In the Constructivist works he began to develop in the mid 1920s in Paris, Joaquín Torres García followed two different working methods. On one hand, he created compositions that were strictly Constructivist, placing a repertoire of pictograms, signs of a universal symbolic language combining abstraction and figuration, within a gird. In parallel, he elaborated a series of figurative drawings and paintings that incorporated Constructivist elements in an effort to reproduce the hectic atmosphere of a large modern city.

Constructive Train appears as a synthesis of urban life. Pictorial elements are organized in superimposed strips similar to Egyptian mural paintings. The different strips establish a dialogue with one another: the horse-drawn cart that moves forward from left to right is countered by the train which moves in the opposite direction.

Despite the fact that the Constructivist grid is still present, the organization of elements is arranged in a tiered, or “staircase,” composition. In the work of Torres García, the staircase symbolizes a transition from one world to the next, the ascension from prosaic daily life to the realm of the universal spirit.