Roxby Town – modern day ‘N’ gauge

Gauge: ‘N’ | Period: Current | Region: Eastern | Operating team: Geoff Buttler and friends

Roxby Town models the contemporary railway scene in 'N' gauge. GBRf's Construction Sector liveried Class 66 passes through the station.
Roxby Town models the contemporary railway scene in 'N' gauge. GBRf's Construction Sector liveried Class 66 passes through the station. Mike Wild.

There is a Roxby in real life, but it isn’t a town but a small hamlet just north of Scunthorpe. There is a railway line which was used for the transportation of waste from the Greater Manchester area to Roxby Gullet, a former ironstone quarry adjacent to the northern extension of the Lincoln Edge.

Roxby Town is a main line built to ‘N’ gauge of freelance design, with a trackplan designed to provide train movements which are entertaining to those watching  and a headache to the operators if they make a mistake! It requires four operators at all times for efficient running and is set across three scenic baseboards each measuring 4ft x 3ft. 

At shows, the flexibility of the storage yards and the straightforward nature of the analogue  control allow operators to run an intensive timetable; no waiting for train movements on this layout. Our main aim is to entertain the public and keeping things moving has been are trademark at exhibitions.

A huge amount of stock required to operate the layout with locomotive types including classes 37, 47, 57,  58, 60, 66, 67, 68 and 70. Second generation DMUs are also much in evidence with classes 142, 153, 156, 158 and 170 all operating on the layout. Rounding things off are Voyagers in Virgin and Cross Country colours along with a number of HST sets. On the freight side, there over 350 wagons with 99% of the stock weathered to some degree.

On the scenic side of the layout, the town scene as been completely revamped, with a copy of the old tax office and employment centre in Scunthorpe created for it. It then continues to a disused power station and industrial units before coming to a freight yard surrounded by autumnal trees. The railway itself is split between two levels – the main lines on the highest level and a large maintenance depot on the lower level.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2022 Great Electric Train Show and you can read a full feature about Roxby Town from HM183 here.