Steam · 3ft Narrow Gauge
Cavan & Leitrim Railway
Dromod, Co. Roscommon · Est. 1887 · Restored from 1993
The Cavan & Leitrim Railway is one of the most historically significant preserved railways in Ireland, operating from Dromod (Co. Roscommon) on the mainline Sligo–Dublin corridor. The original C&L served a vast swathe of counties Cavan, Leitrim, and Roscommon — 53 miles of 3ft narrow gauge track — from 1887 until closure in 1959. Today's restored section carries steam trains hauled by a remarkable collection of locos gathered from closed Irish and overseas lines.
The C&L's collection includes ex-County Donegal Railway locomotives, ex-Cavan & Leitrim original stock, and engines repatriated from South America (Irish-built locos exported in the 1950s when the narrow gauge network closed). This eclectic mix is itself a living record of Irish railway history.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The C&L is the flagship Irish narrow gauge modelling subject. At 1:76 scale with 9mm track, OO9 recreates the 3ft gauge perfectly. The Donegal-era bogie coaches and distinctive Irish locos are superb scratch-building subjects. Heljan produced an O&K diesel loco that ran on some Irish narrow gauge lines. The slate-grey stonework, bog cuttings, and level crossings are all achievable with standard scenic materials. Several Irish modellers have built exhibition layouts based on the C&L — contact the
MRSI or SDMRC for layout contacts.
Visiting: Dromod station is off the N4 Dublin–Sligo road. Train operating days vary by season — check clrailway.com before travelling. A small museum and loco shed are viewable on most days. Admission charged on operating days.
Steam & Diesel · 5ft 3in Standard Gauge
Downpatrick & County Down Railway
Downpatrick, Co. Down (NI) · Est. 1990s · Only standard-gauge heritage line in Ireland
The Downpatrick & County Down Railway is unique: it's the only heritage railway on the island of Ireland operating on the standard Irish broad gauge of 5ft 3in (1,600mm). Running from Downpatrick towards Inch Abbey on a short but evocative section of the former Belfast & County Down Railway, it operates a rich collection of ex-Northern Ireland Railways and ex-CIÉ rolling stock — the kind of diesel multiple units and steam locos that worked the Irish main lines in the 1950s–1980s.
The line's rolling stock includes an ex-NIR 80-class diesel multiple unit (the same class that once served Belfast–Dublin expresses), ex-CIÉ coaching stock, and several steam locomotives. It's the closest thing in Ireland to a working museum of the post-war Irish railway era.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO / Irish Broad Gauge): The DCDR's stock overlaps heavily with the main Irish railway modelling subjects. Irish Railway Models and Accurascale have produced ex-CIÉ and NIR coaching and locomotive types in OO. The broad gauge question: Irish track is 5ft 3in, which at 1:76 should be 21mm — some serious modellers build Irish layouts in IBG (Irish Broad Gauge, 21mm). Commercial track is 16.5mm, which represents a slight compromise. The DCDR's ex-NIR 80-class DMU is a strong candidate for a future RTR release from an Irish manufacturer.
Visiting: Downpatrick station is in the town centre, well signposted. Check downrail.co.uk for operating timetables. The DCDR also runs seasonal diesel gala and steam gala weekends which attract enthusiasts from across Ireland and Great Britain.
Steam · 3ft Narrow Gauge
West Clare Railway
Moyasta Junction, Co. Clare · Original line 1887–1961 · Restored 2009
Made famous by Percy French's satirical song "Are Ye Right There, Michael?" — in which he lampooned the line's persistent lateness — the West Clare Railway ran 53 miles of 3ft narrow gauge track across County Clare from 1887 until 1961. A short section at Moyasta Junction has been restored and now operates steam trains on selected days.
