This week's Friday Film Club sees me visit Virginia Station on Brisbane's busy North Coast line, to view a procession of trains in the northern suburbs.Don't forget to like and subscribe to… Read More

My winning entry for Banyo Station in Queensland Rail's photo competition.Last week I received the news that I had won the 2024 Queensland Rail Community Photo Competition for my entry "Keep… Read More

Friday Film Club this week visits Zillmere on Brisbane's north side for a parade of freight and passenger train action!Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss my new premiere vi… Read More

When it comes to running a prototypical passenger train on your model railway, there's only so much train you can model no matter what scale you work in! I can certainly vouch for that after… Read More

Signaling a departure from your traditional viewing, this week's Friday Film Club brings you a mash-up of trains filmed in high-speed around Brisbane and set to some deep DJ club bangers. Tu… Read More

Friday's Film Club this week takes a look at Banyo Station on Brisbane's Shorncliffe line.Subscribe to gain early bird access to exclusive premieres! Read More

This week's Friday Film Club brings the sounds of a summer storm to some model railway shunting action from Philden Beach.Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any of my layout videos… Read More

Friday Film Club this week comes to you from the inner Brisbane station of Auchenflower, on Queensland Rail's busy Ipswich and Springfield lines.Don't miss your exclusive early bird access t… Read More

This week I have uploaded over one-hundred-and-seventy bundled listings on eBay at the price of $7 each, posted free anywhere in Australia. Along with that, I have dropped the prices on the… Read More

Here's one of the most unique railway stations in all of Brisbane! Indooroopilly station featuring the nearby rail bridge. A splash of colour for you Friday Film Club.Don't forget to like an… Read More

The seagulls are squawking in this week's Friday Film Club, as we return to Philden Beach for some tropical train action.Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any of the musical mayhem… Read More

My layout now oozes a sense of history in its New South Wales North Coast line setting, thanks to some custom-made stick-on vinyl lettering that has dressed-up the layout fascia with some cl… Read More

What better way is there to cool off on a Friday afternoon, than watching trains cross the Brisbane River? Welcome to this week's Friday Film Club.Don't forget to like and subscribe! Read More

Back in March I added one of the newly released Auscision Models sound-equipped C44ACi's to my small layout's roster. Come April, I finally got around to weathering my NSW sugar hoppers. By… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club captures a flurry of trains from the station platforms and enticing laneways of South Brisbane's cultural heartland.Don't forget to like and subscribe! Read More

More Friday Film Club 'Troppo' train madness this week, as we watch a Pacific National crew make the Beach Yard Drop.Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss another Quincas Moreira music… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club comes from high above Brisbane's busiest station, Roma Street Station in the heart of the city, with plenty of trains to be seen!Make sure you subscribe to my ch… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club comes from the picturesque Southern Highlands station of Moss Vale in New South Wales.Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive notifications of… Read More

This week, Friday Film Club once more presents the musical genius of Quincas Moreira in the hit film...Don't forget to like and subscribe for your Tropicanza train fix! Read More

This week's Friday Film Club is off to Chelmer, a glorious non-descript station in Brisbane's west for a spot of train watching!Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss a minute… Read More

My Pacific National era sugar hopper fleet recently received some attention.I finally managed to catch up on some weathering that had been waiting for me to complete for my own layout. In th… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club takes a look at Brisbane's Northgate Station, where there's plenty of train action at the junction of the Shorncliffe and North Coast lines.Subscribe to get acce… Read More

My book review in the March 2024 Australian Model Railway News!How the year has flown. We're in April already, but it still only feels like the beginning of the year! From the excitement of… Read More

Summer might be officially over, but here's some Trains Gone Troppo on a Hot Summer's night for your Friday Film Club.Don't forget to like and subscribe to keep hearing the joyful vibes of Q… Read More

Friday Film Club this week brings freight and passenger action from the very modern Geebung Station on Brisbane's north side.Don't forget to like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel to enjoy… Read More

My layout is once more feeling 'sweet-as' following the arrival of my new Auscision Models C44ACI locomotive in the attractive Aurizon 'pineapple' livery, (pineapple field added for effect)… Read More

