Books

Here's a look at my currently available titles



   

As we head into the year 2024, Revamp An Existing Layout, becomes the 6th and final instalment in my Philden Model Railway Presents series of how-to books.



...entire back catalogue coming in 2024-2025


  
  

Yesterday sounds rather nostalgic (2022) ~ ISBN: 9798211959361
A collection of 42 contemporary Australian poems spanning a career of more than three decades. Poignant in its nostalgic depiction of the future, author and poet Phillip Overton delivers a raw, observational retrospect that dances between the lines of a journey from adulthood to the other side of parenthood. This is the Author's third published collection of poetry. 72 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, instant PDF

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Great Aussie Campfire Poems (2021) ~ ISBN: 9781006384318
A unique collection of 35 Australian campfire poems by the author and bush poet. There's no mistaking the attraction of camping beneath the stars in the Australian bush, and what better way can you indulge in an evening of Aussie charm and nostalgia than sharing bush poems around a roaring fire? The bush is calling. Are you ready? 72 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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Great Aussie Railway Poems (2020) ~ ISBN: 9781715594657
A collection of 45 uniquely Australian railway poems by the author and lifelong railway enthusiast. From the tropical foothills of the Pacific Coast, to the dusty plains of Australia's west, there's no mistaking the impact that railways have had upon our literature, our towns and the people who have helped shape this great country of ours. *Please note; also contains all of the poems featured in the Last Train series. 72 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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Last Train to Bunbury (2019) ~ ISBN: 9780368396076
The South West corner of Western Australia was once home to some of the most remote and rugged railways in the country. The hauntingly beautiful photos in this collection take the reader on another classic Aussie bush poetry romp. From the shores of Busselton to Flinders Bay, and onto the forests of Pemberton, this book is a tribute to the towns and ports of Australia's South West, where it was once possible to board a train to Bunbury. 56 pages. 20 x 25 cm. paperback, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Last Train to Grafton (2017) ~ ISBN: 9781389410505
The Northern Rivers region is full of railway ghosts from yesteryear. This poetic journey through the New South Wales North Coast combines hauntingly beautiful photography with classic Australian bush poetry. Winding through the Brisbane Border Ranges, exploring the abandoned Murwillumbah Line through Byron Bay and onto the mountain town of Dorrigo, this book is a poetic tribute to the towns and places where it was once possible to board a train to Grafton. 56 pages. 20 x 25 cm. paperback, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Last Train to Brisbane (2017) ~ ISBN: 9781389899409
Combining hauntingly beautiful photographs with classic Australian railway bush poetry, Last Train to Brisbane takes a nostalgic romp through Brisbane's scenic rim in search of what remains from our railway past. From Gympie through the Mary and Brisbane Valleys, and onto the Southern Downs city of Warwick, this book is a tribute to the small country towns where it was once possible to catch a train to Brisbane. 56 pages. 20 x 25 cm. paperback, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Revamp An Existing Layout (2023) ~ ISBN: 9798881337858
If your layout is looking a little tired and worn-out, then this is the one makeover book that could potentially save your a fortune! Everything costs money, and building a model railway is no exception. If you have grown tired of your current layout but the thought of starting over is financially daunting, why not revamp your existing layout instead? From faded enjoyment to a fresh-start, everything old can be new again!

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Model Railway Weathered Wonders (2023) ~ ISBN: 9798211076808
If there is one dirty book you can feel comfortable enough to leave laying around on your coffee table, then this is it! From freight wagons to goods sheds, dirty diesels to distressed walls, in real life, nothing stays clean forever! This book contains heaps of dirty secrets that will quickly age, rust and transform your models into weather beaten wonders. 72 pages. 15 x 23 cm. softcover, instant PDF

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Model Railway Backdrop Basics (2023) ~ ISBN: 9798211271012
A good backdrop makes a world of difference to a model railway, and creating one is easier than you might think. Backdrops add a sense of depth to a scene, help screen-off unwanted viewing angles, conceal staging yards and allow structures to be built flat against it to save space. But get it wrong, and ugh! This book will guide you through 5 different backdrop methods in order of difficulty to help get your layout looking better. 72 pages. 15 x 23 cm. softcover, instant PDF

