Narrow Gauge North

2024

A 00n3 layout by Dr Alan Gee
Scale 00n3

Size 13’ x 2’

new
Schull is a fishing port on the Mizen peninsula in County Cork, Southern Ireland approximately 15 miles from the town of Skibereen.  In 1886 a 3' gauge roadside tramway was constructed to join Schull to Skibereen.  The original undertaking had the grand title of the West Carberry Tramways and Light Railway Company.  This however was changed in 1892 to the more familiar Schull and Skibereen Railway.

In 1924 after the partition of Ireland, all the railways in Southern Ireland were amalgamated into the Great Southern Railway, and the Schull and Skibereen Railway carried on under this new management until closure came about in 1947, mainly due to competition from road traffic, and coal shortages.

The model is a near exact model of Schull station situated as it was on the foreshore of Roaring Water Bay at Schull.  The layout has been built to a scale of 4mm to the foot, resulting in the 3' narrow gauge track being 12mm wide on the model.  All the buildings have been constructed from measurements taken on site, and the track plan is exactly as it was at Schull.  A novel feature is that the run round loop and the engine shed were off a turntable.  The breakwater was constructed to stop the station yard flooding at high tide.

There are no ready to run or complete kits available for the rolling stock used on the railway, and all the stock you see displayed has had to be scratch built from etched brass and nickel silver sheets.  Drawings if the rolling stock can  be found in James Boyd's book on the Schull and Skibereen railway, which was the main source of information for the model.  All the track was hand made from copper clad sleepers and code 75 flat bottom rail, to give the exact sleeper patterns as found on the real railway.

Modified Faller road vehicles have also been incorporated into the layout to illustrate the original roadside tramway feature of the railway.

The operators will be pleased to answer any questions you have about Schull and Irish narrow gauge railways in general.