Carrowbeg | OO Gauge Irish Model Railway (Macclesfield Model Railway Exhibition 2023)

Описание: Carrowbeg, a OO Gauge Irish Model Railway layout based on the Irish railway scene as it might have been around Westport in Co Mayo, Ireland circa 1980 -2010. The town itself is situated about 1 mile to the west of the station where the River Carrowbeg flows through the centre and this river gave rise to the naming of the layout.

Freight traffic in Ireland has decreased significantly over the years resulting in the demise of any real freight hotspots and passenger services have now transferred from loco hauled sets to Class 22000 DMUs (the Irish equivalent of UK Voyagers).

Carrowbeg features the town’s station which comprises of four running lines, a bay platform and a diesel depot which utilises the old steam shed. Two lines at the back of the station are mostly used by passing freight whilst the two front lines serve the station’s platforms. There’s a timber yard down the road where road vehicles bring timber from the outlying forests for transfer to rail and then onward transport to the paper and pulp mills or the docks for export.

Passenger workings are loco hauled sets, primarily in traditional Intercity orange and black, comprising of between four and seven Craven and/or Mk2D coaches plus the generator coach (where available) which supplies train heating as none of the Irish locos have this facility. Preserved coaches owned by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) are also featured. Freight movements are depicted with Permanent Way (HOBS), Timber, Cement, Oil, Containerised Guinness Kegs, Leaf Buster, Stone and Container traffic and maybe a few specials. Hired in locomotives from Northern Ireland Railways will also be seen.

The station building, signal box and loco shed are all modelled on the buildings at Westport Station although the station you see is a bit busier than its real life counterpart. Being located in the West of Ireland tourism is a major part of the economy and this is supported by the local garage which runs a fleet of heritage sightseeing buses from a yard at the rear of the station. For the sportier, the Carrowbeg golf course with its grand club house is situated nearby where a televised competition is in full swing. Across the road from the course, you will see the ruined church which is a depiction of Ayle Church.