The history of Spain over the last two centuries could be written through train stations. And not only because of the advances in communications that the railway brought, but also because they were places of meeting and farewell and the center of life. … city life.
A feeling of nostalgia overcomes anyone who visits Madrid’s Delicias station today, closed in 1969. It was on the verge of being demolished in the 1970s, but was eventually rehabilitated to become the headquarters of the Railway Museum in 1984. Those of us who love trains can enjoy the old steam locomotives, the luxurious sleeping cars of the past, the first Talgo wagons and the old expresses that roamed the peninsula, which have survived the passage of time on the sidings of one of the most unknown museums in the capital and, perhaps, the most beautiful and romantic. There is also the old clock which marked the departure of travelers, made by Paul Garnier in 1890.
Anyone who does not know the location of Delicias will have great difficulty finding it because it is not possible to see the station from the promenade that bears its name. It is hidden behind a modern building which covers it. Its construction began in 1879, following the project of Émile Cachelièvredisciple of Eiffel. The metal structure of the central nave was made in a Lille foundry. It was inaugurated in 1880 by Alfonso XII, accompanied by Cánovas del Castillo.
The station came into service with a line that connected Madrid to Ciudad Real. In 1883, Delicias was bought by the MCP, which already operated the line between Astorga and Plasencia. In 1896 the railway began operating from Madrid to Lisbon, the Lusitania Expresswhich left its platforms and arrived at the Santa Apolonia station, near the banks of the Tagus. Later, Delicias became the property of MZA and, at the end of the civil war, of Renfe.
Opposite the neighboring town of Atocha, which had a certain elitist air, Delicias was frequented by merchants, workers and soldiers. As traffic was less, it was used for transporting goods, livestock and agricultural products. It was not uncommon to see cows and sheep nearby before being ushered into the carriages. Neighbors complained of the smell of livestock and smoke from locomotives.
“In the Gare du Nord, you can feel the sea, the beaches and Europe. Through the Mediodía (Atocha) wanders the presentiment of Andalusia and the Levante. Delicias is the beginning of an impasse that is lost in the countryside and in the lands,” wrote Gregorio Marañón.
Delicias was an important estrategic location during the Civil War. The trains left at night to avoid being bombed by the national side. A brigade of workers repaired the damaged tracks within hours. The population used the terminal as a refuge during the bombings and a small hospital was also improvised to transport the sick and wounded.
Gonzalo Garcival, railway historian, states that the Delicias station was built in a record time of eleven months. The central nave was covered with galvanized sheet metal, supported by metal beams and 18 arched trusses. The trains departed under a huge triangular window still preserved today, generating an effect of symmetry for the spectator.
The fascination with Delicias has attracted film and television directors. The legendary “Doctor Zhivago” was filmed here, Garci filmed his Sherlock Holmes movie and also appears in “Tell Me How It Happened”. Its brick and glass facade is today one of the hidden wonders of Madrid.
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