The Basque provinces hosted, in their rugged terrain, one of the Spain’s densest networks of narrow-gauge railways. The harsh topography was what, to a large extent, led to the growth of a network that stuck to the ground and provided access to villages, mines and factories, stimulating the region’s economic development from the last third of the 19th century. A large part of this network, managed today by ETS or Adif, continues to provide an effective service to the Basque Country’s residents, although much of it did not survive the competition of the road and disappeared.

One of the victims was the Urola railway. Built by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, its 36 km of tracks followed the course of the River Urola, almost from its source upstream of Zumárraga to its mouth in the Cantabrian town of Zumaia, thereby connecting the interior with the coast directly. It was put into service in 1926 and its vocation as a passenger train has always been clear. But what also seemed evident from the beginning was its low profitability, since, except for the industrial island of Azpeitia, the rest of the route barely provided any work for the trains. The railway barely survived, not investing anything in its maintenance, so much so that by the mid-1980s it had become a veritable living railway museum, with rolling stock in a terminal state, hardly any passengers, and expenses that exceeded its income by eight times.

The Basque Government considered upgrading it, first of all closing it to begin comprehensive modernisation work. However, the truth is that this work was stopped shortly after it began, and its closure was decreed in January 1988. In the 21st century, projects to reopen the Azpeitia-Zumaia section as a tram line and an industrial branch have been studied, but none have ended up starting due to successive crises. The 5-km section from Azpeitia to Lasao still exists as a historic railway featuring steam trains, whose terminus is made up of what used to be the line’s central facilities, the station and workshops of Azpeitia, which have housed the Basque Railway Museum for more than a quarter of a century.

A steam ride on the Urola railway

How often have we seen old steam locomotives on TV and cinema screens! And yet, how difficult it is for our imagination to grasp the proportions of such a colossal and compact mass of irons. The solution to this desire to remember times past lies with the Basque Railway Museum of Euskotren, a public company of the Basque Government. Here you cannot only see but also touch and... travel as our grandparents did. Because with the boiler bubbling away and the stokers at the ready, the old Urola Railway runs along the five kilometres that separate the museum from the town of Lasao, every weekend between the months of April and November.

At the head of this train is the Aurrera locomotive, built in England in 1898, and at the tail, the C-2 and C-4 wooden cars built in 1925. Although, occasionally, the museum replaces the Aurrera with the Zugastieta of 1888, the Portugal of 1913 or the Euskadi of 1920. Also, in addition to steam, other diesel trains run on the track and all of the museum’s rolling stock is still viable.

This train journey is undoubtedly the best addition to the trip along the greenway and the visit to the Basque Railway Museum, located in the old Azpeitia Station. A historical tour that begins with steam trains, vital for the industrial revolution in the Basque Country, and culminates with the modern carriages of the Bilbao Metro. In the museum we will see the old mechanical workshop of the Urola Railway, a collection of railway clocks, different uniforms and the old electrical transformation plant, as well as steam locomotives, trams, trolleybuses, railcars and wagons of all kinds. Don't miss it. museoa.euskotren.eus