This Eerie And Fantastic Footage Takes You Inside Arizona’s Abandoned Train Graveyard

Arizona is a beautiful state with a rich natural landscape and cultural life. But it's also rife with spooky abandoned places, and this one just might be the weirdest of all. It's an abandoned train graveyard in the middle of the desert, with more than 300 Union Pacific cars not currently in use lined up end-to-end. Abandoned railroads in Arizona speak to another time when travel was very different than it is now and trains were the primary vehicle connecting the United States.

Editors Note: It has come to our attention that this train graveyard no longer exists, but that doesn't make it any less fascinating to read about.

About 33 miles southeast of Tucson, the stretch of I-10 passing through Benson isn't exactly the most scenic drive in Arizona. Its vast desert landscape is remote and sparsely populated, making the town a perfect place for a locomotive graveyard.

Believe it or not, a train car graveyard is a real thing. This train junkyard is a result of shifting travel practices in the country. Unlike Europe where train travel rules, most Americans drive their own cars reducing the need for train travel.

More than 300 Union Pacific train cars meander alongside the highway, lined up bumper-to-bumper for more than three miles. Some are less pristine than others, but the scene as a whole is undeniably eerie.

It brings you back to another time when train travel would have been the primary mode of transportation other than horses and buggies.

This particular railroad has been in the freight-hauling business for more than 150 years, pulling train cars across the western half of the U.S.A.

A recent downturn in manufacturing is to blame for the surplus of engines. Most goods are imported from countries where they are cheaper to produce. With less being manufactured and transported throughout the U.S. by train, there's no current use for these vehicles.

That could change at any time, however — so the cars are still checked and maintained on a regular basis. After all, they're worth between one and three million apiece!

Seeing those numbers adds a startling civic layer to this scene. These abandoned trains in Arizona are costing taxpayers a small fortune.

Several other storage spots are located in different places, but none come close to the length of this fleet. Union Pacific officials cite the Arizona climate as an explanation, stating its aridity renders rust a near-nonissue.

If the trains really will be put back into use then these concerns are important, saving money on repairs and care for the vehicles long-term.

You can even see the line on Google Maps! Now that's impressive.

Union Pacific would like to remind everyone to appreciate the locomotives from a safe distance. Keep your eyes on the road and never get close to the tracks, as cars are frequently moved in and out of the area.

Since this is something of a working train yard, or at least a moving one, it's for everyone's safety that you don't try to investigate the train cars at a closer range.

Check out this YouTube video by Aerial Aperture DPS to get a closer look:

Did you know about this eerie roadside wonder? Are there any other strange abandoned places in Arizona that deserve to be featured? Know of any creepy abandoned railroads in Arizona? Let us know, and check out our previous article for one we find particularly spine-tingling: There’s An Intriguing Airplane Boneyard In Arizona That You Need To Visit.

Are there any hikes, businesses, or other attractions in Arizona you think the world should know about? Head over to our nomination page and give them a shoutout — you just might see your submission featured in an upcoming article!