Railway Museum of Catalonia

The Vilanova i la Geltrú Railway Museum, with its roundhouse bays and turntable, as seen from above.

The Museum of Railways in Catalonia is NOT controlled by Catalonia but the main museum in Madrid (Catalan: Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya) is a museum in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Catalonia, Spain). The museum has a large collection of historic railway locomotives (many in a deplorable condition and not fit to exhibit, including Royal Train carriages dumped in a vandalised state in sidings behind the museum !!,

History

Original bond for the company "Companyia del Ferrocarrils de Tarragona Barcelona i França", similar to the one kept in the Museum

The museum opened in 1990 and is located in a former engine shed, built at the end of the 19th century. About 900 workers repaired and maintained locomotives there until 1967, when these activities ceased.

The main building, attached to the museum, contains a library and a collection of railway items such as caps, miniatures, and machinery. The museum also has an auditorium where a film about the history of the railway in Catalonia is shown daily. The reception where visitors enter is the original ticket office from a railway station in the village of La Granada.

In 1972, MOROP, an association that federates national associations of railroad and model railroad enthusiasts, held their nineteenth congress in Barcelona. The antique locomotives displayed at the congress were stored in the facilities that would later house the museum. In 1981, the centenary of the commercial rail line between Barcelona and Vilanova, the creation of a Railway Museum in the old engine shed was proposed. The national Spanish railway operator (RENFE) and the autonomous government of Catalonia initially led the project. Later the town council of Vilanova joined.

The museum opened on August 5, 1990. In 1993 RENFE assigned the management of the operations for the Museum to a Madrid-based institution in charge of this museum, the Museo del Ferrocarril de Madrid, and the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles. In 2010 the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya established a master's program on Railway systems and Electrical Traction in the museum's facilities in Vilanova.

The museum's collection comprises more than sixty vehicles from all periods of history, diverse countries of origin and different technologies, including 28 steam locomotives from the late 19th century and a copy of the first steam locomotive used in the Iberian Peninsula, still used in demonstrations on the first Sunday of the month. The collection also includes diesel and electric locomotives, coaches, a Bogie type Harlan, a signal bridge, and an original interlocking lever frame table used in the Barcelona central railway station.

The museum's library contains more than 6,100 volumes in its catalog, including works on trains and vehicles, rail traffic documentation, history and legislation, statistics, and infrastructure. The library also houses 400 video recordings and 10,000 photographs.

