--- title: Exploring Abandoned Trains from Around the Globe description: "Today, the train symbolizes a better possible future for many in the western world. Environmentally friendly, convenient, and socially progressive, trains now represent an opportunity to undo some of the mistakes of post-industrial development.\n\nYet, a railway map of the United Kingdom from 1900 paints a startling picture. Between 1850 and 1900, the national rail network added between 80 and 200 stations annually. But in 1963, the British Railway Board published the Beeching Report, severely criticizing the inefficiencies of the British Rail network. Thousands of stations and thousands of miles of track were closed in the following decades, and other countries followed suit. The world had left trains behind. Many continue to argue that all of this was a grievous error.\n\nReform, they say, is a \"slow train coming.\" Today, abandoned trains rust in graveyards around the world. A haunting symbol of what might have been. Here are some of those magnificent beasts:\n\n## ER22: The Soviet Jet Train\n\nLooking like something out of a Fallout game rather than an actual means of transport, this experimental Soviet turbojet train was once capable of cruising at 250 kph (160 mph). Originally weighing 54 tonnes, the ER22 was to power a new generation of high-speed trains.\n\nThe project failed due to the extremely high cost of a gas-guzzling airplane engine. The concept was tested in the USA and France but proved loud and exceedingly dangerous to people not onboard the train. This, and the high-maintenance costs of jet engines, were the death of the ER22. It sits abandoned outside Tver, Russia, a bizarre reminder of a more hopeful age.\n\nYet there were other trains to try to adapt airplane propulsion for rail service. German inventor Otto Steinitz developed a turboprop-powered train in 1919, and Russia's own \"Aerowagon\" was created by Valerian Abakovsky in 1921, and he and eight confederates died testing it. Unsurprisingly, the concept did not catch on.\n\n## The Fugitive Train Wreck\n\nSpeaking of wrecks, there's one famous example you may have already seen, now owned by the Historical Smoky Mountain Railway, a preservation society, in Dillsboro, North Carolina. This CSX U18B 1901 was featured in the 1993 film *The Fugitive*, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. In the movie, the train strikes the prison bus transporting Ford's character, allowing him to escape.\n\nThe scene's visceral sense of authentic danger is thanks to a real train and bus rather than miniatures. This was all in the days before CGI could have been used. Sixteen cameras captured the CSX striking the bus, which tore it in half, and explosive charges were placed along the rail line to derail the engine. Cameras were placed in both vehicles, and only one shot used models – the one in which the train first makes contact with the bus. Obviously, they couldn't have Harrison Ford jumping off an actual bus being hit by a train, so these two shots were put together using models and a green screen.\n\nThe film crew was only budgeted for this single attempt, which was a stunning success. If you'd like to visit the wreck, well, you can. The preservation society requested that it be left in place; it is still a tourist attraction today.\n\n## \"Cementerio de Trenes\" in Bolivia\n\nHere's another movie scene: there is a cemetery of trains in the salt flats of Uyuni, Bolivia, in what looks like the perfect location for a *Mad Max* film. It's one of the oldest trainyards in the world, with over 100 rail cars, all thoroughly rusted by the salty winds.\n\nMost of the trains in this graveyard originated in Britain in the early 20th century. They once served the \"Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia,\" the first freight line in Bolivia, hauling silver, gold, and other precious metals to ports on the Pacific Ocean. A collapse of the local mining industry in the 1940s saw most freight trains consigned to this desert wasteland.\n\nToday, Salar De Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, is a significant tourist destination, and the trains are enjoyed by thousands of tourists each year. Local legend even states that one of the trains, La Unión, was held up by real-life outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1908, though no proof has ever been found.\n\n## The Nazi Gold Train, Walbrzch, Poland\n\nIf it exists, the fabled Wałbrzych Gold Train, or Nazi Gold Train, would be a valuable find.\n\nLegend says that during the last months of World War II, the Nazis loaded an armored train full of gold and other plundered treasures in Breslau (now Wrocław). Its destination was Project Riese, in the Owl Mountains. It was an unfinished system of tunnels and defensive works intended to serve as a \"final redoubt\" for Nazi Germany in Western Poland, under Książ Castle.\n\nWhile the complex is there, unfinished, most historians now consider the story to be apocryphal. Many similar trains did exist and delivered Nazi treasures to secure locations throughout the Reich, but none seems to have gone missing. The Polish government scoured the warrens of Riese and never found anything.