# MISC | Closed or abandoned railways



## IcyUrmel (Mar 1, 2006)

ScouseinManc said:


> IcyUrmel - your pictures are superb - thanks for sharing!!
> 
> It's good to see that an awful lot of history has been retained in Germany - such a shame that here in the UK, BR hastily solf off it's assetts & we don't have anything near as much.


Once again, I have to say that these were not my pictures. And the Website they're from - www.bahntrassenradeln.de - has much more to offer and is worth a visit.

But since the moment I posted these pictures and read your first positive feedback, I'm thinking about recording these tracks on video and place them on youtube in fast forward.
I can only hope this works properly on inline skates. Couldn't try it yet because of this horribly long winter...


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

While the US' passenger rail has been mostly abandoned, the freight traffic in the United States has exploded exponentially. 

The rails aren't moving as many people in the United States, but they've never been "used" as much in history. The rails are very overcrowded today, and there are multiple plans to expand the system before it bursts.

ton-miles of cargo:

1930: 427,000 million

2005: 1,500,000 million


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## ScouseinManc (Jun 23, 2006)

IcyUrmel said:


> But since the moment I posted these pictures and read your first positive feedback, I'm thinking about recording these tracks on video and place them on youtube in fast forward.
> I can only hope this works properly on inline skates. Couldn't try it yet because of this horribly long winter...


:lol:

Oh dear - sorry to hear it's still cold... It's starting to warm up quite nicely here now.

Will have a look at that website, you copied the link to. Cheers


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## LukeIRL (Dec 13, 2008)

Great thread - especially the posts from Russia and Argentina. It's amazing how much stock is left just rusting on the rails


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## IcyUrmel (Mar 1, 2006)

Today, in a TV report about New York City i saw a short sequence about the Highline in Dontown Manhattan. This spoiled my afternoon, because I could not stop reading about this marvelous project.


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## narflc (Nov 8, 2006)

But it seems like they put new rails there. What a waist.


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## IcyUrmel (Mar 1, 2006)

The "new" rails are in fact some very old ones. They were signed and removed in order to renovate the concrete structure, and now in some parts they are put in their old place again to create a more rail specific atmosphere.


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## narflc (Nov 8, 2006)

Ah... cool. As a train fan I always hated elevated trains... It'd be more healthy to remove all the elevated line. Don't u think?


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## zivan56 (Apr 29, 2005)

There are a bunch in Metro Vancouver. In Vancouver proper, there is the Arbutus Corridor, which snakes throughout Vancouver (downtown part is totally gone as is the bridge that ran across false creek). You can see parts of it around the city and most of it is intact. Part of it is now used for a small streetcar line and some of it has been converted into community gardens. There is no point to post pictures, since its just overgrown grass and old rails.

As for Downtown Vancouver, since Vancouver is a huge port, there used to be a bunch of railyards. Nowadays, the most expensive condos are located there. For example:
(all photos from globalairphotos.com)
Vancouver - Yaletown (1982)
This was I guess a decade or two after a giant railyard was abandoned here.








2008:









Vancouver - Coal Harbour (1985)









1997









2009:









In BC, since the sale of BC Rail, parts are as good as abandoned. An example is the electrified Tumbler Ridge subdivision, which has been de-electrified in 2001 or so. There also used to be a passenger rail service to the interior, which has since been abandoned as have some of the stations (now it only runs from Vancouver to Whistler by a luxury rail provider).
Most smaller lines are now owned by CN Rail and they are barely maintaining.


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## davsot (Dec 27, 2008)

@IcyUrmel: Dude, that park is completed...

http://www.thehighline.org/























































Is there anything like the Highline anywhere else in the world?


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## IcyUrmel (Mar 1, 2006)

davsot said:


> @IcyUrmel: Dude, that park is completed...


Davsot, I know it's completed, I just used some construction photos to show what the project is about. ALso, I wanted to have the rails on the pics to demonstrate the way they handle the historic elements of the line.
Anyway, I did not find many good pictures of the finished park yet, none on panoramio, nothing satisfying with google picture search. So thanks for this one, that's what I was searching for:












But this one needs a comment:










That's the way the high line looked before redevelopement.


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## narflc (Nov 8, 2006)

Why they don't remove de entire line? You could use the space as a green line too but at ground level.


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## Alvar Lavague (Aug 24, 2006)

davsot said:


> Is there anything like the Highline anywhere else in the world?


Yes, the "Coulée verte" in Paris constructed on an abandoned 19th-century railway viaduct. It was the first elevated park in the world.



















http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promenade_plantée


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## davsot (Dec 27, 2008)

^^^^ Thanks for that Alvar!


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

I never even knew what that el line was...


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## Alseimik (Aug 30, 2010)

One of many closed lines in Denmark, between the cities of Næstved and Slagelse, with a short side connection the the city Skelsør.

Its too bad its closed, it would have make the 1 hour long bus trip much shorter, the bus goes around all those small towns. Plus it would be possible to make a direct line from south of Næstved to Slagelse, which station all the trains headingto Copenhagen are going through, instead of going North-west to Slagelse, we have to go north by train. If this line still existed, it would cut of 20-30 minutes of travel I believe.

The rail track has only been used for 3 months, it was closed just after a renovation, so in fact, its some of the finest tracks, just not up to date with security etc. the reason they still are here, is that the military wanted it, if the USSR should invade us during the cold war.










A beautiful bridge crossing the Suså river, close to an old monastery just before Næstved.










On the bridge:










Picture of a DSB "fast" train at Skelskør Station long time ago:










A small shunter stranded at Skelskør station today:


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## Luli Pop (Jun 14, 2010)

davsot said:


> Is there anything like the Highline anywhere else in the world?


everything that now is innovative in urbanism and culture has been done at least 30 years before in France and Germany!

from 24hs museums, music parades, metro to airport, elevated gardens on abandoned railways, bicing, shared cars, underground highways, S-bahn, everything!



Narf just showed the "tip of the iceberg" of Argentinean abandoned railways. 
it's sad to say the situation is even worse. 
even infrastructure in use is quasi-abandoned.

the worst for me is to see thousands of abandoned trains and locos, and beautiful bridges everywhere, and remaining tram tracks of the biggest network ever. in 1920 90% of urban transport was done with electricity, now is just 20-30%... it's a heavy involution.

here you can see some pics of an abandoned line:

http://ferrocarrilestrenesyestaciones.blogspot.com/2010/11/la-compania-general-de-cargas-buenos.html

here some "classics" among abandoned infrastructure and also abandoned newer rolling stock:

http://ferrocarrilestrenesyestaciones.blogspot.com/


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Alot of the Railways here in the NE were abandoned , however the ROW are preserved by states for future use. Like you will see in my state , which plans on restoring 500 miles this decade alone. The stations are good shape , most have been rented out to small businesses. Alot of cities in the the NE depressed there Railways or buried them like in Boston , Philly and NYC , leaving lines like the High line abandoned...


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## sidney_jec (Jun 10, 2005)

The now abandoned steam locos in India


HERITAGE STEAM LOCO by vijvijvij, on Flickr


Indian Railways Loco 1976 by tdryther, on Flickr


3157 Indian Loco by Kim C Tomcat, on Flickr


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## SydneyCity (Nov 14, 2010)

There's a massive network of closed lines in Australia. Most were closed in the period between the 1960s and the 1980s, and some have been turned into rail trails.


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