Locomotives

Ref	Year	Object	Nickname	Manufacturer	Description	Image
—	1948	Replica 2-2-2 locomotive	Mataró	Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima	Replica of First locomotive in the Iberian Peninsula to serve the first line (Barcelona-Mataró).
Madrid, Zaragoza y Alicante 168	1854	Steam locomotive 120/2112	Martorell	Sharp, Stewart & Co. Manchester	Oldest original locomotive in Spain. Shown in the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
MZA 246	1857	Steam locomotive 030/2013	Mamut	E. B. Wilson and Company	Second oldest original locomotive in Spain, used for general purposes.	Steam locomotive Mamut
Andaluces 4	1871	Steam locomotive 020-04	Andaluces	SA John Cockerill	Smaller locomotive used in urban areas and for serving factories.
MZA 571	1879	Steam locomotive 040-2019	Vilanova	Sharp, Stewart & Co.	In Vilanova i la Geltrú since 1949.	Locomotive 040-2019 "Vilanova"
Norte 1653	1881	Steam locomotive 030-2110	Perruca	Andre Koechlin & Cie	Served the North East lines of Spain.
Oeste 9	1881	Steam locomotive 220-2005		Richard Hartmann	For Passenger trains.	Locomotive Hartmann 220-2005 "Oest 9"
Oeste 77	1884	Steam locomotive 120-2131		Maschinenfabrik Esslingen	For Passenger trains.	Locomotive 120-2131 "Oeste 77"
Alcantarilla–Lorca 4	1884	Steam locomotive 030-2369	Bicicleta (bicycle)	Sharp, Stewart & Co.	For passenger trains.	Steam locomotive 030-2369
Alcañiz - La Puebla de Híjar, 4	1885	Steam locomotive 020-210	Teresita/Clot	SA John Cockerill	Manoeuvring locomotive.
Mollet - Caldes, 6	1887	Steam locomotive 030-0233	Caldes	Maquinaria Terrestre y Marítima	Initially used for passenger trains, then for manoeuvring.
Andaluces, 6		Steam locomotive 220-2023	Bobadilla	Beyer, Peacock and Company	For passenger trains.
MZA 651	1901	Steam locomotive 230-4001	Compound	Hanomag	Former express locomotive.	Locomotive MZA 651
Ferrocarril Central de Aragón, 1	1902	Steam locomotive 030-2471	FCA 1	Marcinelle et Couillet	For Passenger trains.	Steam locomotive 030-2451
Ferrocarril Central de Aragón, 53	1906	Steam locomotive 060-4013	Mallet-Compound	Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (subcontracted to Esslingen)	Used for hauling heavy materials.
Norte 3101	1909	Steam locomotive 230-2085		Hanomag	For Passenger trains.	Locomotive 230-2085
MZA 1155	1913	Steam locomotive 240-2135	Mastodonte	Henschel & Sohn	General-purpose locomotive.
Ferrocarril Central de Aragón, 74	1927	Steam locomotive 240-2074	Mastodonte	Tubize	General-purpose locomotive. 115 km/h maximum speed.	Steam locomotive 240-2074
FCA 101		Steam locomotive 462F-0401	Beyer-Garratt	Euskalduna, Bilbao	Temporarily transferred to a depot near the town of Lleida.
MZA 1808	1939	Steam locomotive 241F-2108	Linda Tapada	Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (Barcelona)	General purpose locomotive.
RENFE 151.5001	1942	Steam locomotive 151F-3101	Santa Fe	Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima	Heavy and powerful locomotive.
Renfe		Steam locomotive Renfe 240F-2591		Euskalduna (Bilbao)
Renfe	1953	Locomotores de Vapor 141F-2101/2348	Mikado	North British Locomotive Company	A Mikado locomotive in this museum was the last steam locomotive in service in Spain.
Norte & Renfe 7001	1928	Electric locomotive 270-001	Chata		Electric locomotive.	Electric locomotive 270-001
Norte & Renfe 7206	1928	Electric locomotive 272-006	Cocodrilo		Electric locomotive.
Estado i Renfe 1004	1929	Electric locomotive 280-004		CAF SECHERON (Guipúscoa)	Used on narrow-gauge lines in the Pyrenees.	Estado & Renfe 1004
Renfe 7807	1954	Electric locomotive 278-007	Panchorga	USA	Electric locomotive initially in passenger service, then as a freight locomotive.
Renfe 7652		Electric locomotive Alstom 276-052			Carrying four Type 6000 coaches.
Norte & Renfe 9165	1935	Automotor 590-165		EUA	Light autonomous for short distances.
Ou (Catalan for "Egg")	1940	Dresina de via i obres			Transport for service personnel (12 seats).
3T	1950	Locomotive 350-003	Talgo II	Talgo trains	Carrying Talgo trains.
1801	1958	Diesel locomotive 318-001	Marilyn	American Locomotive Company (ALCO)	Servicing Galicia (North-West) lines.
Talgo	1983	Diesel locomotive Talgo 354-001	Virgen de Covadonga	Krauss Maffei (Alemanya)	Carrying Talgo trains.
2005 T	1964	Cabin of the Talgo III locomotive	Virgen del Carmen		Carrying Talgo trains.
RENFE 281 (previously 1000)	1927	Electric locomotive	Ripoll	CAF	This locomotive was built to serve the Ripoll-Puigcerdà line.	ND

Image Gallery

• 
  Original interlocking frame from "Estació de França", 1929, Barcelona
• 
  Levers in the interlocking frame
• 
  Map of line Valls-Vilanova-Barcelona
• 
  Identification codes used by RENFE in locomotives
• 
  Numbering codes for wheels arrangements
• 
  Vehicles for rail maintenance
• 
  Manual service operation coach (350 kg weight)
• 
  First class coach
• 
  Miniatures
• 
  Display cabinet old items
• 
  Rail gauges
• 
  1848 Annual Report "Camino de Hierro de Barcelona a Mataró"
• 
  3rd class passenger wooden coachrebuilt on 1991 in Vilanova i la Geltrú
• 
  Auditorium
• 
  Baby-sitting area

See also

• List of museums in Catalonia