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Model Railway Scenery Secrets (2023) ~ ISBN: 9798211567207
If the thought of adding scenery to your layout terrifies you, then this book will change your modelling life forever! Not knowing where to start, what materials to use or how to go about it can all lead to the fear of messing-up! Through breaking down scenery into manageable tasks, this book will guide you through the process of adding each different layer of scenery in a logical order, starting from the ground up. 72 pages. 15 x 23 cm. softcover, instant PDF

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Model Railway Trackside Tips (2022) ~ ISBN: 9798210526083
Whether you're starting out in the hobby, or about to build layout number nine, reliable trackwork is the key to years of enjoyment. And it is possible, simply by avoiding the most common of mistakes. Beyond the concept of reliable operation, track is a model too. This book puts the focus on turning model train track into a model in its own right. You can achieve track that looks realistic, with some trackside tips that will make your layout a stand-out! 72 pages. 15 x 23 cm. softcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Build a Bookshelf Layout (2021) ~ ISBN: 9781006085949
Newcomers and old-heads alike often face the same problem when building a model railway, namely space. Rather than wait until you have that spare bedroom or double garage to construct your dream model railway layout, why not consider building a bookshelf layout? If the idea of keeping your prized models tucked away in the bedroom closet isn't your thing, a bookshelf layout will double as an interactive, working display case upon which you can hone your modelling skills. Its smallish size is a more cost-effective way of entering the hobby, and will present less of a time obstacle than building a traditional room sized layout while still providing you with hours of enjoyment! 72 pages. 15 x 23 cm. softcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Favourite Australian Railway Scenes (2021) ~ ISBN: 9781006472602
Australia is regarded as one of the harshest continents on earth. While its' railways were responsible for opening up a vast country for development, they have also had to withstand a battle against time and natural elements from an ancient land. Many early 20th Century railway structures still remain, while others have been left for the rust and white ants to claim. Featuring 80 original photographs, and 10 years in the making, this book captures scenes from across the country which are quickly disappearing in a modern world that is changing the railway landscape like never before. 60 pages. 20 x 25 cm. softcover, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Favourite Australian Railway Stations (2020) ~ ISBN: 9781714471195
Australian railway stations have an identity all of their own. A fusion of English elegance and colonial necissity, many stations have lived on long after their usefulness has departed. From the dusty outback of Queensland, to the subtropical coast of New South Wales, crossing state borders reveals a striking difference in the architecture adopted by the Governments of yesteryear. Featuring over 90 never before seen photographs, and 10 years in the making, this book captures the beauty, and amazing variety of railway stations to be found in the land Down Under. 72 pages. 20 x 25 cm. softcover, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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30 Years Chasing Trains (2016) ~ ISBN: 9781367592865
Three decades after first picking up a camera to photograph trains, Award-Nominated author and railway adventurer Phillip Overton set out to explore the railway lines of Australia's east coast. The result was this photographic memoir of a train chaser covering the period from 1986 to 2016. The 124 full colour photographs presented in this book provide a colourful insight into Australia's ever-changing railway landscape. 100 pages. 20 x 25 cm. softcover, hardcover, eBook, instant PDF

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Train Tripping Around Sydney (2015) ~ ISBN: 9781389308970
What happens when you cross Skippy the bush kangaroo, a mysterious Aboriginal legend, the ghost of Sydney's Harbour Bridge and a man they couldn't hang? You get this 592 km self-guided railway adventure that is the perfect travelling companion for exploring Sydney from the comfort of a train. 90 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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Train Tripping Around Melbourne (2015) ~ ISBN: 9781389309571
What happens when you cross 83 brightly coloured bathing sheds, a much-travelled cottage, a band from Little River and a 9 story shot tower? You get this 365 km self-guided railway adventure that is the perfect travelling companion for exploring Melbourne by tram and from the comfort of a train window. 84 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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Train Tripping Eastern Australia (2014) ~ ISBN: 9781389309601
What happens when you cross a Purple Wiggle, a Hollywood Gladiator, a dolphin named Zippy and Her Majesty The Queen of England? You get this 1,850 km self-guided railway adventure that is the perfect travelling companion for experiencing Australia's east coast from the window of a train. 78 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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Train Tripping Coastal Queensland (2014) ~ ISBN: 9781389309724
What happens when you cross a sign writer who can't spell, a tribe of cannibals, two Prime Ministers and a Chinaman who gives a massage like no other? You get this 3,362 km self-guided railway adventure that is the perfect travelling companion to appreciating Queensland's coast from the window of a train. *Nominated for the 2015 Global eBook Awards72 pages. 13 x 20 cm. paperback, eBook, instant PDF