Something different for Friday Film Club this week, with a visit to Maydena Railtrack Riders, for a rail bike ride deep into the heart of Tasmania's wilderness!Subscribe to my YouTube channe… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club presents the musical genius of Quincas Moreira in the premiere of TRAINS GONE TROPPO - Dirty Diesel Daze.Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode o… Read More

Time doesn't stand still, and sometimes by taking that approach into our modelling we can instill a sense of modelled history on our layouts. After moving-on some model locomotives last mont… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club delivers a flashback to my visit to the Don River Railway in Tasmania during 2011.Don't forget to subscribe to gain access to exclusive early previews! Read More

Finally there's some good news to share, with my new book Revamp An Existing Layout hitting the shelves of your favoutite hobby shops this month!This is the book that follows the budget-savv… Read More

This week's Friday Film Club takes us to Geelong's Bellarine Railway, and a look at the legendary Blues Train!Don't forget to subscribe to gain access to exclusive previews! Read More

Welcome to another episode of Friday Film Club. This time a visit to the creative playground of Brisbane's Southbank Parklands.Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for exclusive premieres… Read More

This week I managed to fire-up my airbrush and weather a couple of boxes of the SDS Models FX/VPFX flour wagons to list on eBay. These were the very last of my Victorian HO scale models I ha… Read More

Welcome to the 2nd Edition of Friday Film Club. This time I visit Milton Station, set against the iconic background of Brisbane's famous XXXX Brewery for spot of trainwatching.Don't forget t… Read More

Welcome to Friday Film Club, presented by Philden TV and hosted on YouTube, where each week I will be posting a short film featuring some of my railfan exploits, starting with...This week I… Read More

It's time to ask ourselves that annual question... "where did January go?" (Although to be honest, I'm still asking myself where 2023 disappeared to?) However, after a year which saw more ch… Read More

Every now and then I weather a model to the extent where I surprise even myself, such as these Auscision Models NDCH/NDMX Railcorp infrastructure wagons. While Auscision did a great job prod… Read More

Another quick weathered update to share the final few Queensland Railways models I have listed for sale on eBay. That's all. Finito. Over and out. My few years spent collecting and modelling… Read More

With every Queensland modeller currently excited about the CGL/SDS Models joint release of the QR 1460/1502 model locomotives, I've gone and done the opposite... I sold my pre-ordered model… Read More

It has been a summer of regrowth on Philden Beach. Both literally and metaphorically. Exactly one year after starting down the path of converting my HO scale Australian shelf layout from its… Read More

Finally the track for my small OO9 Christmas layout has been laid. The day after Christmas! Still, I was thankful for the few spare hours on Boxing Day to glue the final sections of tra… Read More

Can you believe it is almost Christmas again? What a year 2023 has been. I'm pleased to say that I haven't let personal challenges get in the way of releasing 3 new books over the course of… Read More

It only seems like a few weeks ago that I turned my inner-Melbourne HO scale shelf layout into a slice of the NSW North Coast. Now here we are at the beginning of another hot Australian summ… Read More

In keeping with my IKEA themed model railway layout that occupies one wall of our loungeroom, I colour matched the small layout frame that I built for Bryn Nadolig with the IKEA Eket display… Read More

The December issue of Australian Model Railway Magazine features two of my books in the reviews section.My latest title Model Railway Weathered Wonders and this year's Model Railway Backdrop… Read More

One of the trickier tasks I faced with transforming the setting of my inner-Melbourne HO Scale shelf layout to the NSW North Coast, was removing the tram tracks that once ran down the middle… Read More

For a small and simple layout such as this, it wasn't really necessary to draw a track plan on paper before I started constructing the layout. All I needed to do was draw the track plan dire… Read More

For some modellers the sight of a 600 mm x 1200 mm x 7 mm sheet of plywood isn't going to do much to excite the senses or go too far towards completing the benchwork in your walk around mode… Read More

With so many half completed model railway projects either underway or accumulating in boxes in the wardrobe, last month I had one of those honesty sessions with myself where I asked; 'just w… Read More

It's time to catch-up on some of the improvements that have occurred since Philden Beach made it's exhibition debut back in September of this year. To complete my NSW North Coast setting, th… Read More

The weekend of September 22nd to 24th 2023, saw me attend the British Railway Modellers of Australia convention, held this year in my home city of Brisbane, Australia. The coming together of… Read More

