The Railroad in Aguascalientes

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• | History

The first railroad arrived in Aguascalientes in 1884, connecting the city with the center and north of the Republic and six years later the railroad lines would connect us with the Gulf of Mexico, this titanic enterprise was in charge of the Central Railroad Company and with the support of American engineers, who along with their families, ended up settling in the surroundings of what would be known as the Station Neighborhood in Aguascalientes, building for this purpose large wooden houses in the Anglo-Saxon style with enormous and very beautiful gardens, some of these farms still exist in the Ferronales Colony, which is located on the east side of the old workshops.

The railroads not only revitalized the economic and commercial life of Aguascalientes, they also transformed the customs and work culture of a city with orchards and a rather slow pace of life, typical of rural provinces.

This change was even seen in the way our people dressed, as workers' clothing made of denim soon became fashionable. These garments are widely worn today, but at the time, they represented a striking change for people accustomed to the cotton clothing worn by farmers and ranchers.

The steam engine, on the other hand, brought new ideas and new forms of social organization, thereby expanding public spaces for workers and allowing greater mobilization of people.

Almost every family in Aguascalientes has a close relative who worked in this industry. Family conversations often bring up anecdotes from that era, and there are still elderly people retired by the Mexican Railroad, living witnesses to the rise and fall of the railroad.

The railroad in Aguascalientes brought with it great advances in economic and commercial progress, leaving in the city a great legacy and cultural identity of what the railroad industry once symbolized and represented in the state, marking a golden stage in the lives of the citizens of Aguascalientes.

General Workshops of the Central Railway

Due to the privileged characteristics of Aguascalientes, its geography, water, climate, and the industriousness of its people, in 1897 the Central Railway Company decided to establish its General Machine and Rolling Stock Repair Workshops in the state, largely due to the beneficial clauses of the concession contract and the subsidy and tax exemption incentives granted by the then governor, Don Rafael Arellano, who obtained the donation of 832,592 m² of land belonging to the Hacienda del Ojo Caliente. With this, work began in 1898 and was completed in 1903.

These workshops featured the most advanced railway technology, being the most modern and important in the Republic, both for their size and for the diversity of machinery, tools, and qualified personnel.

Such was the importance of the workshops that Aguascalientes was chosen to carry out the construction of the first Mexican steam engine, which would be identified as the N. de M. 40. This locomotive began its first trip with the help of the workshop superintendent, Mr. Porfirio Valdez, on July 27, 1913. This was a very important event for the city and was reported by a newspaper of the time:

"Tomorrow will be a day of well-deserved joy among the local railroad workers' union and a source of satisfaction for Aguascalientes, which will be the first capital where everything from the tiniest screw to the largest and most delicate piece of a locomotive has been built, whose inauguration run will take place tomorrow on the National Railways line."

Railway Station

The current station building began construction in 1910 and opened in 1911. It was the work of Italian engineer G.M. Buzzo. It is in the Californian colonial style, although it also has elements of Hispanic influence. The layout is multi-level with a hipped tile roof, and its practically intact interior combines elements of wood and ironwork of great quality and beauty.

Today, the Old Station is a site museum that transports us back in time. The building houses original period furniture, tools, and objects. Inside the station, you'll also find an art gallery with temporary exhibitions by local and national artists.

Currently, the Tres Centurias Trust (FICOTRECE) is a mega-project to rescue industrial heritage, where you can find green areas, vestiges of old workshops, museums, galleries, the University of the Arts, the Centenario-Bicentenario Public Library, government offices, business complexes, sports facilities, as well as the Sports Baccalaureate and much more.