\n\nStill, rumors continue to circulate of \"death bed confessions\" and \"government leaks,\" continually generating media attention and inspiring urban explorers to enter the abandoned tunnels illegally in search of the 300 tons of Nazi gold said to be there.\n\nA media sensation flared up again in 2016 when the owners of a mine exploration company got permission from the Polish State Railways to excavate a section of ground at kilometer 65 of the Wrocław–Wałbrzych rail spur. While there was some evidence of a potential collapsed tunnel, the digging halted when no rail tracks or signs of a train appeared.\n\nPerhaps that's all to the good for the local economy. Of the whole affair, a spokesman for the mayor of the local town of Walbrzych quoted in the *New York Times* said:\n\n> \"the publicity the town has gotten in the global media is worth roughly around $200 million. Our annual budget for promotion is $380,000, so think about that. Whether the explorers find anything or not, that the gold train has already arrived.\"\n\n## The Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines\n\nAbandoned by a logging company in 1933, the Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines stand today as a reminder of how quickly nature erases any sign of our presence. Today, the two engines, trucked inland to carry pulpwood logs to a paper mill by the upper Allagash River, occupy a short stretch of track deep in the woods of Maine. It's as if they appeared from nowhere, surrounded by now fully-grown trees.\n\nThese relatively new and pristine engines were abandoned when the logging company paused operations due to the Great Depression. By the time logging resumed, trucks were considered more economical, and the engines were left to rust. The forest service removed their dangerous asbestos insulation in 1995 so new generations of tourists could enjoy the trains safely.\n\n## The GG1 Electric, Charlotte Valley, New York\n\nThis old veteran still has a chance at another life. A GG1 General Electric, designed by Donald Dohner and Raymond Loewy in the 1930s, this locomotive is one of only 139 originally produced. These beautiful art deco-inspired trains once ran on the Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak systems. The last one retired in 1983 after 50 years of service. Sixteen of them are in museums, and this example, sitting in Charlotte Valley, New York, is hopefully destined for a heritage railway owned by the Henry Ford Museum.\n\nElectric trains of the era were fast, reaching up to 100 mph (160 kph). It was powered by Twelve 385 horsepower AC commutator motors, which have higher torque and speed than induction motors. A steam heater from the locomotive warmed the train's passenger carriages. This was the type of engine which hauled Robert F. Kennedy's funeral train from Penn Station, New York, to Washington D.C.\n\n## Thessaloniki Train Cemetery, Greece\n\nThe Thessaloniki train cemetery was begun in the 1980s by The Hellenic Railways Organization, Greece's national rail company. The trains left in this yard are not among the most glamorous models in the world, but they are open to the public.\n\nGreece's unique and difficult geography always presented a challenge to railway engineers. In the early 20th century, a trip from Athens to Kalambaka, just 355 kilometers away, would have taken more than 24 hours. By 2010, the Greek national railways were deep in debt thanks to their exploding pension expenses. About 5 percent of the Greek GDP was owed by the railways. Economists argued that it had become cheaper to transport every railway passenger in Greece by private taxi rather than continue to operate the trains. Many lines were subsequently closed.\n\nThese veterans represent a more optimistic era when the Greek economy was booming in the 1970s and 1980s when railways were expanding. Now, more than 30 years later, they serve as a reminder of better times.\n\n## The Red Star Graveyard, Budapest\n\nHere's a rail landmark you probably can't visit. It's the Istvántelek Train Yard, known to trainspotters as the Red Star Graveyard. Sitting on a large plot outside of Budapest, Hungary, Istvántelek is closed to the public. You would need written permission from the government to visit, and that's probably because amongst the more than 100 locomotives and cars, there are said to be cattle cars and engines that once transported Jews, Roma, and Poles to the death camp at Auschwitz, during the Second World War.\n\nStill visible at Istvántelek are trains bearing the red star of Stalin's USSR. Soviet passenger tickets from the 1960s are said to be scattered about some of the newer cars in the yard.\n\n## The Railway of the Dead, Siberia\n\nSpeaking of the macabre, our last stop is a chilling reminder of the dangers of authoritarianism and ego. Nicknamed \"The Dead Road,\" the Salehard-Igarka Railway is a chilling reminder of a dark period in human history. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin personally commissioned this stretch of track as a part of his \"Gulag Archipelago,\" which stretched from forced labor camps in central Russia to the nickel mines of Siberia, in which millions of Soviet citizens worked and died in horrific conditions.