Casino Model Railway Museum

The Casino Model Railway Museum[2][3] at Malahide, Ireland (previously called the Fry Model Railway) is the display home for the Fry Model Collection in the refurbished Casino cottage building in central Malahide. It opened to the public on 22 January 2020.[4][1][5][6]

Casino Model Railway Museum[1]
Casino building before refurbishment
Former name
Fry Model Railway
Established22 January 2020
LocationMalahide, Ireland
Coordinates53.450634°N 6.158326°W / 53.450634; -6.158326
Collections
  • Fry Model Railway
  • Fry Collection
FounderCyril Fry
Owner
Public transit accessMalahide railway station
WebsiteOfficial website

The railway and collection was moved from its previous home in Malahide Castle in 2010. The collection originated from the work of Cyril Fry who had created the collection to run on his layout at his cottage in Churchtown, Dublin.

History

The layout and collection was created by the railway engineer and draughtsman Cyril Fry, an employee of Inchicore Works, and his family. The collection of models passed to Dublin Tourism in the 1970s, following Mr Fry's death.[7] Following work by retired CIÉ craftsman Thomas Tighe at Inchicore Works a new model railway was moved to Malahide Castle in 1988, which operated with models made by other modellers, with the Fry collection on display in viewing cases.

Move from Malahide Castle

The exhibition was forced to be removed to storage for the redevelopment of Malahide Castle in 2010 following notice from the owners Fingal County Council.[8] A 'Friends of the Fry Model Railway' association was formed and initial suggestions of where to relocate included Collins Barracks, Dublin.[8] The only viable proposal to emerge was to re-open the railway at the basement Eblana Theatre in the Bus Éireann station in Dublin.[9] An unexpected turn of events was that a wealthy farmer who died in January 2012 left a bequest of €1.5m to restore the Casino House cottage near Malahide railway station but a condition of the legacy was that it be used to hold the Fry model railway exhibition.[10] Fáilte Ireland initially wished to continue with the Bus Éireann option however this would have lost the conditions for the bequest.[11] By April 2012 Fingal County Council determined to accept the bequest and the incumbent transport minister Leo Varadkar indicated he was delighted the matter was resolved.[7] In a Malahide/Howth area committee meeting in June 2017 councillors expressed frustrations over the delays but that matters concerning heritage buildings were complex and of the need to meet the constraints of the funding bequest.[12]

In September 2017 the exhibition was expected to re-open in 2019 following refurbishment of the 'Casino' cottage building near Malahide railway station.[13] By the end of April 2018 some progress had been made with the tendering process complete and the contractor having commenced on site with extension and refurbishment of the Casino Cottage to complete in February 2019 with public opening expected Spring 2019.[14][15] October 2018 saw the plan broadly on the course of the September 2017 timetable to re-open in early 2019 in Malahide following the refurbishment and extension of the Casino building.[16][17][14][18] However reported expected costs rose through 2018 from €2.4 million to €2.7 million[15][19] and on to €3.2 million.[18] In May 2019 the work on the Casino building was stated as complete and re-opening is was scheduled for Autumn 2019.[20][3] In August 2019 Shannon Heritage was appointed operator for the facility, seemingly termed the Casino Model Railway Museum, with official opening remaining to be expected "later this year".[2]

Casino House

Casino House was built around 1750[21] though some claims date it earlier to the late 17th century.[7][22] It is a two-story thatched house with eight bays.[21] It was a shooting lodge for the Talbot family (though some have suggested a romantic summer house[7]) and remained with the family until 1927.[22] The building had been allowed to deteriorate.[12][23][24] May 2019 saw the building renovated and extended to house the railway museum and collection.[20][3]

Fry collection

The Fry collection includes hand-built models of Irish features, stations and trains represents Irish railway heritage since the about the 1840s.[8][16] While the O gauge models were usually very accurate the Drumm Battery Train model appears to be have been taken from preliminary drawings incorporating streamlined ends which did not appear in the actual train.[25][26] A figure of about 360 rail vehicles is mentioned.[19][lower-alpha 2]

