MUSEO ESTACIÓN CENTRAL DEL FERROCARIL

The old Asunción railway station now houses a small museum on the history of rail transport in Paraguay. Paraguay was one of the first Latin American countries to build a passenger railroad. It was in the ^mid-19th century, during the great works undertaken by President Carlos Antonio López, and later by his son Francisco Solano López. The station was inaugurated in 1861. A train linked Asunción to Trinidad (today's Botanical Gardens), then to Luque, and later to Areguá (1862) and Paraguari (1864), just before the outbreak of the War of the Triple Alliance. Reopened in the 1880s, the train linked Asunción to Villarica in 1886, then to Encarnación from 1913, with a connection to the Argentine rail system leading to Buenos Aires. The train ran until 1999, then between 2004 and 2009 only for tourist purposes, between Trinidad and Areguá. The tourist train may be back in service in the years to come, but nothing is certain... The museum displays a variety of railway-related objects, including a telegraph. You can climb aboard the country's first steam locomotive, imported from England, and walk through the carriages, still in their original condition. It's a quick but interesting visit, with a modest entrance fee. The station building features two neo-Gothic towers and a gallery overlooking the Uruguaya square. Allow around 20 minutes for the visit.