A GUIDEPOST REPRINT:”The Strawberry Line,” 12 July 1985 »

Ten a.m. at Madrid’s Estación de las Delicias: a goods train, the Strawberry Train, is about to set off. In the 1850’s the train was the subject of much talk and excitement, described and romanticised by chronicles, poets and journalists. It carried the Royalty and their guests on hunting trips from Atocha station right up to the portals of the Royal Palace in Aranjuez. On their return to Madrid the local borough would present them with asparagus and strawberries and in commemoration of this tradition the hostesses today pass around baskets of strawberries to the tourists on the Tren de la Fresa