Storage of Locomotives and Rolling Stock

[Wolseley]

I am in the process of tidying up the area in which I have my locomotives and rolling stock and other railway odds and ends stored.  At the moment I have them protected by a motley collection of kitchen paper, tissue paper, bubble wrap and boxes.  I have my reservations about using boxes, as some cardboard can be a bit rough, and some of the boxes, though correct, are a rather tight fit.  I also seem to recall a comment I can't find now by a forum member (was it Il Grifone?) saying that, over time, bubble wrap could potentially damage paintwork on some items.

 

So I was wondering if anyone has any comments about the best way to store stock (and no, I'm not going to get myself a display cabinet).

 

I don't know if it has any bearing on the best method of storage, but my collection is mostly Hornby Dublo 3 rail, with a few Tri-ang (in the process of conversion to 3 rail) and two Trix Twin locomotives.

[sp1]

It's not just bubble wrap that's a problem. Kitchen roll, toilet roll and tissues are all formulated to hold moisture- I would recommend acid free paper.

[Golden Fleece 30]

It's not just bubble wrap that's a problem. Kitchen roll, toilet roll and tissues are all formulated to hold moisture- I would recommend acid free paper.

As SP1 says acid free paper is the best although I have got away with kitchen roll. Bubble wrap is very prone to attack lithoprinted items more than anything else. I actually have it around kitchen roll on hand painted items that have been in the loft for 15 years without issue but around litho etc it marked and permanently stained in a few months. Some card boxes can also be an issue too unless acid free.

 

Garry

[Tiptonian]

How does one identify which paper is acid-free and which is not?

[Anglian]

I'd say unless you specifically buy acid free paper it's safe to assume that a given paper is not what you need.

 

You probably need to buy it from a supplier of archival materials. For example, Silverprint in London are a photographic suppliers and they sell archival quality card boxes. A Google search should throw up suppliers of archival quality materials – museums must get through tons of the stuff. I'm not sure if there are long term ill effects from foam but you can buy foam lined stock boxes that have suitable slots cut to take the vehicles.

 

If you want to be really careful you should buy cotton gloves to avoid finger prints when handling stock. I do this when handling my military models but was surprised to see an operator at a show doing the same. When I asked him he said that they had had one too many finger prints left on stock…

 

Fingers are really quite greasy unless you keep washing them every 30 minutes or so.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Anglian

[Andy Hayter]

Acid free paper is the material of choice for scrap-bookers and should be easily available from hobby and craft outlets.

[detheridge]

FWIW, I store quite a lot of my n.g. locos in Ferrero Rocher plastic boxes. The chocs may be rubbish, but the boxes are great!

[Nearholmer]

A long established collector clued me up to wrap things in bits of old, many-times-washed, bedsheet. It's a benign wrapping that works a treat, and it's free! A single thickness often works even inside a the original box, if that exists.

 

Kevin

[janner]

That's a good tip Kevin, thanks for that.

[Tiptonian]

The knowledge on this forum never ceases to amaze me!  Many thanks indeed for all your replys.

[brianusa]

It would seem there is a certain amount of overkill here. While our toys are priceless to us, they're not in the realm of Faberge eggs which one sees on AR being handles with great care and gloves. These are still toys assuming we are talking current manufacture here and as such meant to be played with or at least used with care. My old Hornby O gauge sits on shelves around the layout with the boxes beneath and regularly gets a dusting every few months or after a running session.

 

Brian.

[burgundy]

IKEA have some nice, tough plastic boxes (Glis) which come in packs of three, which are ideal for 0-6-0 tanks and similar sized 4mm scale locos. I had been struggling to find something similar to take mainline express engines (like 2-2-2 tender locos) and finally found that Hobbycraft do "Really Useful Clear 1.5litre Boxes".  They are about 12" long internally and so should be large enough even for more modern image express types. They are £3-50 each, but there always seems to be some kind of special offer to reduce the cost. I also tried some plain white felt to protect the loco from foam packing, which seems to snag on footsteps, lamp brackets and similar.  

Hope this helps 

Best wishes 

Eric 

PS This is written in the context of kit built locos, where the original box is unsuitable for storage of the finished item.

Edited September 15, 2017 by burgundy

[locomad]

This is a subject which intrigues me since I have picked up models stock etc over the last 50 years, what I notice is Hornby-dublo 3 rail packed in original boxes, those nice dark blue ones with white stripes, left in damp attics for many years etc and is almost after 70 years, MINT.

 

So are orginial boxes acid free?

 

I do notice some are kind of oily inside, also the outer is dull or Matt while more modern cardboard has a gloss shine on the outside.

 

I think there are many other factors which come into affect, change in temperature, range of temperatures, humidity, breathable storage, position of model, dissimilar material contact.

 

Give you an example in my own experience why Hornby Dublo super detailed coaches kept safe in boxes in bedroom suffer paint loss round window, while more dirty tatty examples left in damp attic don't?

 

Another example more obvious, model locos kept in display cabinet seize up, while those used constantly on the layout are performing better now than new.

 

Recently I acquired a "Mint" never used box Hornby-dublo R1, in original box, it had never been used, stored for over 50 years as maybe an investment. I was seized, split buffer beam, split chimney stack, hardy any magnet left. Yet my childhood R1 despite, as used look, was in far better condition not suffering any of mentioned defects

 

Experience has shown there is a lot of don'ts, foam, polystyrene, polythene, plastic comes to mind but there are other factors

[Il Grifone]

Tissue paper is usually sold as acid-free even in pound shops (I'm never 100% sure though!).

 

Repro boxes are available (at a price!), but again there is no guarantee about the material.

 

I was advised once to check both sides of items in boxed Dublo sets as the hidden side can show corrosion effects from contact with the box.

 

Most of my stock is stored in ordinary cardboard boxes from supermarkets with card dividers. No adverse effects as yet, apart from some items that suffered flood damage - kitchen paper was fatal to the tinplate finish.

[Wolseley]

I decided just to use tissue paper, rolled several times around each item of rolling stock.  I did ask at an art supplies shop about acid free tissue paper and was told that all white tissue paper is acid free anyway - I have no idea if this is correct or not though.

 

I'm wondering now what to do with all those Dublo boxes.....

[Nearholmer]

Advertise them on eBay at Buy it Now prices greater than the intended contents are worth.

 

Thats what everyone else seems to do.