1.5 Euro La Madrileña

For the year 2021, since the European Year of the Rail and the 80th Anniversary of Renfe are celebrated, the FNMT-RCM issues a collection of 20 coins dedicated to the History of the Railways. This series reproduces a selection of trains and locomotives that have been relevant throughout its history.
La Madrileña: On February 9 1851, Isabel II opened Spain’s second railway track, running between Madrid and Aranjuez. The man who championed the project, José de Salamanca, travelled to France and England to deal personally with the purchase of the locomotives. According to his biographer, Hernández Girbal, Salamanca followed the advice of Stephenson and bought a first lot of four units from Stothert, Slaughter & Co. (Bristol).
The second of these locomotives, named the Madrileña, hauled the first pilot train months before the commencement of commercial activity, pulling four cars with 200 passengers on board. An English engine driver under the orders of one of the company’s managers drove the locomotive in this, the first railway journey from Madrid, during which the convoy travelled at a speed of “eight leagues per hour”.
According to the Madrid-Aranjuez Railway Manual, the only contemporary description available nowadays, it was registered as Number 2 and had a 120 running gear. From the drawings in the manual, the locomotive would appear to be of the Long Boiler type, a model devised by Robert Stephenson in 1842, increasing power by endowing the boiler with greater capacity. The design was highly suited to meet the demands of this railway track. It had two cylinders located on the exterior and two driving wheels with a diameter of 1,700 mm. It could reach a pressure of five atmosphere and had a maximum power of 186 hp.