El presente arti?culo tiene por objetivo analizar la percepcio?n de los trabajadores ferroviarios de La Araucani?a, Chile, en relacio?n con el papel desempen?ado por el ferrocarril en las dina?micas socioculturales y econo?micas de la regio?n. A partir de una metodologi?a cualitativa, donde se entrevisto? a veintitre?s trabajadores y extrabajadores ferroviarios, se desarrollo? el trabajo de campo en ciudades histo?ricas de la regio?n como Victoria, Lautaro, Temuco y Renaico, las cuales se gestaron territorialmente en estrecha relacio?n con la insercio?n del ferrocarril desde la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Dentro de los hallazgos cabe destacar la relevancia del ferrocarril en la vida cotidiana de los habitantes de la regio?n, el rol del ferrocarril en la participacio?n social de los ciudadanos, la trascendencia del patrimonio ferroviario desde el encuentro entre lo material y lo subjetivo y las transformaciones en las formas de interaccio?n social de los trabajadores ferroviarios.

The present article aims to analyze the perception of the railway workers from La Araucani?a, Chile, regarding the role played by the railway in sociocultural and economic dynamics of the Region. The fieldwork was carried out in the Region’s historical cities, such as Victoria, Lautaro, Temuco and Renaico, which were developed -in terms of territory- very closely-related to the incorporation of the railway during the second half of the XIX century. The research used a qualitative methodology, in which twenty-three railway workers and former workers were interviewed. Among the findings, it is worth mentioning: the importance of the railway in the daily lives of the Region’s inhabitants, the role of the railway in the social participation of citizens, the significance of the railway patrimony from the encounter between the material and the subjective, and the transformations in the social interaction ways of the railway workers.