Railway Museum

Located in the old Delicias train station, a magnificent example of 19th-century cast-iron architecture, this museum was opened in 1984. It is home to a charming collection of old trains and carriages, as well as some great model railway layouts. It also showcases photographs related to the history of the railway. 

The former Madrid-Delicias station was inaugurated on 30 March 1880 to service the railway line to Ciudad Real, which would continue on to the border with Portugal. It is therefore the oldest station built in Madrid and has become a monument in its own right. It was designed by French engineer Émile Cachelièvre, following the latest European developments, innovating in its use of iron and glass for construction, a leading example of modernity and progress in Madrid in the last third of the 19th century. The central nave is 170 m long, 35 m wide and reaches a height of 22.5 m thanks to a section of 17 iron porticos cast on pillars, which make for a large airy space, with no need for intermediate supports or additional bracing.

The Railway Museum is home to the Railway Historical Archives and the Railway Library and Newspaper Library, the only one in Spain, whose main purpose is to preserve, study and promote railway heritage.

The CIMAF garden trains will run every Saturday between 11:30am and 2pm. This installation, which reproduces all the features of the real railway on a smaller scale, is an ideal activity when visiting the museum. Children and adults can ride on small trains on a 5-inch gauge track (12.7 cm).

Railway Territory

As of 11 April 2022, the public can visit a 300 square metre model made up of a network of 850 metres of tracks on which up to 66 different trains can run, made by the Centre for Public Works Studies and Experimentation (CEDEX).

Urban zones, industrial areas, a mountain village, the network of paths and roads and even a port area with docks, cranes or discharge line are all portrayed in the model.

All aboard the mini-train!

Every Saturday, the Ferrocarril de las Delicias railway operates from 11:30am to 2pm around the CIMAF gardens. This installation, which reproduces all the features of the real railway on a smaller scale, is an ideal activity when visiting the museum. Children and adults can ride on small trains on a circuit with a track gauge of 5 inches (12.7 cm). The railway closes over the summer and opens again in September.