ENTHUSIASTS of all ages flocked to Newton Abbot Library on Saturday for the third Railway Studies and Modellers Show.

The Railway Studies Collection’s show proved popular with the many hundreds of visitors to the Passmore Edwards Centre on November 8.

This year’s show featured model layouts in gauges H0, OO, and Electric Garden Gauge - showcasing meticulous craftsmanship, detailed local scenery and intricate miniatures by several local groups, including the South Devon Garden Railway Group, Newton Abbot & District Model Engineering Society and many more besides.

Aiming to raise awareness of the collection - understood to be the second largest in the UK - Saturday’s show opened at 10am, before drawing to a close at 4pm.

And making their debut at this year’s show was ‘Moor Boxes’ - model railways in office box files.

Modelled in N Gauge, each of Moor Boxes’ house self-contained, oval micro layouts, including Cobweb Towers, Alpine Heights and Blachford Quarry.

In addition to featuring at Newton Abbot’s Saturday show, Kevin Staden’s creations have appeared at show’s in Exeter and Bournemouth, with Moor Boxes set to appear at Plymouth in 2026.

The Friends of the Railway Studies Collection put together a history of rail transport display, together with a curated photo exhibition, including a selection of never-before-seen items, especially for this year’s show.

Organised by Newton Abbot Library’s Bethan and Emma, the show drew many positive comments and raised the most money through donations of the three shows to date.

‘There was so much to see - it was great seeing so many local groups come together’, said one visitor.

‘The library is such a positive and welcoming space - hats off to the organisers, the show was great’, said another.

A free event, the Railway Studies and Modellers Show was made possible thanks to Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs libraries across Devon.