About Me


Although I may have over 20 books to my name, I've been a model train enthusiast longer than I have been an Author. It has been a hobby of mine since I was nine years old, when a Hornby OO Flying Scotsman set soon had me hooked on model trains.

Despite living in Queensland, Australia, I spent many years modelling North American N scale, with my former C&NW layout twice appearing locally at exhibitions.

2015 was the year that I launched the Philden Model Railway blog, a simple side project to document my journey into the world of Australian HO scale railway modelling. After having my work appear on the cover of Australian Model Railway Magazine, my original Philden layout eventually made way for a new project with larger ambitions. Here I am, almost a decade later, with a new Philden Beach layout having replaced the original, and with six self-produced and funded Philden Model Railway books to my name. Combining my writing with my hobby has ensured I leave a great legacy behind.

As a lifelong railway enthusiast, I have spent the past three decades exploring the railway lines of Australia and New Zealand while taking photos of our disappearing railway landscape Down Under. There was perhaps no greater acknowledgement of my railfanning exploits than my 2016 book 30 Years Chasing Trains.

The 100 page full colour book was a photographic memoir full of images that spanned from my early years of train watching as a 14 year old growing up in Gosford, NSW, to life as a Dad stopping the car to photograph every train whenever we holidayed as a family. I'm forever indebted to the patience of my wife and children on many a hot summers day! From that book others ultimately followed, and I often explain to my now grown children that these are the type of books that only become famous once the Author's time is up... I'm hoping that isn't anytime soon!

My 2015 book Train Tripping Coastal Queensland, was nominated in the travel guide section for the 2015 Global eBook of the Year Awards. Being recognised alongside the winning entry from the Lonely Planet guidebooks was a great feeling of accomplishment for a self-published writer and self-taught photographer. 

After experiencing the disappointment of losing a traditional publishing contract with a U.S. based publisher, the years that followed would see me become more content to research, travel to and photograph a historic railway station or disappearing landscape for my own work, rather than chase after another contract. The books that I have proudly self-produced have been a reflection of that peace and independence, and have taken me to some distant corners of Australia and New Zealand.

 

From book tours along Australia's east coast, to being a convention keynote speaker, my love affair with trains has never waned throughout a writing career that stretches back 36 years. Growing up as a huge Michael Jordan fan, finishing book 23 in the year '23 seems as close to perfection as I'll ever get. It was afterall Jordan's famous jersey number. I'm sure in time I'll reflect back on my career as an Author with great fondness.

For now, completing the series of six Philden Model Railway books has left me mentally and financially drained. The behind-the scenes costs of constructing the projects for each book, and then self-funding, publishing and distributing the finished titles at the expense of any regular income, may take some time to recover from. Creatively I gave the project my all. But I am now ready to recharge on the other side.

With the other half of Philden, my wife Denise. Hopefully there will be plenty more model train exhibitions for us to attend together.

2024 will see a huge personal departure from decades of writing, and a return to full-time study in an attempt to reinvent myself creatively as I explore some other artistic interests outside of the hobby. As the latest announcement over on my Author Blog will confirm, the time of writing as Phillip Overton is now over.

Philden in 2024, can now return to simply being a hobby that provides me with a few moments of escape from the rigours of life. So there will always be a little bit of Philden to share here, on the Philden Model Railway Blog. I hope you'll stay with me for the ride.

Cheers!
Phill O

CONTACT DETAILS



Printed copies are available exclusively through Blurb and eBooks on Apple's iTunes store.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)