Not only have I gone and listed another batch of weathered Australian models for sale on my eBay page, but this week I'm also clearing my wardrobe of any distractions ahead of sitting down t… Read More

Don't be left green with envy that you missed out on this offer! From Friday through to Sunday, all my books are 15% OFF in the Blurb Bookstore. That's right, every book purchased across the… Read More

My Philden Coast layout is safely back home after travelling to its second model railway show in the space of two weeks. This time I ventured north up the Bruce Highway for the Sunshine Coas… Read More

My book review in the August Australian Model Railway News!What a huge weekend it has been! Fresh back from exhibiting Philden Coast at the Sunshine Coast Model Train & Hobby Expo on the… Read More

It has been four years since one of my layouts last appeared at a model railway exhibition, but in August 2023 it was a case of Philden rides again, as my lovely wife Denise joined me in deb… Read More

I've just spent the past three weeks downstairs in the garage weathering a small empire of Australian HO scale models. Many were simply over-purchased ahead of sitting down to write my Model… Read More

This latest batch of Weathered by Philden models is being listed on eBay this evening. Regular readers of my blog get first notice before they go live, as my last batch of GY wagons were all… Read More

After releasing my Model Railway Weathered Wonders book in August, you'd think that I'd be well and truly sick of weathering any more models. However, in not knowing how many different examp… Read More

2023 All Gauge Model Railway Club Table Sale, Brisbane 30 July 2023Early this year I set myself the task of completing 4 books and attending 4 model train events over the course of 2023. Wit… Read More

Book launch #22 Party time! Model Railway Weathered Wonders is available now!It's the one dirty book you won't get in trouble for leaving on the coffee table, and I haven't let the fact that… Read More

3 days only! 20% off ALL my books at Blurb, (or any other titles in their bookstore too...). There might even be a surprise title waiting for you to find. Click on the banner above. Must use… Read More

Happy Monday the 7th of July, 2023 to you all. This morning, somewhere between the course of finishing my coffee, checking my emails and brushing my teeth, the Philden Model Railway Blog rea… Read More

There's something new to see by the seashore on Philden Coast. And that is the new Auscision Models C Class in the Cootes Industrial Greentrains inspired green and gold livery. And crikey! I… Read More

Once again another great review has come my way for my latest book Model Railway Backdrop Basics over on Will James' Australian Model Railway News, June 2023 edition, (click the image frame… Read More

It's been 3 months since I unvieled 'The Coast'. In that time I've been able to complete a few medium length operating sessions to fine tune what works best, and determine what I need to do… Read More

Here's another update of some models I've recently weathered. This time it's a showcase of intermodal containers. When it comes to buying these containers in packs of two and you only want o… Read More

I've added some NQJX & NQKY container flat wagons to my upgraded North Coast roster.Earlier in the year when changing my layout over from it's former inner-Melbourne setting to my presen… Read More

It's book launch time! Break out the bubbles to celebrate Model Railway Backdrop Basics...Making a surprise unannouced release this May, is my brand new book Model Railway Backdrop Basics. T… Read More

I've had a week's break after finishing my latest book, so I headed downstairs into my airbrushing studio to clear the mind and weather up some more model railway wagons. Here's a look at so… Read More

Some new trees ready to be planted by Philden Harbour.This is my haul from Modellers Warehouse at the recent Brisbane Model Train Show. This year's show felt like a bit of a kickback to the… Read More

May 2015 to April 2023... what a ride! Now for the big announcement...But first of all, thank you! Eight years of blogging and processing out loud my every thought, idea and success since I… Read More

In the rush to revamp my model railway and completely overhaul this blog early in the New Year, I never really acknowledged just how good a layout I had built and enjoyed operating over the… Read More

An 18 year long request has finally been granted with the naming of the latest industry to commence advertising their wares on my Philden Coast Railway. Brandon Industries Pty. Ltd. is now t… Read More

Another building has been re-signed and re-purposed into its new role on the Coast. The former brown bricked building flat that stood against the end backdrop, has gone from luxury inner Mel… Read More

Here's a tale of a much travelled bookstore. This building began its life as a laser cut kit of the Walker Models Bait, Tackle, and Fish n' Chip Shop, originally planned for a prom… Read More

