Casino Model Railway Museum facts for kids
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Casino building before refurbishment
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| Former name | Fry Model Railway |
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| Established | 22 January 2020 |
| Location | Malahide, Ireland |
| Collections |
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| Founder | Cyril Fry |
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| Public transit access | Malahide railway station |
The Casino Model Railway Museum in Malahide, Ireland, is a fantastic place to see the amazing Fry Model Collection. It used to be called the Fry Model Railway. This museum opened its doors on January 22, 2020. You can find it inside the beautifully fixed-up Casino cottage building in central Malahide.
Before finding its new home, the collection was at Malahide Castle until 2010. The Fry Model Collection started with the incredible work of Cyril Fry. He was a railway engineer who loved building model trains. He created this collection to run on his own model railway at his home in Churchtown, Dublin.
Contents
History of the Fry Model Railway
The model railway and its collection were created by Cyril Fry and his family. Cyril Fry was a railway engineer and draughtsman who worked at Inchicore Works. After Mr. Fry passed away in the 1970s, his collection of models was given to Dublin Tourism.
Later, a new model railway was set up at Malahide Castle in 1988. This was done with the help of a retired craftsman named Thomas Tighe from Inchicore Works. This new railway featured models made by other people, while the original Fry collection was shown in special display cases.
Moving from Malahide Castle
In 2010, the exhibition had to leave Malahide Castle. This happened because the castle was going to be redeveloped by its owners, Fingal County Council. The collection was put into storage.
A group called 'Friends of the Fry Model Railway' was formed to help find a new home. One idea was to move it to Collins Barracks, Dublin. Another plan 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 €1.5 million to restore the Casino House cottage. This cottage is near Malahide railway station. The money came with a special condition: it had to be used to house the Fry model railway exhibition.
Initially, Fáilte Ireland wanted to stick with the Bus Éireann plan. However, this would have meant losing the generous donation. By April 2012, Fingal County Council decided to accept the gift. The transport minister at the time, Leo Varadkar, was very happy that the issue was solved.
In June 2017, local councillors expressed some frustration about delays. However, they understood that working with old heritage buildings can be complicated. They also knew they had to follow the rules that came with the funding.
By September 2017, it was expected that the exhibition would reopen in 2019. This would happen after the 'Casino' cottage building was refurbished. By April 2018, good progress was made. A contractor started work on extending and refurbishing the Casino Cottage. The work was expected to finish in February 2019, with the museum opening in Spring 2019.
In October 2018, the plan was still on track for an early 2019 reopening. However, the expected costs increased from €2.4 million to €3.2 million during 2018. In May 2019, the work on the Casino building was finished. The reopening was then set for Autumn 2019. In August 2019, Shannon Heritage was chosen to operate the museum, which was now called the Casino Model Railway Museum. The official opening was still expected "later this year." The museum finally opened to the public on January 22, 2020.
The Casino House Building
The Casino House was built around 1750, though some people think it might be even older. It is a two-story house with a thatched roof and eight sections. It used to be a hunting lodge for the Talbot family. Some even suggest it was a romantic summer house. The building stayed with the Talbot family until 1927. Over time, the building had fallen into disrepair. In May 2019, it was fully renovated and extended to become the home of the railway museum and collection.
The Fry Collection
The Fry collection includes amazing hand-built models of Irish landmarks, train stations, and trains. These models show the history of Irish railways from around the 1840s. The models are mostly O gauge, which means they are very accurate. There is one interesting model of the Drumm Battery Train. It seems to have been made from early drawings, showing a streamlined design that the real train didn't actually have. The collection has about 360 model rail vehicles in total.
Steam Locomotive Models
The collection features many detailed models of steam locomotives. These include trains from various Irish railway companies like the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, Great Southern and Western Railway, and Great Northern Railway (Ireland). Each model shows the unique design and colors of the original trains.
Railcars and Trams
Beyond steam locomotives, the Fry collection also includes models of railcars and trams. These models represent different types of public transport from Ireland's past. You can see models of trams from the Dublin United Transport Company and even a model of the Drumm Battery Train, which was an early electric train. There are also models of steam locomotives used on tramways, like those from the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway.
The Casino Layout
The new model railway layout at the Casino Museum is very impressive. It can run six trains at the same time! The main display table is 11 meters long and 4 meters wide. That's about 44 square meters of railway fun! There are also extra trains running on tracks above the main layout.
The main part of the display is a double loop oval track. One end shows Bray Head, and the other represents Dublin city. You can also see models of Mallow railway station in County Cork and the local Malahide station on the sides. A single track loops overhead, adding even more action.
The Casino building also has an educational center. This center is available for groups of students to learn more about railways and history.
Previous Layouts
Churchtown Layout
The very first layout was built by Cyril Fry in his own home. He called it "The Irish International Railway and Tramway System." This was where his amazing collection of models first came to life.
Malahide Castle Layout
A special O gauge display was set up at Malahide Castle in June 1988. It was prepared at Inchicore starting in the early 1980s. This was a working miniature railway display that grew to be about 2500 square feet.
The main design of this layout had three double-track loops. These loops went around the control area in the middle. One end of the layout 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, various scenes from Irish railway history were shown.
See also
- List of model railways
