Cagliari Station, built by the Compagnia Reale delle Ferrovie Sarde, a company that was incorporated into the State Railways in the 1920s, was inaugurated in 1879. The station was built to a design by engineer Luigi Polese with a classical look that has partially changed over the years.
Following the interest shown by numerous visitors to the exhibition celebrating the 100 years of railways in Sardinia, a museum was set up in 1985 with the aim of fixing a record of industrial archaeology and ensuring over time the preservation of what has survived the neglect that in the past led to the scrapping of old locomotives and other precious artifacts. The museum, located inside the Cagliari station, collects more than 100 testimonies tracing the most important stages of Sardinian railway history and boasts in its collection some unique pieces, such as the control desk of the DCO originally from Chilivani. On display in the atrium of Cagliari station is the steam locomotive D 744.003, one of the few survivors of the series, which was used for a long time on the Cagliari-Olbia connections.
The museum is cared for by the Sardinian Historic Trains Association Sardegnavapore, established in 2000, which aims to promote, enhance and maintain the heritage and historical memory of Sardinia’s railways.