\n\nThe slave labor system of the Gulag primarily served as a means of dominating the Soviet population and terrorizing any political opposition. It was marked by foolhardy construction projects like Salehard-Igarka, which cost the lives of thousands of workers who died of malnutrition or exposure to the arctic conditions. The \"dead road\" was built to connect a planned deep water port at the Gulf of Ob near Mys Kameny with the railways of the Polar Ural region. This would have provided rail access to the region from Moscow, providing a direct route from the capital to Siberia.\n\nYet the project was a massive folly, marked by absurdity and death. After two years of construction, engineers discovered that the Gulf of Ob was too shallow for a deep-water port. So, Stalin decided to extend the railway by land all the way to the city of Igarka, 906 miles (1,459 kilometers) away. A railway across permafrost is a stupendously bad idea. The frozen land shifts and flows over time, causing the lines to constantly bend back and forth, up and down, breaking everywhere. Where the tracks crossed rivers, cars were loaded onto ferries, and in winter, tracks would be laid across the river ice.\n\nThe Gulag workers who built the railway often worked without the benefit of heavy equipment, cutting logs by hand in the cold, all so that in a year or two, the rail line would be unrecognizable and impassable yet again. Kruschev axed the line immediately after Stalin died in 1953. It was an embarrassment to Soviet leadership that most wished to quietly forget.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- Trains are seen as a symbol of a better, more sustainable future in the western world.\n- The UK's rail network significantly expanded in the late 19th century, but many stations and tracks were closed in the mid-20th century.\n- The Soviet ER22 jet train was an experimental high-speed train that failed due to high costs and safety issues.\n- Abandoned trains around the world serve as reminders of past technological ambitions and economic changes.\n- The Salehard-Igarka Railway in Siberia was a failed project during Stalin's era, marked by high death tolls and impractical engineering.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What was the Beeching Report?\n\nThe Beeching Report was published by the British Railway Board in 1963, severely criticizing the inefficiencies of the British Rail network. It led to the closure of thousands of stations and miles of track in the following decades.\n\n### What happened to the ER22 Soviet jet train?\n\nThe ER22 Soviet jet train was abandoned outside Tver, Russia. The project failed due to the high cost and maintenance of jet engines, as well as safety concerns.\n\n### Where can I see the train wreck from the movie 'The Fugitive'?\n\nThe train wreck from 'The Fugitive' is owned by the Historical Smoky Mountain Railway in Dillsboro, North Carolina, and is still a tourist attraction today.\n\n### What is the 'Cementerio de Trenes' in Bolivia?\n\nThe 'Cementerio de Trenes' is a cemetery of trains in the salt flats of Uyuni, Bolivia. It features over 100 rusted rail cars, many of which originated in Britain in the early 20th century.\n\n### What is the story behind the Nazi Gold Train in Poland?\n\nThe Nazi Gold Train is a legend about an armored train loaded with gold and treasures by the Nazis during World War II. Despite numerous searches, no evidence of the train has been found, and most historians consider the story apocryphal.\n\n### What are the Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines?\n\nThe Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines are two abandoned locomotives in Maine, left by a logging company in 1933. They are now surrounded by fully-grown trees and are a popular tourist attraction.\n\n### What is the Thessaloniki Train Cemetery?\n\nThe Thessaloniki Train Cemetery is a collection of abandoned trains in Greece, begun in the 1980s by The Hellenic Railways Organization. It serves as a reminder of a more optimistic era when the Greek economy was booming.\n\n### What is the Red Star Graveyard in Budapest?\n\nThe Red Star Graveyard, also known as the Istvántelek Train Yard, is a large plot outside of Budapest, Hungary, containing over 100 locomotives and cars. It is closed to the public and includes trains used during World War II.\n\n### What is the Salehard-Igarka Railway in Siberia?\n\nThe Salehard-Igarka Railway, nicknamed 'The Dead Road,' was commissioned by Joseph Stalin as part of the Gulag system. It was built using slave labor and was marked by absurdity and death, with thousands of workers dying during its construction.\n\n### What is the GG1 Electric locomotive?\n\nThe GG1 Electric locomotive is an art deco-inspired train designed in the 1930s. It was used on the Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak systems and is known for its speed and efficiency. One example is hoped to be restored for a heritage railway owned by the Henry Ford Museum.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original Side Projects video: Exploring Abandoned Trains from Around the Globe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtdJgUgad3M)\n\n## Related Coverage" url: https://sideprojects.pub/article/exploring-abandoned-trains-from-around-the-globe.md canonical: https://sideprojects.pub/article/exploring-abandoned-trains-from-around-the-globe datePublished: 2026-06-25 dateModified: 2026-06-25 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://sideprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler publisher: Side Projects image: "https://media.sideprojects.