I have started work on this Swift Sixteen brass bodywork kit of a Kitson tram loco, the body is designed to fit on a Roundhouse Bertie live steam power unit.

There are a lot of parts in this etched brass kit and approx fifty per cent of them relate to the condensing apparatus which sits on the roof of the loco.

Each part has to be removed from its fret by using a cutting disc fitted in a rotary tool. Grooves etched into many of the parts make assembly easier, helping to hold the part in place while solder is being applied. The rivet detail needs to be pressed out on all the relevant parts, I used a Metalsmith rivet press for this purpose.

I used Fry's resin cored solder and Fluxite soldering paste. I have used my variable temperature iron (set on max of 450 degrees C) to construct bodywork in the past but by the time I got to fitting the skirts, I found it a struggle with this kit as there is just so much brass, which dissipates the heat. I halted work until I had obtained an 80 Watt Antex iron on Ebay. This should make the work easier.

I created a loading dock beside the goods shed at what is now Culdaff station in 2011. It was made from repair cement, mixed with some exterior PVA adhesive and poured into a mould made from hardboard. It survived well for a few years, but the winter frosts this year have broken the structure up. So much for my concreting skills. For a month or so, I allowed the dock to collapse naturally as it was breaking up on the side away from the track. It then, however, started to fall towards the track, creating a collision hazard, so it had to go. It was removed very easily, the central layer of the dock remained in one piece, as this had been reinforced with grit in the mixture, but the top layer was free of grit as I wanted a smooth surface, and this just crumbled at the touch. I have no plans to replace it, as a further extension, and relocation of the goods yard, is planned in a couple of years time.