12 - The first locomotives. The drivers’ and stokers’ working conditions

Inside the Rotonda (Roundhouse) building, beside the “Mataró,” we can see some of the first original locomotives that still exist, such as the 1854 “Martorell,” which is the oldest existing one in Spain. Its front bears the initials of the company to which it belonged and its assigned number. Before the establishment of Renfe in 1941, each company used its own numbering to identify its locomotives. This small locomotive was known as the “Martorell” because it was initially operated between this Catalonian locality and Barcelona.

The first steam locomotives in the 19th century were very small and limited to the short trips that each private company operated as a concession. The job of drivers and stokers was very hard due to the small space in which they had to work, without any protection from the weather, in blazing heat or freezing cold, while breathing in smoke and soot. You can enter the cabin of the 1857 “Mamut” locomotive, located to the right, and imagine how gruelling it must have been to drive these early steam locomotives.

These first customised locomotives that became obsolete were used to move other vehicles around in stations and depots, which they did for many years. This usefulness saved many of them from disappearing.

Railway companies gradually grew and their routes were merged together, which required larger locomotives to cover greater distances. The increase in distance was proportional to the harshness of the railwaymen’s working conditions, even when the steam-engine cabins were covered. Their working day could last for twelve, fourteen or even more hours –whatever was needed for the train to reach its destination. A locomotive could consume 10 tons of coal in a day, even more if it was poor quality, which was frequent. In this case, the stoker constantly had to stoke the fire to keep it burning. They could not even rest when the train stopped, since they had to grease the connecting rods and engine components, and fill up the water tank. In the Museum, you can enter the cabins of large locomotives such as the “Mallet”, the “Santa Fe” or the “Mikado,” the three ones restored by the Association of Volunteers.