The 'tren burra' of Valladolid and Medina de Rioseco

The Compañía del Ferrocarril Económico de Valladolid a Medina de Rioseco was a Spanish railway company that acted between 1881 and 1930. Known as the ‘tren burra’ due to its slowness, it connected the cities of Valladolid and Medina de Rioseco. The project was originally proposed in 1877 as an animal-traction tramway, but the concession was changed to steam power in 1880. The company was created in Barcelona in 1881, with the Banco de Cataluña financing the construction of the line, which finally opened for service on September 13, 1884.

The company faced significant economic difficulties starting in 1918. By the end of 1927, the superior council of railways requested the company’s integration with the Compañía de Ferrocarriles Secundarios de Castilla. The state seized the line on October 7, 1930, and delivered the concession to 'Secundarios de Castilla' on October 31. The line was integrated into FEVE in 1965 and eventually closed in 1969. In the early 21st century, use of the line declined, leading to the conversion of the track into a cycling greenway in the 2010s to boost cycling tourism in the province.

Locomotive number 6, called Rioseco, is the only one of the thirteen 1-3-0T machines purchased by the company between 1911 and 1913 that is preserved today. It was restored in the 1980s after being placed at the Rosaleda Francisco Sabadell and is now on display in the plaza de San Bartolomé in Valladolid, near the site of the former station of the same name.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons