redteam
Abandoned Train Station in San Juan Province, Argentina
Taken on June 1, 2004 somewhere on Highway 40 in Argentina's San Juan province.
I can't really say much about this train station for a couple reasons. First of all, many of my other pictures of this station died due to some file error on my camera's card. Second, Argentina has a long and sordid history involving rail travel that I don't remember much of anymore (although I did in 1996 thanks to Carlos Calierno's wonderful "The Latinamericanizacion of Argentina" course at UCSC!).
With my memories of this station and the surrounding area, I can't tell whether this was supposed to be a passenger station or some kind of freight station. I don't remember it being near any kind of civilization besides the road it was on. So if passengers were supposed to get off here, I don't know where they would go or bother coming from. If this was supposed to be a freight station, I would have expected to see more heavy platforms for big trucks and such. Maybe it was a fuel station? Train buffs probably have an immediate answer.
Anyway, what was there was a dry, filled up well; several ruined buildings; and tracks with several gaps in them. Since it was by the road, there was some graffiti, but not much. More of it in some buildings than in others. Some of the buildings were more suited for dump-takings, so you would find some dark corners with toilet paper and dry turds. This station still functioned as a depot for turds, I suppose.
Apart from the signs of its infrequently utilized contemporary role, the site was beautiful. It was in an area of stunning desert beauty that often beat the 395 in California. There weren't any people around and it was an amazing set of buildings to safely explore.
My cousin Fernando and I were regularly shocked by the beauty of Highway 40's scenery on our short tour of it. Frustrated as well, because every 10 minutes there was something worth stopping the car for. Unfortunately, my underpowered 1979 Renault 12 (retrofitted with a gigantic CNG tank) took about 10 minutes to get up to highway speeds.
I must also mention that Highway 40 runs along the East side of the Andes from the very top of Argentina to the very bottom. So you've got a beautiful road along a colossal mountain range in a lovely, charming country (with a favorable exchange rate!) filled with gorgeous people that is about about as far North to South as the United States is wide. Arrange a trip now.
Abandoned Train Station in San Juan Province, Argentina
Taken on June 1, 2004 somewhere on Highway 40 in Argentina's San Juan province.
I can't really say much about this train station for a couple reasons. First of all, many of my other pictures of this station died due to some file error on my camera's card. Second, Argentina has a long and sordid history involving rail travel that I don't remember much of anymore (although I did in 1996 thanks to Carlos Calierno's wonderful "The Latinamericanizacion of Argentina" course at UCSC!).
With my memories of this station and the surrounding area, I can't tell whether this was supposed to be a passenger station or some kind of freight station. I don't remember it being near any kind of civilization besides the road it was on. So if passengers were supposed to get off here, I don't know where they would go or bother coming from. If this was supposed to be a freight station, I would have expected to see more heavy platforms for big trucks and such. Maybe it was a fuel station? Train buffs probably have an immediate answer.
Anyway, what was there was a dry, filled up well; several ruined buildings; and tracks with several gaps in them. Since it was by the road, there was some graffiti, but not much. More of it in some buildings than in others. Some of the buildings were more suited for dump-takings, so you would find some dark corners with toilet paper and dry turds. This station still functioned as a depot for turds, I suppose.
Apart from the signs of its infrequently utilized contemporary role, the site was beautiful. It was in an area of stunning desert beauty that often beat the 395 in California. There weren't any people around and it was an amazing set of buildings to safely explore.
My cousin Fernando and I were regularly shocked by the beauty of Highway 40's scenery on our short tour of it. Frustrated as well, because every 10 minutes there was something worth stopping the car for. Unfortunately, my underpowered 1979 Renault 12 (retrofitted with a gigantic CNG tank) took about 10 minutes to get up to highway speeds.
I must also mention that Highway 40 runs along the East side of the Andes from the very top of Argentina to the very bottom. So you've got a beautiful road along a colossal mountain range in a lovely, charming country (with a favorable exchange rate!) filled with gorgeous people that is about about as far North to South as the United States is wide. Arrange a trip now.