The Mauá Railway (Portuguese: Estrada de Ferro Mauá) was the first railroad constructed in Brazil. Inaugurated on April 30, 1854, it was established by the entrepreneur Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, who was later granted the title of Baron of Mauá.
The railway initially spanned a distance of approximately 14.5 kilometers (9 miles). It connected the port of Guia de Pacobaíba, located on the Guanabara Bay in Magé, to the terminal at Fragoso, near the base of the Petrópolis mountains in the province of Rio de Janeiro. The line utilized a broad gauge of 1.676 meters. The first locomotive to operate on the line was named "Baronesa."
The construction of the Mauá Railway marked the beginning of the railway era in Brazil, facilitating the transport of goods and passengers between the coast and the interior during the Second Reign of the Brazilian Empire. Although its initial stretch was short, it demonstrated the feasibility of steam-powered rail transport in the region.
In 1954, on the centenary of its inauguration, the original terminal at Guia de Pacobaíba was designated as a national historical heritage site by the Brazilian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). The railway was eventually incorporated into larger networks, including the Leopoldina Railway, before much of the original line was decommissioned in the 20th century.