Steam locomotive models
Partial list of steam motive power models in the Fry Collection[27]
Company Number Class Type Livery Notes
D&KR Hibernia 2-2-0 [28][lower-alpha 3]
D&DR   8 2-2-2T Green [29]
GS&WR  47  47/E3 0-4-4BT Grey
GS&WR 341 341/D1 4-4-0 GS&WR Sir William Goulding
GS&WR 362/B3 4-6-0 Lined GSR green Livery incorrect - GSR only applied green livery to the three 800 class.
GS&WR 501 500/B1 4-6-0 Lined GSR green Type E tender, livery incorrect
GS&WR 900 900/A1 Lined GSR green Livery incorrect, original locomotive 4-8-0T rebuilt to 4-6-2T
DSER 461 461/K2 2-6-0 CIÉ Black Original locomotive preserved
WTR   2 483/N1 2-2-2T Original
MGWR  13 650/G2 2-4-0 Original MGWR green MGWR K Class Rapid[30][27]
WCR   5   5C/IN1 0-6-2T Original Narrow gauge, Original locomotive preserved
WCR   2   2C/PN1 2-6-2T Original Narrow gauge
GSR 372 372/K1 2-6-0 CIÉ Green
GSR 670 670/I3 0-6-2T CIÉ Green
GSR 710 710/J15b 0-6-0 CIÉ
GSR 800 800/B1a 4-6-0 CIÉ Maeḋḃ, original locomotive preserved
GS&WR 404 400/B2 4-6-0 Lined black Built by Bassett-Lowke for the British Empire Exhibition
SLNCR  26 Lough 0-6-4T Unlined black Lough Melvin[30]
TDLR   4 TLDR/4 0-4-2T Narrow gauge[30]
NCC     WT 2-6-2T [lower-alpha 4]
GNRI  83 V 4-4-0 Blue "Eagle"[31]

Railcars and trams
Partial list of railcar and tram motive power models in the Fry Collection[32]
Type Company Number Date Details
Tram DUTC 147 1905 Four-wheeled open top vestibuled
Tram CIÉ 297 1933 Dalkey luxury bogie car
Locomotive D&BST   6 1887 0-4-0 locomotive
Trailer D&BST   7 1887 Single deck bogie trailer
Tram Giant's Causeway   9 1883 Four wheel tram as refurbished in 1899
Tram DUTC 307 1900 Hill of Howth bogie open car
Tram Giant's Causeway  24 Portion of single deck car on Brill trucks
Tram Bessbrook and Newry   2 1885 Bogie motor coach, original is at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
Tram DUTC 288 1919 Balcony tramcar with body from Spa Road Works[33]
Railcar GSR   C[lower-alpha 5] Drumm battery train 2nd generation from a design proposal[34][lower-alpha 5]
Railmotor GSR 362 1928 Clayton Steam Railmotor[33]
Railcar CDR  18 1940 Built by GNR and now preserved at Fintown[33]

Casino layout

The new layout is expected to be able to run six trains simultaneously.[35] There will be about 360 hand-built carriages and locomotives.[35][lower-alpha 6] The new layout is on an 11m x 4m table (44 square metres (470 sq ft)) with additional trains running on overhead tracks.[4] The main basis of the running display layout is a double loop oval with single track round Bray Head at one end and Dublin city represented at the other.[5] Mallow railway station in County Cork and the local Malahide station are represented on the sides; while a single track loops overhead.[5]

The Casino incorporates an educational centre available to groups of scholars.[4]

Previous layouts

Churchtown

The original layout evolved in Cyril Fry's own home, and he originally called it "The Irish International Railway and Tramway System".[36]

Malahide Castle

A dedicated O gauge display was set up at Malahide Castle in June 1988 after being prepared at Inchicore from the early 1980s.[37] It was a working miniature rail display that grew to 2,500 square feet (230 m2).[16] The core design of the layout consisted of three double track loops encircling the control area in the middle.[38] One end of the layout depicted Dublin with the opposite corners representing Cork and Belfast.[38][8] Even an Irish Sea mail Packet boat was represented in the background.[8] In between various scenes of Irish rail scenes through the ages were depicted.[38]

See also

Notes
  1. operator
  2. Sources it is unclear if this figure includes items added to run the Malahide Castle layout
  3. Described as The first train in Ireland the image also depicts four different period coach types. While Hibernia certainly hauled the scheduled first passenger train on 17 December 1834 there is legend Vauxhall was the first locomotive on Irish rails
  4. From Display photographs on website
  5. The Fry model of the 3rd Drumm battery unit uses a design that was proposed with streamline ends but which differs from the train as built
  6. The figure of 360 vehicles may relate to either or both of vehicles in the collection and trains on the exhibition layout

