Casino Model Railway Museum facts for kids
.jpg)
Casino building before refurbishment
|
|
| Former name | Fry Model Railway |
|---|---|
| Established | 22 January 2020 |
| Location | Malahide, Ireland |
| Collections |
|
| Founder | Cyril Fry |
| Owner |
|
| Public transit access | Malahide railway station |
The Casino Model Railway Museum in Malahide, Ireland, is a special place where you can see amazing model trains. It used to be called the Fry Model Railway. This museum is home to the Fry Model Collection, which is a huge collection of tiny, detailed trains and railway scenes. The museum opened its doors to visitors on January 22, 2020, inside the beautifully restored Casino cottage building.
The collection of model trains and the railway display were moved here from their old home at Malahide Castle in 2010. The whole collection started thanks to a man named Cyril Fry. He loved trains and built these models to run on his own railway setup at his home in Dublin.
Contents
The Story of the Museum
How the Collection Began
The incredible model railway and its collection were created by Cyril Fry. He was a railway engineer and draughtsman, which means he designed and drew plans for trains. He worked at a place called Inchicore Works. Cyril and his family put a lot of effort into building this collection.
After Mr. Fry passed away in the 1970s, his amazing collection of models was given to Dublin Tourism. Later, a skilled craftsman named Thomas Tighe helped set up a new model railway at Malahide Castle in 1988. This new display featured models made by other people, while Cyril Fry's original collection was shown in special display cases.
Moving to a New Home
In 2010, the model railway exhibition had to leave Malahide Castle. This was because the castle was going to be redeveloped. The owners, Fingal County Council, asked for the exhibition to be moved into storage.
People who loved the Fry Model Railway formed a group called 'Friends of the Fry Model Railway'. They wanted to find a new home for the trains. There were a few ideas, like moving it to Collins Barracks, Dublin. For a while, it looked like the best option was to reopen the railway in the basement of the Bus Éireann station in Dublin.
Then, something unexpected happened! In January 2012, a wealthy farmer passed away and left a large sum of money, €1.5 million, in his will. This money was specifically for restoring the Casino House cottage near Malahide railway station. The only condition was that the building had to be used to house the Fry model railway exhibition.
At first, another group, Fáilte Ireland, wanted to stick with the Bus Éireann idea. However, this would have meant losing the special donation for the Casino House. By April 2012, Fingal County Council decided to accept the generous gift. Government officials were very happy that a solution had been found. Even though there were some delays because dealing with old buildings can be complicated, everyone was keen to meet the conditions of the funding.
In September 2017, it was announced that the exhibition was expected to reopen in 2019. This would happen after the 'Casino' cottage building was fully refurbished. By April 2018, work had started on the building, and it was planned to be finished by February 2019. The museum was expected to open to the public in Spring 2019.
The project continued, and by October 2018, the plan was still on track for an early 2019 opening. However, the expected costs for the project increased over time. In May 2019, the work on the Casino building was finally complete, and the opening was set for Autumn 2019. In August 2019, Shannon Heritage was chosen to manage the new museum, which was officially named the Casino Model Railway Museum. It opened to the public on January 22, 2020.
About Casino House
The Casino House itself is a very old building. It was built around 1750, though some people think it might be even older, from the late 1600s. It's a two-story house with a traditional thatched roof. For a long time, it was used by the Talbot family, who owned Malahide Castle. It was a place where they could go for shooting trips, or perhaps just a lovely summer house. The building stayed with the Talbot family until 1927. Before its restoration, the building had fallen into disrepair. In May 2019, it was fully renovated and extended to become the new home for the model railway museum and its collection.
The Fry Collection: Tiny Trains, Big History
The Fry collection is truly special. It includes many hand-built models of Irish landmarks, railway stations, and trains. These models show the history of Irish railways all the way back to the 1840s!
The models are usually very accurate. For example, they are mostly O gauge, which is a specific size for model trains. There are about 360 different model railway vehicles in the collection.
The collection features many types of trains, including:
- Steam locomotives: These are the classic steam-powered trains that used to pull carriages. The collection has models of many different steam engines from various Irish railway companies.
- Railcars and trams: You can also see models of railcars (which are like self-propelled trains) and trams, which are smaller vehicles that often run on tracks in cities. These models show how public transport has changed over time in Ireland.
The New Museum Layout
The new railway display at the Casino Model Railway Museum is designed to be very impressive. It can run up to six trains at the same time! The main display table is quite large, measuring about 11 meters by 4 meters. That's about 44 square meters (or 473 square feet) of detailed railway scenery.
The main part of the display has a double loop of track. At one end, it shows the famous Bray Head area, and at the other end, it represents Dublin city. You'll also see models of Mallow railway station in County Cork and the local Malahide station on the sides. There's even a single track that loops overhead, adding more excitement to the display.
The Casino building also has a special educational center. This center is available for groups, like school classes, to learn more about railways and the history of transport.
Past Railway Displays
Cyril Fry's Home Layout
Cyril Fry's original model railway was built in his own home. He called it "The Irish International Railway and Tramway System." It was where his passion for model trains first came to life.
Malahide Castle Display
A large O gauge display was set up at Malahide Castle in June 1988. It was prepared at Inchicore starting in the early 1980s. This working miniature railway display was very big, covering about 2,500 square feet.
The main design of the layout at Malahide Castle had three double tracks that circled the control area in the middle. One end of the display showed Dublin, while the opposite corners represented Cork and Belfast. There was even a model of an Irish Sea mail Packet boat in the background! In between these main areas, the display showed various scenes from Irish railway history through the years.
Images for kids
-
Casino building before refurbishment
See also
- List of model railways