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/EtdJgUgad3M/hero.jpg" type: NewsArticle contentHash: 70779a5362ad4aa8a114c448c8f08e20d495eb864dc143c9ccc766282c7f08d1 tokens: 3805 summaryUrl: https://sideprojects.pub/article/exploring-abandoned-trains-from-around-the-globe.md.summary.md --- Today, the train symbolizes a better possible future for many in the western world. Environmentally friendly, convenient, and socially progressive, trains now represent an opportunity to undo some of the mistakes of post-industrial development. Yet, a railway map of the United Kingdom from 1900 paints a startling picture. Between 1850 and 1900, the national rail network added between 80 and 200 stations annually. But in 1963, the British Railway Board published the Beeching Report, severely criticizing the inefficiencies of the British Rail network. Thousands of stations and thousands of miles of track were closed in the following decades, and other countries followed suit. The world had left trains behind. Many continue to argue that all of this was a grievous error. Reform, they say, is a "slow train coming." Today, abandoned trains rust in graveyards around the world. A haunting symbol of what might have been. Here are some of those magnificent beasts: ## ER22: The Soviet Jet Train Looking like something out of a Fallout game rather than an actual means of transport, this experimental Soviet turbojet train was once capable of cruising at 250 kph (160 mph). Originally weighing 54 tonnes, the ER22 was to power a new generation of high-speed trains. The project failed due to the extremely high cost of a gas-guzzling airplane engine. The concept was tested in the USA and France but proved loud and exceedingly dangerous to people not onboard the train. This, and the high-maintenance costs of jet engines, were the death of the ER22. It sits abandoned outside Tver, Russia, a bizarre reminder of a more hopeful age. Yet there were other trains to try to adapt airplane propulsion for rail service. German inventor Otto Steinitz developed a turboprop-powered train in 1919, and Russia's own "Aerowagon" was created by Valerian Abakovsky in 1921, and he and eight confederates died testing it. Unsurprisingly, the concept did not catch on. ## The Fugitive Train Wreck Speaking of wrecks, there's one famous example you may have already seen, now owned by the Historical Smoky Mountain Railway, a preservation society, in Dillsboro, North Carolina. This CSX U18B 1901 was featured in the 1993 film *The Fugitive*, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. In the movie, the train strikes the prison bus transporting Ford's character, allowing him to escape. The scene's visceral sense of authentic danger is thanks to a real train and bus rather than miniatures. This was all in the days before CGI could have been used. Sixteen cameras captured the CSX striking the bus, which tore it in half, and explosive charges were placed along the rail line to derail the engine. Cameras were placed in both vehicles, and only one shot used models – the one in which the train first makes contact with the bus. Obviously, they couldn't have Harrison Ford jumping off an actual bus being hit by a train, so these two shots were put together using models and a green screen. The film crew was only budgeted for this single attempt, which was a stunning success. If you'd like to visit the wreck, well, you can. The preservation society requested that it be left in place; it is still a tourist attraction today. ## "Cementerio de Trenes" in Bolivia Here's another movie scene: there is a cemetery of trains in the salt flats of Uyuni, Bolivia, in what looks like the perfect location for a *Mad Max* film. It's one of the oldest trainyards in the world, with over 100 rail cars, all thoroughly rusted by the salty winds. Most of the trains in this graveyard originated in Britain in the early 20th century. They once served the "Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia," the first freight line in Bolivia, hauling silver, gold, and other precious metals to ports on the Pacific Ocean. A collapse of the local mining industry in the 1940s saw most freight trains consigned to this desert wasteland. Today, Salar De Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, is a significant tourist destination, and the trains are enjoyed by thousands of tourists each year. Local legend even states that one of the trains, La Unión, was held up by real-life outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1908, though no proof has ever been found. ## The Nazi Gold Train, Walbrzch, Poland If it exists, the fabled Wałbrzych Gold Train, or Nazi Gold Train, would be a valuable find. Legend says that during the last months of World War II, the Nazis loaded an armored train full of gold and other plundered treasures in Breslau (now Wrocław). Its destination was Project Riese, in the Owl Mountains. It was an unfinished system of tunnels and defensive works intended to serve as a "final redoubt" for Nazi Germany in Western