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The Rag Doll Cafe (2013)
Winter is here, but something is about to hit Lighthouse Bay harder than any summer storm! Anton Rubinski has just left town. The door it seems has closed on a summer friendship forged over a bottle that granted he and his friends' every wish come true. Now with no job, no friends and no reason to stay, he heads south on the highway surfing at any beach he finds.

Pastor Mike Gantry may have just wished his Church away. A month after finding a bottle washed up on the shores of Lighthouse Bay, almost every wish he had made for the members of his ailing congregation has come true. Only he never pictured his wish to retire to result in the doors of his small Church having to close for the last time. So what happens when a dread-locked surfer arrives in Lighthouse Bay on the morning of the final Church service? When Pastor Mike learns that Anton was the last person to have found the bottle, is it an answer to prayer? Or does it go down like a bad smell in Church? This truly odd couple are about to learn that when one door closes, another always opens. And you never, ever judge a book by its cover. Welcome to The Rag Doll Cafe, where the coffee is hot, the weather is not, and the conversation is not what you expected. 


Last Wish of Summer (2012)
As the sun prepares to rise on the last day of summer, three friends find themselves totally unprepared for the events that are about to take place around them. For Tanya, it is a chance to find peace three years after losing her parents in a car accident. Deciding she simply can't continue blaming God for taking her parents away, she writes a heartfelt poem, places it in a bottle and throws it into the sea on the eve of her birthday, granting her birthday wish to whoever finds it. Only it washes straight back into shore where it is discovered by her best friend Anton and his buddy Johnno.

Armed only with surfboards and an eclectic sense of imagination, the two wishful young men set about putting the bottle to the test. When Johnno appears to have fallen for the new waitress at the cafe where Tanya works, it stirs up feelings of jealousy in Tanya that she didn't know existed. Surely Johnno couldn't be the man God had in mind for her. Or is he? Suddenly strange wishes are beginning to come true and soon enough the whole town is involved. But is it all just a strange coincidence? Welcome to Kings Beach, where the forecast for the last day of summer promises to be hot, hot, hot with a definite change in the air.

A Walk Before Sunrise (2009)
When Neil Phillips arrives home early from a business presentation to discover his fiancee of only three weeks in bed with his boss, it unleashes an amusing run of bad luck that ultimately lands him in the small town of Lighthouse Bay. While trying to salvage his career in the face of a relationship gone bad, and on two weeks enforced vacation before accepting a transfer to a new position in California, Neil meets a gorgeous waitress named Lorraine and falls suddenly in love. But how soon is too soon to move on from a broken engagement? And when will the single mother reveal that she has a fifteen year old daughter? With the help of his newly befriended Police Officer buddy Luke and the town's dread-locked theorist Anton, Neil must decide where he wants this surprise new relationship to send him before the sun sets on their brief romance forever. Welcome to Lighthouse Bay, where laughter, love and second chances are just a sunrise away.


The Long Way Home (2007)
Doug Small's was always destined to be a good father. However, the 1980's would be a decade of rebuilding his life after his marriage to Rowena ends in failure. For their son Simon, the decade would be one of survival, living with his mother in their home in Gosford, north of Sydney, Australia. Forced to watch helplessly as his mother's life spirals downward into a cycle of depression and violence, Simon becomes aware of a guiding presence in his life. Is this same presence also at work in his father's life, and could it in fact be an Angel guiding both of them towards their destiny?

The Long Way Home tackles the question of why do bad things, happen to good people? It gives us the answer in an endearing way, ensuring the reader that better days are just around the next corner. A fine mix of life inspiring drama with a touch of supernatural gentleness, it is a reminder of how life is a journey leading into a future blinded by endless possibilities, and how sometimes it is waiting to lead us the long way home.