I was looking around the internet and thought this might be an interesting thread to start.
There are a lot of what used to be majestic works of art, in many old train stations.
A lot are now sitting abandoned and in various states of disrepair.
Some are being rebuilt into other uses and saved from the wrecking ball.
The first one here is one of those that is being saved, it has quite a history behind it.
I pieced together some of the facts about the structure. At the end are a couple of links with a bunch of pictures.
Canfranc International Railway Station
The Pau To Canfranc Line
Middle of the 19th century, southwest of France, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The mid-19th century idea of linking the French (Béarn) and Spanish (Aragon) sides of the Pyrenees by railway was marked by multiple fruitless attempts, in large part due to the difficulty of traversing the mountain range.
Work was started in 1904 after the signing of a treaty between France and Spain. The construction of this railway marked an enormous challenge to the railway engineering and building methods of the day.
Opened in 1928, the main building is 240 meters long and has 300 windows and 156 doors.
It was the largest and most glamorous railway station in the world, a shining jewel of Art Nouveau elegance nestling high in the Pyrenees mountains.
But after a chequered history which saw it commandeered by the Nazis during the Second World War, Canfranc International Railway Station has slowly slipped into disrepair and is now little more than a crumbling shell.
In 1940 Spanish Dictator Franco was pictured proudly leading Hitler along one of its wide sprawling platforms.
The Nazi leader appears to have been impressed and, after recognizing the station's logistical importance, the Germans took control raising their Swastika flag above the ornate towers.
The Nazis first used it to transport hundreds of tonnes of looted gold plundered across Europe.
Perversely at the end of the war, the station that had once helped thousands of Jews flee the holocaust was used by Nazi War criminals to evade capture themselves.
Yet it hides a remarkable secret - deep below the surface in the old tunnels that cross the border between Spain and France, scientists have set up movable astroparticle laboratories where they are attempting to unlock the mysteries of dark matter.
More than 80 bridges, 24 tunnels, 4 viaducts and huge deforestation works would be necessary to cross the very steep and tight Aspe Valley on the French side.
About 50% of the railway on the French side would consist of engineered structures built using massive dressed stone.
The line was never profitable. 1929's Great Depression, 1931's large fire and 1936's Spanish civil war would condemn the railway to official disuse. The trans-Pyrenean tunnel would even be bricked up to prevent access by French invaders. With the start of the 2nd World War, activity would restart, with Germany taking advantage of the railway link. The Resistance would even dynamite some of the railway bridges on the French side in 1944.
The station's raison d'être came to an abrupt halt in 1970 when a train derailment demolished a bridge on the French side of the mountains. The French decided not to rebuild the bridge, the cross border line was closed and never re-opened.
I did see something about it being all rebuilt and is now a tourist hotel now.
A lot more reading and info in the following links,
A wiki,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canfranc_International_Railway_Station
Another link,
Be sure to visit the Gallery,
http://www.forbidden-places.net/urban-exploration-canfranc-railway-station#2
More pictures,
http://pixgood.com/canfranc-railway-station.html
More here,
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abandoned-train-station-of-canfranc
More pictures and a short video in this one
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ecret-laboratory-researching-dark-matter.html
There are a lot of what used to be majestic works of art, in many old train stations.
A lot are now sitting abandoned and in various states of disrepair.
Some are being rebuilt into other uses and saved from the wrecking ball.
The first one here is one of those that is being saved, it has quite a history behind it.
I pieced together some of the facts about the structure. At the end are a couple of links with a bunch of pictures.
Canfranc International Railway Station
The Pau To Canfranc Line
Middle of the 19th century, southwest of France, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The mid-19th century idea of linking the French (Béarn) and Spanish (Aragon) sides of the Pyrenees by railway was marked by multiple fruitless attempts, in large part due to the difficulty of traversing the mountain range.
Work was started in 1904 after the signing of a treaty between France and Spain. The construction of this railway marked an enormous challenge to the railway engineering and building methods of the day.
Opened in 1928, the main building is 240 meters long and has 300 windows and 156 doors.
It was the largest and most glamorous railway station in the world, a shining jewel of Art Nouveau elegance nestling high in the Pyrenees mountains.
But after a chequered history which saw it commandeered by the Nazis during the Second World War, Canfranc International Railway Station has slowly slipped into disrepair and is now little more than a crumbling shell.
In 1940 Spanish Dictator Franco was pictured proudly leading Hitler along one of its wide sprawling platforms.
The Nazi leader appears to have been impressed and, after recognizing the station's logistical importance, the Germans took control raising their Swastika flag above the ornate towers.
The Nazis first used it to transport hundreds of tonnes of looted gold plundered across Europe.
Perversely at the end of the war, the station that had once helped thousands of Jews flee the holocaust was used by Nazi War criminals to evade capture themselves.
Yet it hides a remarkable secret - deep below the surface in the old tunnels that cross the border between Spain and France, scientists have set up movable astroparticle laboratories where they are attempting to unlock the mysteries of dark matter.
More than 80 bridges, 24 tunnels, 4 viaducts and huge deforestation works would be necessary to cross the very steep and tight Aspe Valley on the French side.
About 50% of the railway on the French side would consist of engineered structures built using massive dressed stone.
The line was never profitable. 1929's Great Depression, 1931's large fire and 1936's Spanish civil war would condemn the railway to official disuse. The trans-Pyrenean tunnel would even be bricked up to prevent access by French invaders. With the start of the 2nd World War, activity would restart, with Germany taking advantage of the railway link. The Resistance would even dynamite some of the railway bridges on the French side in 1944.
The station's raison d'être came to an abrupt halt in 1970 when a train derailment demolished a bridge on the French side of the mountains. The French decided not to rebuild the bridge, the cross border line was closed and never re-opened.
I did see something about it being all rebuilt and is now a tourist hotel now.
A lot more reading and info in the following links,
A wiki,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canfranc_International_Railway_Station
Another link,
Be sure to visit the Gallery,
http://www.forbidden-places.net/urban-exploration-canfranc-railway-station#2
More pictures,
http://pixgood.com/canfranc-railway-station.html
More here,
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abandoned-train-station-of-canfranc
More pictures and a short video in this one
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ecret-laboratory-researching-dark-matter.html