Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

Several years ago, our friend and occasional guest-blogger JetLaggedJaff made a visit to Toronto and the CN Tower , which he was kind enough to share with us.  Recently, we made the trip down to downtown Toronto to visit the Toronto Railway Museum ourselves, which is nestled in the heart of the former Railway Lands , adjacent to the aforementioned CN Tower. For any fan of railway history or urban development, this museum offers a fascinating glimpse into the city’s rich railroading past right in the heart of downtown.  FRRandP photo. Caption from the Toronto Railway Historical Association , "Cape Race was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929 as the River Liard. The car was one of a series of 15 River cars fabricated at National Steel Car in Hamilton for $66,300 apiece. The opulent interiors were finished at CP’s Angus Shops in Montreal and featured individual ladies’s and gentlemen’s showers, leather-upholstered smoking rooms, ladies’ lounge and observation parlour ...

It's been almost eight years since I began tracing the tracks of railroad corridors across Illinois, the United States, and the rest of the world, after having first notices the  numerous rights of way  while not working and browsing aerial images on Google Maps. A lot has changed over that time, some things have been obvious; others, such as the development of artificial intelligence, have been less so. It may have been difficult to imagine my traces turning into a blog like this; it would have been impossible to think one of my guest bloggers  would be an AI itself ! It's safe to say these tracks have captivated me. I've also learned a lot about why  so many of these lines were abandoned, and how many lines were not built for purpose, but as a result of the cutthroat nature of rail tycoons, especially during the 19th century. And yet, it doesn't seem like we've learned a lot from these mistakes when you consider the absolute toll that AI takes on data usage, and ...

Just outside the desert frontier town of Uyuni, Bolivia—a gateway to the world’s largest salt flats—lies a surreal tableau frozen in time. Strewn across a barren, wind-scoured plain, dozens of steam locomotives and railcars slump in an eternal repose. This is the * Cementerio de Trenes *, the Locomotive Graveyard in English, a haunting monument to ambition, industry, and the relentless march of obsolescence. Google Maps Street View of some of these locomotives Bolivia’s history is deeply entwined with the tracks of its railroads, the echoes of its mining past, and the stories of progress and decline that have unfolded in its rugged landscapes. Among the most evocative symbols of this history lies the eerie yet captivating locomotive graveyard of Uyuni.  The sight of rusting locomotives has made the train graveyard an international destination for photographers across the world, and it would not surprise me at all to learn that it inspired the Train Graveyard in Final Fantasy 7, al...

The Division Street Bridge in Lockport, IL is currently closed to all traffic (including pedestrian traffic) and hidden behind growth. It once carried traffic across the Des Plaines River, although lost importance once the IL 7 bridge was completed. Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit photo (Jan. 2025) The bridge approach is only accessible via IL 53 on the west side of the Des Plaines River/Sanitary Ship Canal. Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit Photo (Aug. 2018) According to HistoricBridges, "this abandoned bridge which is closed to all traffic carried Division Street over Des Plaines River.  " Division Street Bridge over the Des Plaines River " - Courtesy of Lewis University. At one time an additional bridge, a swing bridge which is today gone, would have carried the street over the Sanitary and Ship Canal to the east as well.  Lockport Historic District, Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, Swing Bridge, Sixteenth Street, Lockport, Will County, IL ( Library of Congres...

Across the rolling hills and rugged landscapes of western Ireland, one can find peculiar relics of a dark chapter in the island’s history. These are the Famine Roads - routes that climb into the hills, twist through valleys, and often end abruptly, leading nowhere. Their haunting presence is a testament to the desperation and suffering endured by countless Irish peasants during the Great Famine of 1845–1852. "One of the many roads to nowhere built during the Famine" (Image via sboins on Reddit ) The Great Famine , or Án Gorta Mór, was a catastrophic period in Ireland’s history, marked by mass starvation, disease, and emigration. Over one million people perished, and another two million fled the country, profoundly altering Ireland’s demographic and cultural landscape. In an era dominated by the rigid doctrines of laissez-faire economics, relief efforts were minimal, and assistance often came with cruel conditions. Under the Poor Law and its amendments, relief programs were es...