Original "Mataró" locomotive in front of the University of Barcelona, 1877
Illustration of the Railroad Centennial, 1948
Celebration of the Centennial of the Railway, 1948
XIX International Morop Congress, 1972
Opening of the Museum, August 3, 1990
Interiors of first and third class cars
The three Centennial cars on the "Swing Bridge", beginning of the 2000s
"Centennial Train" at the 150th Anniversary of the Railway Exhibition at the Barcelona´s Francia Station, 1998
125th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Railway in Vilanova, 2006
11 - The "Centennial Train" and the "Mataró" locomotive
An obligatory stop along this trip around the Museum is
the visit to the “Mataró” steam locomotive, which led the
so-called “Centennial Train.” It is a reproduction that was
built in 1948 to commemorate the first train in the Iberian
Peninsula, which travelled between Barcelona and Mataró. The
original locomotive was built in Great Britain and, like all
old locomotives, it had a small boiler with a tall chimney.
In order to get the train running in 1848, English
railwaymen came to live in Catalonia and shared their
knowledge with the railway’s first employees.
To mark the railway’s first centenary, a replica was built
of the original locomotive and three of its cars: first-,
second- and third-class ones. The composition on display in
the Museum made a commemorative trip from Barcelona to
Mataró in 1948, with passengers in period dress, who
received a great welcome in Mataró. The train has been used
in the different commemorations of the routes built in the
19th century and other celebrations, as well as the opening
of the Museum on August 3, 1990.
The “Mataró” is one of two locomotives that still work.
Every first Sunday of the month, it travels around the
inside of the Museum. The engineer and stoker invite
visitors into the engine cabin to live the experience of the
old railway workers and discover this vehicle’s
particularities, as well as enjoying the trip as far as the
“Swing Bridge".
