Redimp

Very cool, love the photo quality too. Looks like 7735 is the set to look out for if you want a reasonably priced 12v set

Very cool, I was thinking of doing the same but over here 3180s aren't that cheap. One thing I was thinking of doing, was making the wagons two slopes long instead of three and have one pair of wheels at each end, basically similar to the tank wagon in 7939, it'll be cheaper to get a long rake too :)

It's worth keeping an eye out on Ebay, I got a nearly complete 7735 with transformer for £50, got some new traction tyres and it runs great :) Personally I agree with StephanSz, go for a PF conversion and perhaps try to bring the model 'up-to-date' by replacing any missing bricks with their modern equivalents. I'm thinking of doing a modern version of 7745, I think it'll look cool and it'll be a lot cheaper too :)

lol, how annoying is it when someone's not only come up with your idea already but discovered it won't work:) Luckily for me I've been buying 4.5v points from Bricklink pretty cheaply so I should be ok. Before I found the BB53s I was thinking about custom made pickups made from phosphor bronze strips, I have a bit of experience of doing this for my Dad's model railway so that could be an option if you have the newer style points. Re-reading your opening post were you thinking of using the PF controller/receiver to control the train or come up with a system using the 9v controller?

Wonder if they'd do a push-along set, they could still sell a complete train set but it'd help with the biggest complaint about trains these days - the price.

I've been thinking of doing something similar with the old 12v system using BB53s, and having only a few 12v track charging sections to act as loco servicing depots. Charging time might be a problem though.