1. This Cable Has Been Suspended

FUMYU32/Wikimedia Commons

Has anyone ever riding on a cable car ever wondered what exactly happens to them once they are taken off of the tracks? Well, if this lonesome fellow is the example, it seems that old cable cars go to cable car graveyards, like this specimen found in China.

This abandoned public transportation vehicle was found in a lot with several other old cable cars. After once carrying likely thousands of local passengers around town, it has now been left to rust among its discarded brothers and sisters in this grassy roadside dump. Did it start out yellow, or is that thanks to the ravages of time?

2. Tank U, Next

Wikimedia Commons

New military equipment is developed seemingly all of the time, and when those new machines are able to deliver what the old ones were not, the obsolete machinery is left to become just a blip in military history. But while some of the outdated equipment is taken off of the battlefield, it doesn’t mean it’s gone forever.

This tank is an abandoned Iraqi T-55, found near Kuwait City, Kuwait. The T-55 was a series made by the Soviet Union originally for use in World War II. It was produced from 1946 until 1983 in the Soviet Union, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, quickly becoming the most-produced tank in military history.

3. Deserted In The Desert

Alexander Novati/Wikimedia Commons

This crumbling, abandoned recreation vehicle (more commonly known as an RV) was originally spotted in the desolate Salton Sea region of Southern California. But don’t be fooled by the name: the inland Salton Sea isn’t really a sea at all. It’s more of a saline lake than anything else.

The lake sits in the Colorado Desert near the Coachella Valley, which leads us to believe that this abandoned vehicle and the surrounding refuse may once have been the residence of a few concertgoers at the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. It’s an appropriate addition to this eerie landscape.

4. Mystery Machine?

paciana/Wikimedia Commons

It looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo must have taken a wrong turn somewhere while solving those spooky mysteries, and came to a standstill in the middle of a field. This abandoned vehicle, which looks like it is probably an old GMC Vandura, almost blends in the nature around it, between its bright green paint and brown rust.

This old van would appear to have quite the story behind it. The car seems like it is covered in bullet holes from front to back. The whole scene makes us wonder what this particular vehicle has been through. It may well have transitioned from a useful car to a object of target practice for locals.

5. Becoming One With Nature

Phillippe Traikou

Ecological researchers can tell the age of a tree by cutting the tree horizontally and examining the number of rings in its trunk. Meanwhile, suffice to say, anyone can tell the amount of time that a vehicle has been abandoned based on the fact that a tree is fully growing out of its front hood.

This nearly-natural beauty was discovered in a field in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. What was once a place for an engine and other machinery has now shifted gears, making way for an entire tree to sprout out of this car, and for moss and rust to frost the exterior.

NEXT: The jaw-dropping scenes that surround some of the world’s most beautiful abandoned vehicles.

6. Take A Seat

Francesco Foglieri/Wikimedia Commons

We are on the edge of our seats trying to figure out how long these old motorcycles have been left outside. That nice furry coating of moss goes to show they’ve been abandoned long enough to have created their own ecosystem right there on the chair.

Apparently, whoever owned these motorcycles no longer felt the need for speed, and left both of them on the side of the road. They’ve been so badly neglected and exposed to the elements that the seat stuffing has now turned green. But don’t worry, former driver: all that lovely moss is here to keep the seats warm in the meantime.

7. Emergency Brake

GPS 56/Wikimedia Commons

In case of emergency, do not turn to this vehicle for help. This decaying, abandoned former ambulance has not been on the road for a long time, but back in its prime, it helped save plenty of lives. Now, it lives out its new life in the Museum of Transport and Technology.

The quirky museum for vehicle lovers, known as MOTAT, is located in Auckland, New Zealand. It features examples of vehicles, such as this one, that can no longer be found on the streets anywhere. MOTAT acts like a time capsule distilling how the roads once appeared, and how far technology has come since.

8. A Gold Mine Of Information

Ingersoll Rand/Wikimedia Commons

This abandoned vehicle seems to be part of an old mine transportation system, delivering goods from old mining towns to their next destination and making multiple trips back and forth each day. Today, the vehicle remains stationary, where it sits off the tracks, barely stable on its decaying wheels.

The wreck was found in Santa Barbara, California. This area of California was once home to hundreds of mines, but now holds just 51, including cooper, gold, iron, zinc, and mercury mines. Unfortunately for this specific vehicle, while many of these mines are still up and running, not all of the old machinery that was once used can say the same.