References
  1. Hogan (2020a).
  2. Manning, John (17 August 2019). "Operator appointed for Fry Model Railway exhibition". Fingal Independent. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  3. Manning, John (11 May 2019). "'Casino' building restored". Fingal Independent. Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. Shannon (January 2020). "Model Railway Museum - Self Guided Experience". Casino Model Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. Hogan (2020b).
  6. Fingal County Council; Shannon Heritage (13 December 2019). "Casino Model Railway Museum Update". FCC. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. Sheehy, Clodagh (28 April 2012). "Fry Model Railway finds new €2m home". The Herald (Ireland). Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  8. Hamill, John (2 February 2011). "Fry Model Railway Museum to be closed down!". Collect Ireland. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  9. "Bus Eireann submitted only suitable proposal". Fingal Independent. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  10. Melia, Paul (3 January 2013). "Saviour of Europe's largest model railway leaves €17m in will". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  11. Hogan, Louise (12 March 2012). "Failte throws a spanner in €1.5m model railway plan". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  12. Maddock, Fergal (17 June 2017). "Frustration mounts over Casino redevelopment delay". Fingal Independent. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  13. "Casino to open in 2019". Irish Independent. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  14. "Update On Fry Model Railway & Casino Project". North County Leader. 27 March 2018. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  15. Pownall, Sylvia (12 April 2018). "FRY RAILWAY WORKS 'IMMINENT'". Dublin Gazette. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  16. "Fry Model Railway Exhibition". Mr. Dublin Guide. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  17. "Casino to open in 2019". Irish Independent. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  18. Manning, John (13 October 2018). "Progress on Casino project". Fingal Independent. Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  19. "Fingal County Council - Press Release" (PDF). Fingal County Council. 27 April 2018. Redevelopment of Malahide Casino begins. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  20. "X" (PDF) (Press release). Fingal County Council. 1 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  21. "Casino, Dublin Road, Malahide, Fingal". National Inventory or Irish Heritage. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  22. Malahide Historical Society. "Malahide Landmarks include:". malahide.ie. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  23. "CASINO". Malahide Historical Society. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  24. "Casino, Malahide". An Taisce - The National Trust for Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  25. Clements, Jeremy; McMahon, Michael (2008). "Battery electric powered units - Drumm Electric Multiple Units". Locomotives of the GSR. Colourpoint Books. p. 313. ISBN 9781906578268.
  26. Emerson, John (3 January 2017). Modelling Railways in 0 Gauge. The Crowood Press Ltd. Sixty years of the senior scale. ISBN 978-1785002540.
  27. Clements & McMahon (2008), p. 380.
  28. Fry (1960), pp. Cover,197.
  29. Jenkinson (1991), pp. Cover,99.
  30. Jenkinson (1991), p. 120.
  31. Hogan (2020b), 0m 24s.
  32. Mansell (1956), pp. Cover, 263, 274.
  33. Jenkinson (1991), p. 122.
  34. Clements & McMahon (2008), pp. 313, 380.
  35. McCárthaigh, Seán (30 October 2018). "Model railway back on track after farmer's €1.5m bequest". The Times. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  36. Jenkinson (1993), p. 117.
  37. Jenkinson (1993), p. 119.
  38. Jenkinson (1993), p. 123.
  • Fry, C.L. (September 1960). "Cover Picture". Model Railway Constructor. Vol. 27 no. 317. Ian Allan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • David, Jenkinson (August 1991). "The Fry Model Railway". Modellers' Back Track. Vol. 1 no. 3. Atlantic Transport Publishers.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mansell, K.G. (December 1956). "Our Cover Picture". Model Railway Constructor. Vol. 23 no. 272. Ian Allan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hogan, Laura (21 January 2020a). "All aboard: 'Unique' model railway collection returns to Malahide". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hogan, Laura (21 January 2020b). Model trains on display at Casino Model Railway Museum in Dublin (Television News). Ireland: RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Clements, Jeremy; McMahon, Michael (2008). "Appendix K: GSR Locomotives in miniature". Locomotives of the GSR. Colourpoint Books. ISBN 9781906578268.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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