A train graveyard has stood in the Bang Sue area in northwest Bangkok for the last 20 years, but very little is known about it. However, the location became quite famous among urban explorers for its extensive collection of old trains and locomotives.
Many urban explorers have documented the site with pictures and excursion descriptions, but beyond that, it seems impossible to find any information on how this train graveyard came to be. What is known is that the land belongs to the Thai State Railway, and the surrounding land is also home to the Phahonyothin freight yard as well as numerous other railway facilities.
With plenty of rusty engineering on show, the Bang Sue graveyard is a magnificent sight for lovers of abandoned places. Despite the fact that the train graveyard has only existed for about 20 years, it was possible to find trains that were 50-60 years old on the site.
Dax Ward commented on his photography blog that he was particularly drawn to the site because it had so many locomotives, adding that normally a train graveyard will have mostly freight trains and carriages.
Although little is known about its past, there are many articles about the future of the Bang Sue graveyard since in 2010, the Ministry of Transport of Bangkok decided to build a new railway station on this patch of land.
By the end of 2013, construction was already in progress, and access to the site seemed to be through the construction site itself.
In May 2018, the new railway station was already half completed and was being referred to as the Bang Sue Grand Station. It was anticipated that construction would be completed in March 2021, at which point the Bang Sue Grand Station will become the largest in Southeast Asia.
Facilities at the train station will include ticketing and waiting areas, 26 platforms spread across four floors, a planned memorial to King Rama V, and an elevated walkway connecting it to the new Mo Chit Bus Terminal.
Sadly, due to the ongoing construction work, it is no longer possible to access the Bang Sue graveyard today. But thanks to these photographs from Dax Ward, who visited the location before it was closed, you can still get a feel for this remarkable place.
Dax Ward documents abandoned places around the world. He shares his photography experience on his website where he tells the interesting backstories of unique locations. Make sure to follow him on Facebook or Instagram so as not to miss amazing images of places before they disappear through time and decay.
