The steam engine
On a narrow gauge.
MATHIAS, M H from Guaratinguetá, Brasil — CC BY 2.0 · FernandoSantos — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paulo SP/ Wikimedia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FernandoSantos — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Maria Fumaça steam train between São João del-Rei and Tiradentes runs on a preserved stretch of the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas, a railway begun in 1881 on a narrow 762-millimetre gauge. When most of the line closed in the second half of the 20th century, this section survived and has run as a tourist railway since the 1980s, hauled by steam locomotives; the whole railway complex was listed as national heritage in 1989. The line links São João del-Rei station, with its workshops, roundhouse and Railway Museum, to Tiradentes station, calling at Chagas Dória. Many visitors take the train one way and return by road, or spend a few hours in each town. Tickets cost R$86 each way (half price R$43), children up to 5 free on a lap; trains run Thursday to Sunday with several departures from each end, and tickets are sold at the station kiosks or online.
On a narrow gauge.
In São João del-Rei.
Linked by rail.
Tiradentes and São João del-Rei stations, Minas Gerais
R$86 each way, half price R$43, children up to 5 free on a lap; it runs Thursday to Sunday.
