In the Book Store this month we are highlighting a range of magazine styled books covering the original SOUTHERN RAILWAY whose railways were an integral part of the Sussex Scene in the heyday of the railway age.

Each issue of the book covers a mix of material drawn from requests made by readers to the publisher, Noodle Books. All the issues have been well produced using quality paper in a paperback binding, with the majority of issues having 100 pages. If you are a fan of the Southern Railway or its constituents, then these issues should be part of your book collection.

In addition to the regular issues of Southern Way, there are also Special Issues covering specific subjects, like Issue 2 which covered the Southern Railway in the 1960's and the soon to be published Issue 3 on Wartime issues covering Preparations for War, the ARP and Enemy Action.

If you haven't bought any of these excellent books, I thoroughly recommend a visit to our Book Store where you can get full details of their contents before placing your order through our specially linked store run by Amazon.co.uk.

Don't leave it too long or you could be very disappointed.

Kent & Sussex Railway Books are very popular and this month we have selected what we regard as the better offerings. For the history of the Kent & East Sussex Railway there is a well produced book by John Scott-Morgan.  It is intended for those who are fascinated by light railways and those interested in the local history of this part of Kent and Sussex. However, if it is a photobook you are looking for, then the Hugh Nightingale book published by Halsgrove can be recommended.

In the well known Past & Present series, we feature two books covering Kent & East Sussex. Both these paperback books show photographs of the same railway location separated in time by just a few years, or maybe a century or more.

No.20 Kent and East Sussex covers the lines to the Kent coast - Margate, Ramsgate, Folkestone and Dover; the East Sussex coast - Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings; the North Downs, Oxted and Medway Valley lines; closed routes to Gravesend, Whitstable, Westerham, Groombridge, etc; and the preserved lines - the Bluebell Railway, the Lavender Line, the Kent & East Sussex and the East Kent Railway.

No.45 Sussex features many locations including the Mainlines to Brighton & Hastings, Mid Sussex line, Bluebell railway, Kent & East Sussex line, Eastbourne to Hastings, and Bexhill West branch.

For those mourning the lost railways of the old Southern Railway area, we feature two books;  Lost Lines, SOUTHERN which is a reprint of the out of print edition first published in 1996 and Lost Railways of Sussex which traces the history of the county's railway lines, from their opening in the 19th century, their heyday around the turn of the century, and, in many cases, their closure in the 20th century.

Other interesting books which you may not have come across include Offshore on the Southern, a nicely produced book about the railways on the Isle of Wight in the 1950/1960 era.

There are also many books about London's Underground, but I can't ever recall coming across one about the Haunted London Underground. Ideal bedtime reading?

And finally, something for the 6year to 10year old children in your family is Peter's Railway by Christopher Vine