Came across this video of abandoned trains and wondered whether anyone can identify where these may be or if these are old photos. Many are obviously not US but some are and those are the ones I am curious about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKQYrrJVg6g
Thanks
Wow!
If it wasn’t for some items with graffiti on them I almost would think the end of the world had come, and a few survivors took the photos and sent them back to us via time travel!
Somehow I sense everything viewed is out of the U.S., even the GG1’s and other obvious U.S. made units that are likely now overseas.
As far as I know no GG-1 was ever exported, before or after service.
There were look-alikes to New Haven units in Brazil.
Those photos include the USA but also South America, Spain, East Europe and Russia.
M636C
I have seen many of the photos before on other sites. Did a quick search of some photo sites I have linked, but did not run across any of the USA photos
RENFE high speed train at 0:12 Spain
EWS diesel at 1:02: English Welsh and Scotish
Steam Engines atb 2:41 Bolivia
Other photos are from: Russia, Africa, and ?.
Almost all the pictured items are out of the US. The GG1s are the pair in Cooperstown which are now effectively stranded due to CSX not allowing them to move on their own bearings (as of 6/15). If I remember correctly, the PCC trolley ‘graveyard’ is somewhere near Philadelphia. The bilevels were for sale; I think we have discussed them in either ‘transit’ or ‘passenger’ at some point.
I have seen many of these pictures befroe on other sites. Some of the pictures are in the US, but may have been taken decades before. Some of the smaller engines aren’t really locomotives but displays (the flanges on the “drivers” are made of sheet metal), some of the engines are more in the “unrestored” than the abandoned category. Some of the engines are retired and waiting scrapping or rebuilding (ex. the Delaware & Otsego Alco with a NYSW Alco behind it).
The video definately has a creepy “Life After People” quality to it.
I watched a video a couple of weeks ago regarding just this topic. In it were a few older locomotives. I believe one was a GP9. Then there were the cars. What struck me as odd was the fact that the rails looked like they were recently traveled upon by some form of rail traffic. The cars looked un used, but not broken up or anything like that. The locomotive was actually pretty cool looking. Not sure if it was working or not, but the fellow that made the video called this find, abandoned.
Anyway, let’s just say for the record, I am dubious about his claims.
While I have seen many of the scenes depicted in other videos, what strkes me most is the abandonded equipement in abandoned terminals - both indoor and outdoor. Whole operations that lost their economic lives and reason for existing.
Per Jack R.'s comment, I’ve seen some videos of supposedly “abandoned” trains that fit the description of what he saw to a T. Turns out many of them are perfectly serviceable pieces of equipment on storage tracks that come and go over time.
No mistaking the abandoned description in the linked video, however.
Wonder where this series was shot?
Probably Windber, PA:
Cool, thanks!!
That certainly looks like a PCC car in the background. I read somewhere there was a guy in Pennsylvania who wanted to open a trolley museum, but the plan went bust. He’s gone but the trolleys are still where he left them.
Looks possible. However when I did a Google photo search. Came up with a bunch of articles like this, North Carolina:
Then on Printerest found this, Pennsylvania:
http://abandonedonline.net/locations/railroads/vintage-electric-streetcar-company/
Confusing. On Printerest same photo is used for a link to a North Carolina article and a Pennsyvania article.
Based on this https://northcarolinaroom.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/no-streetcar-graveyard-here/ I now think Pennsylvania may be the correct location despite all the links to North Carolina.
Google Earth
40’14"08N 78’49"18W
From Roadside America - Saluda, North Carolina: Train Graveyard (Gone) Jan. 2010
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3175
If you pan right in Google Earth, (Wizlish’s link) there are what looks like streetcars, The photo could be from there.
A couple of the photos were pretty obviously of a scrapyard. (Stacked car and locomotive bodies.) One (A side dump and another car) was of CLEARLY in-service equipment with well polished wheels. I’m convinced at least a couple of photos (complete trains in a station) were in the Chernobyl fallout zone.
The first locomotive in the video is a German-built Class 42 or 52 2-10-0 war Emergency locomotive, obviously in some railway collection (the semi-Vandy tender is the clue). Judging from the buffer, the locomotive to the left is probably pre-WWI. The second locomotive is a German Class 41 2-8-2, also in a museum; the locomotive in the background to the right is in far better shape.
The picture at 2:25 I’d bet was taken in Switzerland.
1:55 somewhere in Europe.
2:16 looks like a British Mk3 coach (the coupler!)
2:38 certainly look like former Soviet EMUs, but the unit in left foreground is not lettered in cyrillic, so I’d guess somewhere in the Baltic republics
3:10 a liquid-iron car somewhere in Europe (screw-link coupling)
4:54 looks like a Garratt, so maybe South Africa
6:45 is a Soviet EMU (class ER, built in Riga?)
7:25 is a lineup of former east German 1100 hp mixed-traffic diesels, probably inactive, but the loco in front is not long out of service.
Most of the rest are from the US and South America.