After years of deliberations and do-overs, Philden finally has a home on the NSW North Coast.After two years of modelling my Australian HO scale layout Philden Street Yard, 2023 started with… Read More

Philden Creek now has the backdrop installed, as it slowly edges towards being completed.A year ago to this month, I turned an offcut from an old layout that was destined for the rubbis… Read More

Here's a look at just some of the intermodal and general van traffic that will slide on over from Philden Street Yard to my new layout. Once again, I've listed some duplicates of these conta… Read More

It's part 2 of my steel train showcase, with a motley collection of open wagons and slab steel flat wagons that will complete the backbone of my steel train operations. Just where remains a… Read More

Who spotted the great plug for my latest book in this months Australian Model Railway News video? Once again thanks go out to Will James for covering the release of my third Philden Model Ra… Read More

Here's some of my own coil steel containers and wagons that will form the basis of my steel fleet on my new layout. There are some more Pacific National coil steel containers and a new pack… Read More

JUNE 19731,500 volts passing by...I don't think that this image would make for a convincing Workplace Health & Safety advertisement in 2023. Which makes the June 1973 cover of VR's newly… Read More

Before I fall too far behind in showcasing some of my weathered models, I'd better provide an update of some HO rollingstock that I am moving on from my own collection. These models were onc… Read More

Model Railway Scenery Secrets just so happens to be my 20th book release!The 3rd book under my own Philden Model Railway Presents label, Model Railway Scenery Secrets is now officially avail… Read More

JULY 1955Flinders Street Viaduct, before drones!Aerial photography was a lot trickier in 1955 than it is today! In the case of the July 1955 Victorian Railways Newsletter, the department's p… Read More

 FEBRUARY 1960Station Pier settlersThousands of migrant settlers arrived at Port Melbourne for a new life Down Under, and Station Pier was where they boarded a train for Bonegilla Camp… Read More

AUGUST 1953Spencer Street ticket tubes.Spencer Street Station's main booking office sold more than one and a half million tickets annually in the early 1950's, and this unnamed clerk held th… Read More

Relaunching into weathering some models for 2023, you may be clever enough to decipher all the cryptic clues as to what is going on behind the scenes of my blog. If the following Victorian H… Read More

FEBRUARY 1951Wirth's Circus.How times have changed. What would have been considered special goods back in the 1950's is considered animal cruelty today. Wirth's Circus was an Internationally… Read More

FEBRUARY 1966Jolimont Social Club Picnic.For no other reason than the sheer elation on the face of the un-named winner of the Jolimont Victorian Railways Social Club Picnic race of 1966, thi… Read More

OCTOBER 1965Homicide.Making the list at Number 93 is the cover of the October 1965 issue of VR Newsletter. You know... the one where they filmed an episode of Channel 7's TV hit show Homicid… Read More

FEBRUARY 1973The Vinelander.Gracing the cover of the February 1973 Victorian Railways Newsletter was the State's newest train. Introduced only six months earlier, and with a Motorail service… Read More

OCTOBER 1952Railwaymen of the future!You've got to love the carefree nature of early model trains. Sliding in at Number 95 on my countdown of the 100 Greatest VR Newsletter Covers is the Oct… Read More

APRIL 1966"Right, once more. Only this time don't blink."Making the list at Number 96 is this cover from April 1966, featuring Horsham's Assistant Gatekeeper, Carmel Scanlon. Shown preparing… Read More

MARCH 1963"Egad! What do we have here?"I can almost here Chairman of Commissioners Mr E.H. Brownbill ask as he leans over the control panel while Minister of Transport Mr E.R. Meagher (right… Read More

NOVEMBER 1964The Leongatha gang.Coming in at Number 98 on my countdown is this VR Newsletter cover from November 1964, showing a track gang hard at work in Leongatha Yard.I was only watching… Read More

MAY 1961Before there were hump yards.Try modelling this on your model railway. Ranked at Number 99 on my 100 Greatest Newsletter covers is the May 1961 VR Newsletter. Inside, it states; In s… Read More

 SEPTEMBER 1949I thought I would try sharing something different this year after spending the best part of a week scanning articles of interest from old Victorian Railways Newsletters… Read More