2005: Train Graveyard - Uyuni - Bolivia pictures on Worldisround

2005: Train Graveyard - Uyuni

Can someone tell me about any of these trains? Where built, year, any special significance or really cool features? I would like to have a deeper appreciation of what I saw. I really liked some of the wheel arrangements and configurations of the engines and water tanks.

Continuing on with the trip report...

At 8:15 the next morning (Thursday, 10 Feb) we began our day's journey to Potosí. First stop was a short detour to the train graveyard outside Uyuni. We were told to notice that the tracks had been built by the British and could distinguish between the British construction from American construction because the rails are tied down rather then spiked down. In fact, the British laid much of the railway system of South America. A couple of the trains had grafitti painted on them. One read, Asi es la vida, "Such is life". And another read, Necesito un mecanico con experencia, "I need a mechanic with experience". It was delightful to see these ancient relics so well preserved on the Bolivian altiplano. I took plenty of photos to share with my friend Sandy, who is a rail and steam engine buff, and hoped my resulting photography would be interesting to him. We only spent about twenty minutes here, so I had to work quickly. One of my regrets is not taking some detail shots of the wheels and other mechanical components of some of these trains.

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Come visit with me at http://travelerstogo.com/ by posting your follow-up questions in the Carribean, Mexico, Central & South American forum. My alias is Sharon Mc1, and I am the destination moderator for that forum -- I love talking about travel!

I recently wrote a practical travel guide for the Peruvian and Bolivian high Andes. I had a great deal of fun writing it, and particularly enjoyed writing the restaurant reviews. Here is the link:

http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogofrm21.showMessage?topicID=40.topic

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Articles in this series include:

Miami, Jupiter, & the Everglades (Florida) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141804/index.html

La Paz, Tiwanaku & Valley of the Moon (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141500/index.html

Oruro Carnival (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141977/index.html

Sajama National Park (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/143197/index.html

Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143714/index.html

Train Graveyard - Uyuni (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141742/index.html

Train Graveyard - Pulacayo (Bolivia) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/141647/index.html

Along the Road from Uyuni to Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/143868/index.html

Potosí (Bolivia) http://worldisround.com/articles/145509/index.html