Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado
The site where Guevara led rebel forces in 1958 to overturn a government armored train with a bulldozer. Several carriages are now an open-air museum.
On December 29, 1958, rebel forces led by Guevara used a bulldozer to tear up the railway tracks, derailing the armored train that Batista's government troops used to transport soldiers and weapons. In just about an hour and a half, they forced more than 400 soldiers to surrender. This Battle of Santa Clara directly led to Batista's flight and the victory of the revolution. The site preserves the original bulldozer and several original train cars. Inside the cars, exhibits display weapons, photographs, and an account of the battle, and abstract-style memorial sculptures surround the area. Admission is a small fee of about 1–2 CUP (check on site), and the exhibits inside the carriages may be closed on Sunday afternoons. It is about 1 km northeast of the city center and can be combined on foot with Parque Vidal.
Opening hours
Approx. 09:00–17:30; shorter hours on Sundays
Nearby sights
- Constantino Pérez Carrodegua Cigar Factory
- Museo de Artes Decorativas
- Parque Vidal
- Boulevard Independencia
- Teatro La Caridad
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
- Loma del Capiro
- Che Guevara Mausoleum & Monument