The West Clare is notable for operating some of the last steam locomotives in Ireland before the main closure in 1961. Its Hunslet 2-6-2T engines and open-sided summer coaches are iconic images of the Irish narrow gauge era. The junction station at Moyasta, where the line split to Kilrush and Kilkee, is the focus of the restoration.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The West Clare is one of the most photogenic Irish narrow gauge subjects. The 2-6-2T Hunslet locomotives, the open-air summer saloons, and the flat Clare landscape (bog, low stone walls, Atlantic light) are all distinctive. Percy French himself is a conversation-starter for any exhibition layout based on this line — consider a period notice board with his famous poem. Moyasta Junction's triangular junction arrangement would make a superb compact exhibition layout.
Visiting: Moyasta is near Kilrush, Co. Clare. Operating days are limited — check the West Clare Railway Society's social media for current timetables. The trackbed of the full original line can be walked and cycled as part of the West Clare Railway Greenway.
Steam & Diesel · 3ft Narrow Gauge
Giants Causeway & Bushmills Railway
Bushmills, Co. Antrim (NI) · Runs from Bushmills to Giants Causeway
The Giants Causeway & Bushmills Railway runs 3ft narrow gauge trains along the Antrim coast between Bushmills town and the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre — one of the most spectacular settings of any railway in the British Isles. The original electric tramway on this route (1883–1949) was one of the world's first electric railways; the current tourist line, reopened in 2002, honours that heritage with a mixed fleet of steam and diesel locomotives.
The railway's position — threading along the clifftop with views of the Causeway coast and, on clear days, the Scottish islands — makes it among the most photographed tourist railways in Ireland. Passenger volumes are high, driven by the Giants Causeway's UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The coastal cliff scenery is the modelling challenge here — rocky basalt columns, dark sea, heather. The original 1883 electric tramway (with its distinctive electric tram cars) is an even richer modelling subject than the current line, and period models of Irish electric trams exist in small-run form. The 3ft gauge coaches and small steam locos are achievable with OO9 mechanisms and scratch or kit bodies.
Visiting: The railway runs from Bushmills Distillery car park to the Giants Causeway. It's very popular in summer — book ahead via the GCBR website. The Causeway itself is free to walk; the National Trust visitor centre charges for parking.
Diesel · 3ft Narrow Gauge
Waterford & Suir Valley Railway
Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford · Runs along the River Suir
The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway operates diesel narrow gauge trains through one of the most lush and peaceful valleys in the south of Ireland — the Suir valley between Kilmeaden and Carrick-on-Suir. Running on 3ft gauge track through farmland, broadleaf woodland, and the tidal margins of the River Suir, it's a gentler prospect than the wild Atlantic heritage lines, and enormously popular as a family day out.
The railway uses diesel locos and open carriages on what was formerly a Bord na Móna peat-harvesting railway — a reminder that narrow gauge railways in Ireland weren't only for passengers. The peat railway network was extensive; the WSUR is a rare example of that infrastructure being repurposed for tourism.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The WSUR offers something different: a relatively modern, flat valley setting rather than the mountain/bog scenery of most Irish narrow gauge prototypes. The Bord na Móna diesel locos (Schöma and similar types) are small, boxy machines that can be modelled from continental OO9 mechanisms with scratch-built or plasticard bodies. Peat bog industrial narrow gauge is a strong exhibition layout theme — unusual in Ireland, distinctive on the circuit.
Visiting: The railway runs from Kilmeaden station, about 10km west of Waterford city on the N25. Operating season typically runs April–October. Check wsvrailway.ie for timetables and special events.
Diesel Railcar · 3ft Narrow Gauge
Fintown & Glenties Railway
Fintown, Co. Donegal · Surviving section of the County Donegal Railways
The Fintown Railway operates a short but deeply atmospheric section of the former County Donegal Railways — the largest narrow gauge network Ireland ever had, which ran to 125 miles of 3ft track across Donegal before closing in 1960. The restored section at Fintown runs a vintage diesel railcar along the shore of Lough Finn, one of the most remote and scenic stretches of water in the country.
