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Locomotive storage boxes with no handling


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  • RMweb Gold

I have recently finished a loco storage system intended for home use rather than for transport between home and exhibitions.

The idea is to minimise handling of the locos especially after they have been weathered - preferably no hand contact at all. And, also to be able to store them in dust proof conditions.

The basis for the storage is by use of the Peco SL-43 Loco Lift cradles which enables direct loading and unloading from the track.

I was looking for front opening stackable storage boxes and eventually came across 'shoe boxes' of all things.

This is the end result

 

DSC05069.JPG.805eeb2e03a1ba19ee7895015180e7d7.JPG

 

 

DSC05068.JPG.806c2a0bc1a2baa4fe4661b0e96664ca.JPG

 

To be able to get 8 locos in each box a Perspex shelf has been added, supported on 4 lugs screwed into the sides of the box.

The messy part was trimming the top corners of the cradle handles so that it is straight rather than having a part projecting that can catch as they are withdrawn from the box.

The boxes can be stacked and as they are front opening do not have be moved / lifted to get access.

These are the boxes from Amazon - the sets of 6 also come up on occasion and are a little cheaper.

image.png.f2ece3dd11a5e21e4cd6158348f9a0b3.png

 

 

The shelves £3.34 each

https://www.theplasticpeople.co.uk/

image.png.0213a256f79b533d16833e87a9c8a19a.png

 

Lugs / stand offs £5.40 pack of 40 - 4 used per box

image.png.eed1caf407e9a766332e0cdbabe2d3af.png

 

Nylon fixing bolts

M4 X 10mm eBay pack of 100 - £5.95

 

There is also another version for storing larger locos such as Garratts

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42598-Heljan-beyer-garratt/page/99/

 

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by zr2498
Missing info - photos replaced
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  • RMweb Gold

Hi Mick

Similar but not quite the same as a cassette system. It is loaded / unloaded by simply pushing the cradle down onto a piece of track. There are profiled electrical strips in the base of the cradle to do this. So there is no lining up and elctrical plugging to do. The strip is fine enough that the loco will drive eaily onto the cradle deck.

On my layout, this is done off scene.

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold
27 minutes ago, deepfat said:

Loving your work but sl-43 Peco lifts are impossible to get hold of, Not sure why Peco can't make things anymore even in lockdown 

Seems everybody is waiting for new stock. Might be worth an email to PECO to see when they are due.

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

Hopefully the Sl-43's will be available again before long. The thread was started nearly a year ago but appears to be of interest again. A photo below to show the stacking of the boxes (up to 4 high), and the thicker (6mm) shelf.

DSC05615.JPG.b97507f3dc475692bd9ce62e004b2475.JPG

Each of the Loco-lifts are numbered and the detail parts put into polybags with the corresponding numbers. All empty manufacturers boxes now in the loft. It's quite a large capital outlay but certainly makes loco handling easier and avoids damage.

Dave

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On 09/03/2021 at 13:48, zr2498 said:

It's quite a large capital outlay but certainly makes loco handling easier and avoids damage.

Dave

 

.... thereby protecting an earlier and much larger capital outlay!  Nice one.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

by my count that's about £10,000 of stock there so spending a few hundred quid to protect them seems eminently sensible, it's a shame you still can't get the loco lifts when other manufacturers like dcc concepts, KR models Hattons etc. seem to be able to supply us

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9 hours ago, deepfat said:

by my count that's about £10,000 of stock there so spending a few hundred quid to protect them seems eminently sensible, it's a shame you still can't get the loco lifts when other manufacturers like dcc concepts, KR models Hattons etc. seem to be able to supply us

I have sent this to Peco

image.png.a6a7e24b29e5d48486f27283e0bd4cc2.png

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I like the idea of using Peco lifts as I have a couple laying around when I was experimenting with a loco cassette system. The only thing I'm not sure of is I can't see anything actually holding the locos in place within the loco lifts. Are you counting on lifting it square and level or is there something holding the loco onto the lift track?

 

I'd shudder to think of tripping on something that's sufficient to throw the locos off the track itself and they all cascade into each other.

 

I'm sure you have it covered.