9. Tuk-Tucked Away

Ilya Plekhanov/Wikimedia Commons

Anyone who has been to Thailand and has taken a seemingly perilous ride in one of their famed (but worn-out and rickety) tuk-tuk cars can say that at times it feels like the police will let anything on the roads. It might even feel like tuk-tuks cruise the streets even when they are on their last leg, and are almost never retired.

But this abandoned tuk-tuk tells a different story. The little red vehicle was found in the city of Ayutthaya, located about 40 miles north of Bangkok, the capital. The town was once a popular international trading port, and is now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

10. The Little Engine That Wood

Shelia Brown

In November 2019, people living in the city of Nantes, France, woke up to find a puzzling sight. Overnight, a white sedan with a tree growing directly through the drivers’ seat seemed to crop up out of nowhere. The scene made its rounds on social media, leaving people wondering what exactly had happened.

In this case, the car turned out to be part of an installation by a local artist. But for this old, yellow car in the middle of a field, the story of how it ended up with a tree growing right through it is a bit more evasive. And while it might not be a specific art project, it shows that Mother Nature can be an artist, too.

11. Going Up?

rs-foto/Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes a vehicle can mark the site of a tourist attraction for those thrill seekers hoping to get their kicks from the eerie thrill of visiting ruins. In this case, this vandalized transport vehicle marks the entrance to a piece of Germany’s storied history.

This inclined cable car, technically referred to as a funicular, was first opened in 1887 as a way to climb the 1,700-foot hike that it would have taken to reach an old hotel that sat at the top of a hill in Bad Ems, Germany. The hotel later closed its doors and shuttered its private railway.

12. Mind The Tram Car, Please

Del-Budai Kozlekedesi Honlap/Wikimedia Commons

Like many abandoned vehicles, this old Hungarian tram car has clearly seen some better days, worthy enough to make it into transportation history textbooks. This particular car can be found in Szeged, Hungary, which has a rich tram car-related history that dates back to the era of the First World War.

Szeged first developed its tramways in 1920 as a means of freight transport. Later, when the city was left relatively unharmed after World War II, its tramways were able to live on as a means of transporting trolleybuses. The first trolleybuses in the area were launched in 1979, so we can guess that this particular tramcar was from around that time period.

13. Rust in Peace

Petr Kratochivil

Ashes to ashes, rust to rust. For many old vehicles that are no longer able to be operated, their demise comes when they are sold for parts in order to make a small profit. For others, they are left to spend the rest of their years post-retirement in an open field or another makeshift car graveyard.

This particular old truck has traded in days of hard work to days of idling, showing that the grass is not always greener. It has clearly had to cope with the elements, and is now almost completely rusted out, with the remnants of its tires left completely in tatters. There’s no U-turning back now in this truck’s aging process.

14. Bus-ted

Phillip Capper/Wikimedia Commons

The first trolleybuses to pull up in Wellington, New Zealand were initiated in 1924. At the time, operating a public trolleybus was something that was considered new and imaginative. Their presence was hardly commonplace, especially in this region of the world. Unfortunately, the transport system did not catch on, and closed just eight years after its launch.

But Wellington was not ready to give up so fast. In 1949, the city reopened the trolley system, using the old tracks but with new cars. The transport system continued until 2017, and by the time it closed down it was the last trolleybus system in Oceania, and the last system open in an area where vehicles travel on the left side of the road. Now, these old buses are left at the side of the road instead.

15. A Caterpillar Transformation

Liz Dawson/Wikimedia Commons

Anyone who has been around heavy machinery, or who is otherwise familiar with it, knows about Caterpillar Inc. and has probably come across one of their well-known machines at one point. But those people have probably never witnessed something quite like this.

Caterpillar Inc. is now known to be the largest construction equipment manufacturer in the entire world, and they can be found in just about any country. This old, rusted Caterpillar truck was once an impressive piece of machinery. Now, it sits as an abandoned vehicle in a field in France near the city of Toulouse, remembering the days of its former glory.

16. Sleighing It

Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images

There are people in this world who have a deep fascination with abandoned places, such as homes, hospitals, and old Olympic villages. One such site of creepy delights is located in Berlin, where the former amusement park known as Spreepark has been left to rot since it was closed down in 2002.

While all of the kids and amusement park workers have disappeared, many of the rides have remained. On the weekend of September 14-15, 2019, the old park opened its doors once again to host curious explorers for “Open Spreeparks Day.” It was at this very park that onlookers found these abandoned vehicles that once were part of a water bobsleigh ride.

17. Sign Over A Car

Alchemist-hp/Wikimedia Commons

Why put an abandoned vehicle to waste? Instead, try giving that old pile of metal a new life. In this case, an old car located in the state of Queensland in Australia has been given a new purpose, and was transformed into a sign that is much more original than any other billboard out there.