Poland, under Książ Castle. While the complex is there, unfinished, most historians now consider the story to be apocryphal. Many similar trains did exist and delivered Nazi treasures to secure locations throughout the Reich, but none seems to have gone missing. The Polish government scoured the warrens of Riese and never found anything. Still, rumors continue to circulate of "death bed confessions" and "government leaks," continually generating media attention and inspiring urban explorers to enter the abandoned tunnels illegally in search of the 300 tons of Nazi gold said to be there. A media sensation flared up again in 2016 when the owners of a mine exploration company got permission from the Polish State Railways to excavate a section of ground at kilometer 65 of the Wrocław–Wałbrzych rail spur. While there was some evidence of a potential collapsed tunnel, the digging halted when no rail tracks or signs of a train appeared. Perhaps that's all to the good for the local economy. Of the whole affair, a spokesman for the mayor of the local town of Walbrzych quoted in the *New York Times* said: > "the publicity the town has gotten in the global media is worth roughly around $200 million. Our annual budget for promotion is $380,000, so think about that. Whether the explorers find anything or not, that the gold train has already arrived." ## The Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines Abandoned by a logging company in 1933, the Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines stand today as a reminder of how quickly nature erases any sign of our presence. Today, the two engines, trucked inland to carry pulpwood logs to a paper mill by the upper Allagash River, occupy a short stretch of track deep in the woods of Maine. It's as if they appeared from nowhere, surrounded by now fully-grown trees. These relatively new and pristine engines were abandoned when the logging company paused operations due to the Great Depression. By the time logging resumed, trucks were considered more economical, and the engines were left to rust. The forest service removed their dangerous asbestos insulation in 1995 so new generations of tourists could enjoy the trains safely. ## The GG1 Electric, Charlotte Valley, New York This old veteran still has a chance at another life. A GG1 General Electric, designed by Donald Dohner and Raymond Loewy in the 1930s, this locomotive is one of only 139 originally produced. These beautiful art deco-inspired trains once ran on the Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak systems. The last one retired in 1983 after 50 years of service. Sixteen of them are in museums, and this example, sitting in Charlotte Valley, New York, is hopefully destined for a heritage railway owned by the Henry Ford Museum. Electric trains of the era were fast, reaching up to 100 mph (160 kph). It was powered by Twelve 385 horsepower AC commutator motors, which have higher torque and speed than induction motors. A steam heater from the locomotive warmed the train's passenger carriages. This was the type of engine which hauled Robert F. Kennedy's funeral train from Penn Station, New York, to Washington D.C. ## Thessaloniki Train Cemetery, Greece The Thessaloniki train cemetery was begun in the 1980s by The Hellenic Railways Organization, Greece's national rail company. The trains left in this yard are not among the most glamorous models in the world, but they are open to the public. Greece's unique and difficult geography always presented a challenge to railway engineers. In the early 20th century, a trip from Athens to Kalambaka, just 355 kilometers away, would have taken more than 24 hours. By 2010, the Greek national railways were deep in debt thanks to their exploding pension expenses. About 5 percent of the Greek GDP was owed by the railways. Economists argued that it had become cheaper to transport every railway passenger in Greece by private taxi rather than continue to operate the trains. Many lines were subsequently closed. These veterans represent a more optimistic era when the Greek economy was booming in the 1970s and 1980s when railways were expanding. Now, more than 30 years later, they serve as a reminder of better times. ## The Red Star Graveyard, Budapest Here's a rail landmark you probably can't visit. It's the Istvántelek Train Yard, known to trainspotters as the Red Star Graveyard. Sitting on a large plot outside of Budapest, Hungary, Istvántelek is closed to the public. You would need written permission from the government to visit, and that's probably because amongst the more than 100 locomotives and cars, there are said to be cattle cars and engines that once transported Jews, Roma, and Poles to the death camp at Auschwitz, during the Second World War. Still visible at Istvántelek are trains bearing the red star of Stalin's USSR. Soviet passenger tickets from the 1960s are said to be scattered about some of the newer cars in the yard. ## The Railway of the Dead, Siberia Speaking of the macabre, our last stop is a chilling reminder of the dangers of authoritarianism and ego. Nicknamed "The Dead Road," the Salehard-Igarka Railway is a chilling reminder of a dark period in human history. