The Casino Model Railway Museum is located in Malahide in North County Dublin. Mum Ana took her son for a visit last week, read on to find out more about what they did and thought in our family review of The Model Railway Museum Dublin.

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Picture a wet miserable rainy day over midterm break. What to do? We decided to head off to the newly opened Model Railway Museum, located in Malahide in North County Dublin, just a 10 minute drive from Dublin Airport.

A Visit to the Model Railway Museum Dublin

About Cyril Fry And The Casino Model Railway Museum

The Casino Model Railway Museum offers a close-up look at the exquisite workmanship of Cyril Fry’s hand-crafted models, possibly one of the most important private collections of miniature railway engines, wagons and carriages ever created. It’s located in the heart of Malahide Village, with easy access by road, DART and bus.

Cyril Laurence Fry (1905-1972) was the first son of Sydney Fry and Emilie Mabel. As a young boy, Cyril became fascinated by the trains that ran past the rear of their house in Dundrum.

When he was 10 years old, Cyril was sent to boarding school in England, where his passion grew. At 17 he became an apprentice and went on to become an engineer with the Inchicore Railway Works in Dublin.

Throughout his working career, Fry spent his spare time building over 350 precision-made models and created an elaborate layout on which to display them, complete with signal lights and level crossing barriers, which all worked automatically.

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Our Family’s Visit

This little museum is a great way to spend a couple of hours, you can book the entry tickets online or buy them on arrival.

Once inside, the museum is very easy to get around, there is a lot to read and look at. We enjoyed all the interactive screens, which were perfect for kids to mess around with.

The crown jewel is at the end when you enter the Model Railway Room – my son absolutely loved it, and he wasn’t the only one! I didn’t even stop to take pictures and he just jumped from one place to another trying to take it all in.

We made a small video for his YouTube channel, which will hopefully help any undecided parents wondering about a visit:

You can finish the trip with some playtime at the playground near Malahide Castle, or even venture on to the Castle Tour, but for us that’s an adventure for another day!

Note: The Model Railway Museum is closed on Mondays until March 31st. Tickets range from €5 to €22 for a family ticket.

There is paid parking right across the road, which is not expensive at all, or there’s free parking at Malahide Castle about 10 mins walk away.

Final Verdict

It was a 5 out of 5 from my son – he simply didn’t want to go home!

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Have you visited the Model Railway Museum in Dublin? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!