Wonderful junk: world's coolest boneyards

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This was published 10 years ago

Wonderful junk: world's coolest boneyards

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When old machinery is no longer loved or wanted, it doesn't just disappear. Unless it's completely dismantled, an old plane, train or automobile has to be stored away somewhere to die a rusty death. Some of these graveyards – often known as boneyards – are more spectacular than others, however. And the most impressive turn into bizarre tourist attractions for travellers who like seeing industrial decay on a grand scale.

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The Uyuni train boneyard. Where: Uyuni, Bolivia. In Bolivia's south-western altiplano, a collection of old locomotives and carriages lies on the bleak flatlands, rusting away. A short drive or hike outside the town of Uyuni - usually tackled on the way to the spectacular salt pans nearby - this unofficial railroad cemetery came about through the death of a mineral mining industry.Credit:Getty Images

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309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. Where: Tucson, Arizona, USA. Occupying a vast stretch of plain in southern Arizona, the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (or AMARG for acronym fans) is where old planes go into retirement. Most of them are ex-military, but they're kept here because the dry air means they're less likely to rust.Credit:Alamy

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Scapa Flow. Where: Orkney, Scotland. At the end of World War I, while the Allies were plotting precisely how hard they wanted to punish Germany for kicking the whole thing off, there was the question of what to do with the German naval fleet. While discussions continued, 74 ships were impounded at the Royal Navy's Scapa Flow naval base in the Orkney Islands under a skeleton crew. Fifty-two of the ships sank. Over time, 45 of them have been salvaged, but for seven, it's still their graveyard. For scuba divers, this is excellent news ? nowhere in the world offers such a concentration of wrecks in such shallow, easily accessible waters. Credit:Getty Images

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Cadillac Ranch. Where: Amarillo, Texas. A rather more unusual take on the boneyard concept can be found in a cow field a couple of miles outside Amarillo. In 1974, a team of artists decided that the best way of disposing with 10 vintage Cadillacs would be to stick them in the ground, nose first, then paint them in all manner of lurid colours. Credit:Getty Images

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The Chatillon Car Graveyard. Where: Just west of Chatillon, Belgium. In a small patch of forest, just to the west of the southern Belgian village of Chatillon, dozens of vintage cars lie abandoned - and they're slowly being consumed by the woodland foliage.Credit:Alamy

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The neon signs of Sin City - particularly those that turn the Downtown area into a blizzard of garishness - are often abandoned for marketing reasons and end up at the Las Vegas Neon Boneyard.