The County Donegal Railways (CDR) is one of the great lost railway systems of Ireland. Its railcars, steam locos, mixed passenger-freight trains, and extraordinary scenery have inspired modellers for decades. The Fintown operation keeps a section of that legacy alive, and the CDR's full history is a deep subject for any modeller to explore.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The CDR railcar — a distinctive enclosed diesel multiple unit — is among the most modelled Irish prototype subjects. Kits for CDR railcars have been produced in small runs; scratch-building from plasticard is achievable given their box-like profile. Lough Finn's reflective surface, the Bluestack Mountains backdrop, and the simple single-track layout all make Fintown a compact, achievable exhibition layout concept. The CDR is also well-documented — the County Donegal Railways Remembrance by Edward Patterson is the standard reference.
Visiting: Fintown is on the R250 in west Donegal, about 45 minutes from Donegal town. The railway is seasonal — typically June to August. Given its remote location, ring ahead: local tourism offices can confirm operating status.
Steam · Unique Straddling Monorail
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel
Listowel, Co. Kerry · Original line 1888–1924 · Reconstructed 2003
The Listowel & Ballybunion Railway — now recreated as the Lartigue Monorail — is genuinely one of a kind. Charles Lartigue's straddling monorail system used a single elevated rail, with the passenger cars (and freight wagons) hanging in panniers on either side like a packhorse's saddlebags. The original line ran 9.5 miles from Listowel to Ballybunion on the Kerry coast from 1888 until 1924.
The Listowel reconstruction, opened in 2003, operates a short demonstration section with a steam loco and replica coaches in the Lartigue Monorail grounds in the town centre. The engineering principle — counterbalancing loads on either side of the single rail — created extraordinary operational challenges. Legend has it that a farmer once needed to transport a cow: a calf and two piglets were loaded in the opposite pannier to balance the weight.
🚂 Modelling Notes (Scratch-build / unique): The Lartigue is the ultimate Irish modelling eccentricity. No commercial models exist — this is strictly scratch-build or 3D-print territory. The engineering challenge is matching the straddling mechanism in miniature. Several modellers have attempted exhibition layouts based on the Lartigue; they invariably attract a crowd. The single rail, A-frame supports, and double-pannier coaches are all unusual enough to stop any show visitor in their tracks. A working Lartigue model at any scale is an achievement worth entering in competition.
Visiting: The Lartigue Monorail is in Listowel town centre, Kerry — easy to find. The Listowel Writers' Week festival (late May/early June) brings extra visitors to the town. Admission is charged; check lartiguelistowel.com for opening times.
Steam · 3ft Narrow Gauge
Tralee & Blennerville Railway
Tralee, Co. Kerry · Short section of the Tralee & Dingle Railway
The Tralee & Blennerville Railway runs on a short section of the former Tralee & Dingle Light Railway — a remarkable line that once crossed the Conor Pass (one of Ireland's highest mountain roads) to reach Dingle on the Kerry peninsula. The original line closed in 1953; the restored Tralee–Blennerville section, about 3km, runs steam trains through the town's outskirts to the Blennerville Windmill, a heritage attraction in its own right.
The Tralee & Dingle's full route — over the Conor Pass in all weathers, with dramatic Atlantic scenery — is one of the great lost railways of Ireland. Its locos and coaches worked in conditions that tested everything to the limit, and the operational stories are extraordinary.
🚂 Modelling Notes (OO9 / 009): The T&D's mountain section — before the restoration limited itself to the flat Blennerville stretch — is the modelling prize. The Conor Pass, the wild Kerry scenery, and the distinctive T&D Hunslet and Kerr Stuart locomotives make for a dramatic exhibition layout. Check operating status before visiting — the Tralee section has had intermittent seasons; local press is the most reliable source.
Visiting: The station is near Tralee town centre. Operating seasons have varied — confirm current status with Kerry tourism or local press before making a special trip.