After the car was abandoned and rusted, someone painted on its door “Don’t Miss Lappa,” advertising a visit to a town in northeast Australia. The town it advertises is known to be an old mining town, which has basically been deserted now. Today, just three main buildings remain, including the old Lappa Railway Station, dating from 1900.

18. Becoming One With Nature

Kennet Kjell Johansson Hultman

There are some people in this world who love to be outdoors, exploring as much nature as they possibly can through activities like hiking and camping. But then there are others who are not fans of experience nature, and many of those haters will say that they will not go camping because of the bugs that are found in the wilderness.

It’s definitely commonplace to find a fair share of bugs in the woods, but it might be a little bit more unexpected to find this kind of bug outside. This Volkswagen Bug is not meant to be an off-road car, but that is exactly where it has found its final resting place, nestled here among the ferns.

19. A Frosty Fate

Spath Chr/Wikimedia Commons

A compactor machine, like the one shown in this picture, is meant to crush waste until it is more condensed, compact, and becomes a size that is easier to handle. But what happens when there does not seem to be a way to compact an actual compactor?

Well, in the case of this particular abandoned machine, it has been left to fend for itself in an icy field in Germany during the dead of winter. Unfortunately for anyone hoping that this compactor will magically disappear overtime due to the harsh elements, the Zettelmeyer brand is known to be built to last.

20. Green Machine

Flickr/runran

For many abandoned vehicles, it can be rather easy to tell how long they have been left out in the wild just based on how they look. When it comes to this old car, while we do not have an exact figure, we are going to go ahead and guess that it has been left outside for a decent amount of time.

Crumbling in the lush woods of Linley Valley outside the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, this vehicle has been neglected so long, in fact, that nature has almost totally reclaimed it. Its shape has practically dissolved, and moss and lichen have given it its own foliage. The scene proves that one man’s trash can become nature’s treasure.

21. A Crash Course

Wikimedia Commons

This rusted and abandoned vehicle was found on New Zealand’s South Island, seeming to be left over after a road accident. After the crash, this old van must have been abandoned in one of the many pastures found around the town of Cheviot. But we would argue that there are worse places to end up.

Cheviot has a population of only over 350 people. The town is now known predominantly for its sheep farming, like many other settlements in its area. So this rusty van gets to live out the rest of its days peacefully surrounded by sheep and interacting with very few people. Talk about moving on to greener pastures.

22. A Race To The Finish Line

Porsche Sauce/Twitter

This particular abandoned car lot proves that even the vehicles once considered to be the most sought after can still hit a dead end at one point. Any Porsche lover will be both excited and devastated by this photo of a lot made up of entirely discarded Porsche sports cars.

The rusted parts can only hint at what these cars must have looked like in their former glory days. Now they have been left in this car graveyard, collecting dust, rust, and other wear and tear, at the mercy of whatever the elements may throw at them in this open field.

23. Rust Among The Rustling Leaves

Nicholas A. Tonelli/Wikimedia Commons

We’re gonna take our car to the Old Mine Road, we’re gonna ride until it can’t no more — or something along those lines. Whatever happened to this car’s mysterious driver? This decayed, abandoned vehicle was found in Warren County, New Jersey, on the well-known Old Mine Road on the Delaware River Water Gap.

The national recreation area seems to be where plenty of people part ways with their worries and for some, apparently, that means their cars. While half of this car is missing, it is still wholly mesmerizing to it see among the trees and falling leaves lining this popular hiking route.

24. A Half-Off Deal

Diego Delso/Wikimedia Commons

This abandoned vehicle was actually found within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whatever is left of this old pickup truck now lives at the Humberstone and Santa Laura Salpeter Works, a mine in northern Chile that was once home to two saltpeter refineries back in the early 20th century.

Now, it is a haven for old discarded items and the people who love to gaze at them. But today, only one half of this old pickup truck is still at the site, leaving us to question what happened to the other half of this vehicle. Talk about a rather unique take on a half-off deal.

25. Retired Military

VKras/Wikimedia Commons

Deep in the east of Ukraine, what some would consider a junkyard has made international headlines over the years for being an unexpected place of mystery. That place is located only 20 miles from the Russian border in the city of Kharkiv, and hosts 400 abandoned military tanks.

The lot was once a secret, but its existence was later revealed by news agencies. For now, the depot is heavily guarded at all times, and all 400 of the tanks are basically kept on standby in case some of that heavy machinery is needed to fight off hostile forces one day. Until then, it is basically one giant relic to military power.

Sources: Wikimedia Commons, Twitter