Railway Museum (Museo del Ferrocarril)

What to expect

The museum fills the old Delicias station, opened in 1880 and designed by the French engineer Émile Cachelièvre. It was the first station in Madrid with an iron structure, and its huge canopy was meant to let steam-engine smoke escape. The collection moved here in 1984 and tells the story of Spanish railways.

You walk into the great hall, where locomotives and carriages stand on tracks grouped by type of traction: steam, electric and diesel. Smaller rooms follow, with railway clocks, signalling equipment, an infrastructure room with interactive displays and a toy and model railway room with animated layouts. It is an easy, mostly indoor visit with plenty of room to look at the machines up close.

Don't miss

• Steam locomotives in the main hall
• The Talgo II train set
• The railway clock room
• Animated model railway layouts
• The iron canopy of the 1880 station

Tips for your visit

• It suits families well; children usually like the model railways and the big locomotives.
• Allow about one to two hours.
• The museum has a monthly market on a weekend, so it can be busier then.