Limerick-based model railway club aims to stay on track

MEMBERS of a club which celebrates the niche hobby of model railway building are hoping they can stay on track with a move to a permanent station.

A small room on the top floor of a building in the heart of Medieval Limerick hums into action twice a week for model rail enthusiasts.

Rented from St Mary’s Men’s Shed, the space in Nicholas Street plays host to the Mid-West Model Railway Club (MWMRC).

Despite the small size of the area, it is abuzz with people demonstrating rail models, testing gadgets, or simply enjoying a cuppa.

Above: Club chairman and founder Evan Kelly with Ed O'Leary

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The reason space is at a premium in the room is due to the elaborate set up of a train line, and buildings which have been put together by its members.

The diorama is named Treaty Junction, and it pays homage to a station which is perhaps local rail passengers’ least favourite drop off point: Limerick Junction!

Station buildings have been intricately designed in miniature, alongside stone houses, seating - and not forgetting the platform where so many passengers have no doubt frozen to death waiting for their train to Dublin, or back home to Limerick!

Founded by Lynwood Park man Evan Kelly in 2023, the club has steamed forward in terms of members, going from eight early on to more than 20 now.

And unlike many train services, he says the group’s growth is ahead of schedule.

“I didn’t think we would grow as fast as we did,” he admits. “With the eight I set out with in 2023, I said if we got two more members to bring it up to 10, we would be doing well. But it’s exploding!”

It is this which has sparked the need to move.

Below: Tom Cassidy, pictured in the Mid-West Model Railway Club's base at Nicholas Street in the city centre

While MWMRC is grateful to the Men’s Shed for providing the space and helping the club grow, the fact the room is up a steep flight of stairs presents logistical challenges.

Not only this, but because they are based in the building, those in the rail club must also be Men’s Shed members - and this limits who they can welcome.

“We do have members with grandchildren who want to join. We have partners who want to join, but it is limited to the Men’s Shed standard, which is why we would look and hope to get our own premises. We need somewhere we can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Then we can cater for children, grandchildren, women, people with mobility issues. Anyone from any background,” Evan explained.

He thinks at the moment, the club is only “scratching the surface” in terms of the interest that is out there.

“My own background is in social care. I work with children. They are into model cars, they are playing with trucks. That is the start of it. We all did it at some stage,” he said.

When MWMRC opened, it was the first in the west of Ireland - the other three are in Dublin and Wexford.

“We call it the Mid-West Model Railway Club as we have a big cohort of members from North Kerry, county Limerick, North Tipperary and Clare,” Evan added.

It is because of this that the team based their diorama on Limerick Junction, a station synonymous with providing connections to locations across the region.

Above: Club members inspect their 'Treaty Junction' diorama. Photographed left to right, Tony O'Callaghan, Ed O'Leary, Evan Kelly and Trevor Beacom

The design will be the centrepiece of an exhibition which the group are holding in the Castletroy Park Hotel this June Bank Holiday weekend.

Many of us may have had model railways growing up, and are used to slotting rail-track together, before plugging in and playing.

But, as the club chairman explains, this isn’t entirely the case.

“Some people think it’s just playing with model trains. But there is more to it than that. There are lot of skills involved: electrical skills, carpentry, craft-making. Think real railways, but you’re sizing it down. You’re a mini-engineer,” he said.

Evan comes from a railway family - his grandmother Marie (better known as Buddy around the station) worked for CIE, the parent firm of Irish Rail.

As a youngster, he recalls being taken to Colbert station by his mum Colette and dad Mark to enjoy a good nosey around the city’s rail hub!

But it was watching the trains rolling into Limerick, from near his childhood home which ignited the passion.

“Being from Kileely, the Longpavement crossing and the metal bridge are just up the road. And there is Barrack Lane boat club, I remember watching the trains coming over the bridge,” he recalls.

It was when he was “eight or nine” he received his first train set.

“It was like a rite of passage. Every child has one I guess,” he smiles.

The advent of the internet has made train sets and carriages more accessible.

“I remember being a child in Limerick and going into The Gathering Hobby Shop in Lower Gerald Griffin Street. I remember getting stuff from there. And that was the only place you could get stuff from,” Evan recalls.

Even if people do not want to bring gadgets, the club also serves as a great place to socialise.

“It’s more than a model railway club. It’s a club for people to get together. We are all tied up with jobs. I am out the door at 8am and not home until 6pm. So it’s nice to have something to look forward to on an evening,” he adds.

It’s hoped that the club members could provide a new lease of life to an empty building in the city.

“You could really promote the hobby. It’d be a mini community in itself,” he said.

If you can help out with a venue for the club - or for information on joining - call Evan at 083-2004334.

Alternatively, please visit www.mwmrc.ie, email mwmrc.ie@gmail.com or look them up on Facebook.