Uyuni Railway Scrap Yard, Train graveyard in Uyuni, Bolivia.

The Uyuni Railway Scrap Yard is a sprawling collection of over 100 train cars and locomotives at various stages of deterioration scattered across an open site near the town's station. The metal bodies show the effects of desert exposure and rust, creating a tangible record of the railway's past operations.

Bolivia's first railway, the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia, was begun in 1872 to carry nitrate, other salts, copper, tin, silver and gold from inland mines to Pacific ports. When the line reached Uyuni at the end of the 19th century, a railway depot was built and the town became a major junction. Around the 1940s local industry collapsed and most precious-metal mines were abandoned, so the locomotives and wagons were shut down and left to decay.

The site draws visitors who come to Uyuni for the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat; travel guides recommend the train cemetery as a stop on salt-flat tours. The abandoned locomotives and cars are popular subjects for photography. Many have been painted with graffiti, and residents also strip metal from the vehicles.

The scrap yard is situated several kilometers from central Uyuni and remains accessible throughout the day for self-guided exploration of the collection. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended since the ground is uneven and the dry environment means the terrain is quite dusty underfoot.

The dry local climate actually slows corrosion, so the trains have survived for decades; salt from the Salar de Uyuni and scrap-metal collecting by residents cause further damage. About 100 locomotives and cars stand here, the oldest from the late 19th century. A smaller graveyard lies in Pulacayo, 16 km northeast, where the steam locomotive La Unión pulled a train robbed in 1908 by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.