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin personally commissioned this stretch of track as a part of his "Gulag Archipelago," which stretched from forced labor camps in central Russia to the nickel mines of Siberia, in which millions of Soviet citizens worked and died in horrific conditions. The slave labor system of the Gulag primarily served as a means of dominating the Soviet population and terrorizing any political opposition. It was marked by foolhardy construction projects like Salehard-Igarka, which cost the lives of thousands of workers who died of malnutrition or exposure to the arctic conditions. The "dead road" was built to connect a planned deep water port at the Gulf of Ob near Mys Kameny with the railways of the Polar Ural region. This would have provided rail access to the region from Moscow, providing a direct route from the capital to Siberia. Yet the project was a massive folly, marked by absurdity and death. After two years of construction, engineers discovered that the Gulf of Ob was too shallow for a deep-water port. So, Stalin decided to extend the railway by land all the way to the city of Igarka, 906 miles (1,459 kilometers) away. A railway across permafrost is a stupendously bad idea. The frozen land shifts and flows over time, causing the lines to constantly bend back and forth, up and down, breaking everywhere. Where the tracks crossed rivers, cars were loaded onto ferries, and in winter, tracks would be laid across the river ice. The Gulag workers who built the railway often worked without the benefit of heavy equipment, cutting logs by hand in the cold, all so that in a year or two, the rail line would be unrecognizable and impassable yet again. Kruschev axed the line immediately after Stalin died in 1953. It was an embarrassment to Soviet leadership that most wished to quietly forget. ## Key Takeaways - Trains are seen as a symbol of a better, more sustainable future in the western world. - The UK's rail network significantly expanded in the late 19th century, but many stations and tracks were closed in the mid-20th century. - The Soviet ER22 jet train was an experimental high-speed train that failed due to high costs and safety issues. - Abandoned trains around the world serve as reminders of past technological ambitions and economic changes. - The Salehard-Igarka Railway in Siberia was a failed project during Stalin's era, marked by high death tolls and impractical engineering. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What was the Beeching Report? The Beeching Report was published by the British Railway Board in 1963, severely criticizing the inefficiencies of the British Rail network. It led to the closure of thousands of stations and miles of track in the following decades. ### What happened to the ER22 Soviet jet train? The ER22 Soviet jet train was abandoned outside Tver, Russia. The project failed due to the high cost and maintenance of jet engines, as well as safety concerns. ### Where can I see the train wreck from the movie 'The Fugitive'? The train wreck from 'The Fugitive' is owned by the Historical Smoky Mountain Railway in Dillsboro, North Carolina, and is still a tourist attraction today. ### What is the 'Cementerio de Trenes' in Bolivia? The 'Cementerio de Trenes' is a cemetery of trains in the salt flats of Uyuni, Bolivia. It features over 100 rusted rail cars, many of which originated in Britain in the early 20th century. ### What is the story behind the Nazi Gold Train in Poland? The Nazi Gold Train is a legend about an armored train loaded with gold and treasures by the Nazis during World War II. Despite numerous searches, no evidence of the train has been found, and most historians consider the story apocryphal. ### What are the Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines? The Eagle Lake and West Branch Engines are two abandoned locomotives in Maine, left by a logging company in 1933. They are now surrounded by fully-grown trees and are a popular tourist attraction. ### What is the Thessaloniki Train Cemetery? The Thessaloniki Train Cemetery is a collection of abandoned trains in Greece, begun in the 1980s by The Hellenic Railways Organization. It serves as a reminder of a more optimistic era when the Greek economy was booming. ### What is the Red Star Graveyard in Budapest? The Red Star Graveyard, also known as the Istvántelek Train Yard, is a large plot outside of Budapest, Hungary, containing over 100 locomotives and cars. It is closed to the public and includes trains used during World War II. ### What is the Salehard-Igarka Railway in Siberia? The Salehard-Igarka Railway, nicknamed 'The Dead Road,' was commissioned by Joseph Stalin as part of the Gulag system. It was built using slave labor and was marked by absurdity and death, with thousands of workers dying during its construction. ### What is the GG1 Electric locomotive? The GG1 Electric locomotive is an art deco-inspired train designed in the 1930s. It was used on the Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak systems and is known for its speed and efficiency. One example is hoped to be restored for a heritage railway owned by the Henry Ford Museum. ## Sources - [Original Side Projects video: Exploring Abandoned Trains from Around the Globe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtdJgUgad3M) ## Related Coverage