The rural stop that outlived a revolution

The mine at Vaquerizas, a rural station in the Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, had a small operation of tin and tungsten extraction, not noteworthy. However, in 1936, it attracted a troop train for the rebellion that overthrew the Spanish government. The train carried soldiers headed towards Seville to overthrow the Republic, and the Republic's forces that tried to stop them watched as the train passed. The next day, fighting reached the village, and the mine was closed and the shaft was sealed.

Lone and forgotten, the station remained. Power cables from the city were installed near the station for the man who ran the power lines, and a house was built nearby. Painted red, its purpose remains unclear. The villagers remember the event, but not its significance. The flash of the train is a memory, the mine is sealed, and all that remains are the words on the station sign: Vaquerizas Station. Today, almost seven decades later, it still stands.

A commemorative plaque remains from the tracks where the troop trains once stood, reading 'April 2-4, 1936. The train that carried the soldiers of the National Movement passed by this station.'.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons