Ruxley (OO)

The Ruxley Branch is the oldest surviving model railway layout of the Epsom and Ewell Model Railway Club. It was originally built as a branch line on the Club's Nonsuch layout. It was first exhibited in the early 1960's and has been a popular and much admired layout ever since.

Whilst work has been done to maintain and repair Ruxley, some parts of the layout are now over 50 years old. The Club is very proud that Ruxley still stands comparison with modem layouts.

Ruxley is built to a scale of 4mm to 1ft, with a track gauge of 16.5mm. Whilst this is the standard '00' gauge, the track work is hand built and the majority of buildings are copies of actual prototypes. Ruxley station and goods shed are based on Helston and the engine shed on Ashburton. The layout is fully signalled and trains are operated using the correct procedures as far as possible.

The branch is set in Devon, leaving the main line from Taunton to Exeter at Silverton Junction. The trains that run portray a day's service on a typical GWR branch line in the 1930's. Passenger trains consist of auto trains to the Junction, 'B'sets through to Taunton and corridor stock off main line workings. As Ruxley is a market town most of the goods trains include. cattle wagons, with milk traffic provided by the tank wagons of the Wessex Dairy Co.