Ok then; one of our traders does offer a conversion set for Bachmann's Derby Lightweight! Thanks to those who guided me to Branchlines.

While I was waiting for delivery I set off to have a tidying session of ''T'Tank', and in the course of this came across the two Kitmaster cattle wagons that I started to convert from OO to 18.83 last year -can't remember why I stopped that project but the bits were in a box in a corner of the 'Heavy' bench' abandoned rather than stored!

They now have new, sprung underframes and while being not marvellous models of no known prototype that would have run down the Hayfield Branch in the mid-1940s they now increase my total of, at least reasonable looking, wagons to make up varying local goods trains.

They were the first use of my own-drawn, chemically etched nickel-silver exercise, and it was a bad choice. My etching covers 9' and 10' RCH underframes and these are 11' wheelbase vehicles, so I've been involved in much jiggery-pokery. I've made no attempt to make them better cosmetically. other than the underframe metal work is much nearer scale than the original plastic bits. Rubbish models really but how many viewers have the genuine knowledge to spot it? Picture below:-

Oh! as from this week I am an octogenarian; the one good side of that is that I took delivery of about £100 worth of DCC decoders. (Prezzys!!!)

Bye for now

Dave