Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas

5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) railways entered Minas Gerais in the 1870s, pushing towards the city of Belo Horizonte. Almost immediately attention turned to the construction of narrow-gauge feeder lines. In 1872 Provincial President Dr. Joaquim Floriano de Godoy signed into law approval for a narrow-gauge railway from the broad-gauge line heading west towards a navigable point on the Rio Grande. A subsequent law in 1877 limited the railway to initially building only as far as São João del Rei. A company, the Companhia Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas, was established in 1878, and a decision was made to make the junction with the broad gauge at Sítio (Antônio Carlos).

The gauge of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) was chosen in 1879. The exact reason for the choice of gauge is not known; one theory is that an American engineer was familiar with the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia in Chile. In any case, construction was begun in June 1879, with the first section opening between Sitio and Barrosso in September 1880. The line was opened through to São João del Rei on 28 August 1881 by the Emperor Dom Pedro II.

The company sought permission to extend the railway and over the subsequent 15 years built a number of extensions until it reached Paraopeba. Apart from a small number of short branches, the railway was more or less complete by 1894. During this time the line had been reasonably profitable, returning small dividends. However, in 1894 the railway barely broke even, and following years brought losses. By April 1900 the company was in liquidation, and a month and a half strike by employees was only halted when the State government paid their back pay. The entire railway was placed up for auction on 13 June 1903 and purchased by the Federal Treasury.

Several branches were constructed in the period up to 1923, but no extensions after that date. Operation of the line was divested to the State government in 1931. In the meantime, 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge had been adopted as the primary gauge for secondary lines in Brazil. Lines radiating to the west from Belo Horizonte crossed the railway at Divinópolis and Velho Dataipa. By 1953, control of the railway reverted to the Federal government. During the period 1960 to 1965 most of the railway was either closed or converted to metre gauge. Only the section from Antônio Carlos to Aureliano Mourão was retained.

The Antônio Carlos line survived mainly on limestone traffic associated with a cement plant. Passenger traffic declined to a single coach attached to a daily mixed train. However, as the 1970s progressed, the line became more popular with tourists, and passenger traffic grew dramatically. In 1983 the closure of the cement plant brought the closure of the majority of the line, with only the section from Tiradentes to São João Del Rei being retained as a tourist line.