currently running train passes right by the old abandoned trains, hence the still used tracks. If you want to see more picture of the salt flats or the trains, I have a few (although not as good as these) up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mooreta79/

___  

Post a Comment

<< Home


SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS:
Fiction Reviews: William Gibson Stories
Novella Review: Charles Stross "Missile Gap"
Rare Pulp Fiction: Apocalyptic Blockbusters

MORE RECENT POSTS:


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:








Surreal Art Update
Funny Animals, Part 10
Worst Intersections & Traffic Jams
Radical Mannequins
Police can be Intense
Airship Dreams
Weird Inventions by Guys, 6
Russian Imperial Faberge Eggs
Most Elegant Skyscrapers
Gas Mask Fashion, Part 2
Discovering Iran, Part 2
Coolest Retro Devices
Moments in Sports, Part 6
Nightmare Playgrounds
Steam-Powered Messiah
Weirdest Accidents, Part 3
Huge Road Trains
Ladies in Space
Weird Signs, Part 9
Fallen Cranes Galore
World's Most Curious Ephemera
Mystery Plain of Jars in Laos
Overwhelmed at Work
Robots in Arts
Miniature Spy Guns
Love, Romance & Parenting
Tank Accidents, Part 2
Ice & Snow Carving Art
Train Graveyard in Bolivia
Retro-Future: Transportation
Painting with Light
Animals Having Fun, Part 9
- many more in the Archives and in the Contents Index (left bar)

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



Airplanes
Animals
Architecture
Art
Auto
Biscotti
Boats
Computers
Cool Ads
Food
Funny Pics
Futurism
Gadgets
Health
History
Humour
Link Latte
Military
Music
Nature
Photography
Science
Science Fiction

Space
Sports
Technology
Trains
Travel
Vintage
Weird






DRB feed on Twitter

Avi Abrams
Rachel Abrams
Erlend Aaseth
M. Christian
Michael Colwill
The Free Geek
James Golbey
Andrew N. Grimes
Jason Heath
Joshua S. Hill
Paul Schilperoord
Scott Seegert
Constantine vonHoffman

- Join Our Team -
Guidelines




  • the wired road is near aqua calientes in Peru, in the base of Macchu Pichu. its not Bolivia.
    Read more

  • The Asian Fashion Show took place in Le Grand Palais in Paris.

    It's strange!
    Read more

  • The "Asian Fashion Show" is mislabeled. It's the Chanel Spring 2008 show from Paris.


    http://fabsugar.com/978609
    Read more

  • A flying barbeque, that's got to be my favorite. And the vehicles with the screws... personal space needed indeed.
    Read more

  • The first picture is not a tube train, but a rotary dumper for a bulk cargo ship (coal, iron ore). Similar to a rotary railcar dumper used today .
    Read more

  • thanks, the pic is removed, I'm gonna use that pic for future boats post.
    Read more

  • The Flying Steam Liner is a picture from Michal Kwolek
    Read more

  • Are you sure "The Glider" is an Ekranoplane? It looks more like a hydrofoil, as it doesn't appear to have any engines above the water and the legs are definitely going into the water.
    Read more

  • (New) first pic is remarkably similar to modern "semi-submerged platform" ideas, though no current proposal I've heard of includes ice breaking.

    ...and apparently polar bears were in peril, even then...
    Read more

  • The sowjets built a vehicle with screw drive: http://youtube.com/watch?v=afJ18eJeNgU
    Read more

  • Here are some spiral trucks (pics & movies): http://englishrussia.com/?p=1160
    Read more

  • Chrysler had a screw drive vehicle like the Popular Science cover,they showed it in their TV ads in the 60s.
    Read more

  • Both the "largest helicopter" as well as the car credited to "Plan59" are actually by Radebaugh.
    Read more

  • Something like Navi-Trucks was used by the US Army- the BARC-LARC 60. Essentially a self propelled 60 ton barge with wheels to drive on land-

    http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/B/barcspecial/barc.html
    Read more

  • These people are working with Bell Helicopter.

    http://www.urbanaero.com/Urban_Main.htm
    Read more

  • Larger helicopters have been seriously proposed, though usually not as passenger transports. The Hiller Museum in San Carlos CA (south of SFO) has documents and a film from a (semi) serious proposal from Hiller to recover Saturn V booster stages in midair, using an enormous helicopter. I no longer recall the helicopter specs, but it was something like a 200 foot rotor turning at 10 RPM, with full-sized turbojet engines at the rotor tips.
    Read more

  • some very cool ideas for the future, but some very scary ones too, some even depicted women driving? whats all that about then ?
    Read more

  • Where are the jet-packs I remember as a kid?

    I just found this site and am loving it!
    Read more

  • Ahh those old computers and parts for them...where are they???Such things are missing in my collection...
    Read more

  • One of the playgrounds is actually in my hometown Turku in Finland.The on with the little boy inside the lilac woman's stomach. Here's a link to the park's site: http://www.elamystenmaa.fi/kupittaa/?p=11;14&lang=en
    Read more

  • The bullet video is actually incomplete. I've seen this one before, it is an anti-guns video, after the watermelon, a boy's head is shown, and some text comes into the screen where you would (not) expect the bullet.

    Here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U_CBZkuK-w
    Read more

  • Your site is one of my favourites - keep up the good work. :)
    About painting with light - check picture of Skoda Fabia on deviantART:
    http://jogiart.deviantart.com/art/Fabia-Light-45559125 which IMHO looks brilliant.
    Read more

  • this is the best work i have seen done ... the end ...
    Read more

  • these pictures are really facinating one i love it thanx for it

    jasmine
    tech-chek.blogspot.com
    Read more

  • Absolutely beautiful.
    It's a pure delight to look at these wonderful and creative images. Thanks so much for the post. Art
    Read more

  • "And yet, no matter how skillful you are as a painter, natural light is still the winner." No doubt! I love your blog! Nice work! Perhaps this is "light roasted!"
    Read more

  • Dark roasted coffee helps to lighten up the morning; that's at least the idea. Thank you Beverly.
    Read more

  • i just came across this site! i love it! BEST SITE EVER!

    by the way.. how is this light painting done??? anyone know?
    Read more

  • I am glad to get this link, wow, these are so cool! Amazing, Anna :)
    Read more

  • as always on your site it is a very good moment to look at all these pics, thank you for the share !
    Read more

  • WOW, those are some of the coolest, cutest, weirdest and most insane animal photos I have seen yet. Fantastic post. Thanks.
    Read more

  • The Rubiks cube ad was originally a short by Michel Gondry.
    Read more

  • Ummm that is BROCCOLI not cabbage!
    Read more

  • The caption read "Mickey's Army"
    Read more

  • where is the "Snail Bridge Crossing"?
    Read more