34. Centennial Train
Did you know that almost two hundred years ago a
locomotive just like this one left Barcelona for the first
time and went along the coast to Mataró? To celebrate its
first 100 years a new one was built just like the first. And
this is the one that is kept in the Museum and taken out on
special days. Look at the birthday party that was organised
for it!
It was quite an event! It’s that the appearance of the train
was super-important and transformed the world and its
distances. Because up until then only the more adventurous
or wealthy people could leave and move from the place where
they were born...
And not too far, because they did so in horse-drawn
carriages that took hours and hours to travel… imagine the
change it brought
But the train changed everything! Lots of people could fit
inside the train at the same time! They could all travel
much further together, poor and rich; and they could also
transport large quantities of products in much less time….
And now yes, now it's time to get on the train and
experience travelling like our great-grandparents did on the
first trains in history. Would you like that? Don’t run! We
won’t get on this one!
We can’t get in the coloured cars of the centenary train
because they are very valuable and they don’t have any
steps. Let’s see if we can discover which of these cars the
super-rich people travelled in? Let’s go and look at one
that’s close by and is waiting for us with the doors open.