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33 minutes ago, gordon s said:

I like the idea of using Peco lifts as I have a couple laying around when I was experimenting with a loco cassette system. The only thing I'm not sure of is I can't see anything actually holding the locos in place within the loco lifts. Are you counting on lifting it square and level or is there something holding the loco onto the lift track?

 

I'd shudder to think of tripping on something that's sufficient to throw the locos off the track itself and they all cascade into each other.

 

I'm sure you have it covered.

I also noticed while using one of the Peco loco lift how easy it is for locos to slide off the lift.

A little lift up flap at each end of the loco lift would stop this. 

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I think the idea is/was that you grip the loco sides by pressing in the lift's foam sides, but I know where you're coming from. I only have one for now and am thinking of having some sort of sliding or lift barrier at each end.

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I agree in sliding off the lift, but it was more when the box is being moved around with a full complement of locos. From memory the loco lift track sections are low profile and it wouldn't take much for them to slip off sideways and crash into each other if the storage box moves moves away from the horizontal position. I bit like carrying a tray with a dozen cups of tea full to the brim without spilling anything.

 

As I said, I'm sure the OP has it covered.

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  • RMweb Gold
On 07/04/2021 at 09:56, gordon s said:

I like the idea of using Peco lifts as I have a couple laying around when I was experimenting with a loco cassette system. The only thing I'm not sure of is I can't see anything actually holding the locos in place within the loco lifts. Are you counting on lifting it square and level or is there something holding the loco onto the lift track?

 

I'd shudder to think of tripping on something that's sufficient to throw the locos off the track itself and they all cascade into each other.

 

I'm sure you have it covered.

Guys

In response to an number of concerns:

I have the boxes stacked near to where the loco lifts are loaded to the track, so I would normally just remove one lift at a time for loading and unloading. I have lifted a (shoe) box full of them carefully over a short distance but would not risk going up / down stairs with it. 

Occasionally I will take a loco on it's lift downstairs to the workshop. This is usually accompanied by a finger on the top of the loco just to ensure it does not slide. If it is weathered a small piece of bubble wrap on top prevents any marking.

I have checked the slideability and with most locos the tilt has to be above about 20 degrees to slide, so as long as not too many beers this is easily achieved. Slipping sideways is difficult. The loco lift bed is low profile (not elavated on rails), and the aluminium section each side would stop the loco if it left the copper grooves.

I have not included the foam pieces as suppied with the assembly as I feel it easier to keep them level by using the 2 ends as handles.

Perhaps if more distance is regularly needed then a piece of foam trapped between the uprights at the ends would be the easiest method. This has been used with cassette systems for years.

Now to frighten you. Below are 1.7m long cassettes which are used to store rolling stock.

 

DSC02788.JPG.c91920370699e114ffc2480b7e0986e1.JPG

 

Work in progress. These are mounted on a telescopic slide system which can be mechanically indexed.

To stop the stock rolling off there are levers at each end which will raise as the cassette is lifted. The 'stopper' on the lever is aligned for buffer height.

 

DSC02801.JPG.e0d939cf87205e08667c9511e2be9b2d.JPG

 

The design of the cassettes was a bit of a project to see what could be done with minimal manual intervention.

The cassettes fit onto alignment dowels (one end) and aligment slots the other end (to allow for expansion). There are spring loaded plungers underneath which picks up power from the two BUSes and the perspex covers with removeable lids are to keep the stock as clean as possible.

As I said work in progress, so fingers crossed it all works out!

Dave

Edited by zr2498
Photos replaced
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  • RMweb Gold
On 09/03/2021 at 14:37, woodenhead said:

And why don't Peco do them in N too - the idea is simple enough to be replicable in a smaller scale surely?

Looks as though a new version is on the way

https://www.themodelcentre.com/pt-61

image.png.57ce22eb2927abf629c2ab9f2dfeeca7.png

Have not given a price as yet. Nor dimensions. Can be stacked in the horizontal and vertical. Interesting that DCC Concepts have just sent out a reminder about their MPD. I guess the SL-43 will be no longer available, hence no reply as the new version was to be kept under the radar

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56 minutes ago, zr2498 said:

Looks as though a new version is on the way

https://www.themodelcentre.com/pt-61

image.png.57ce22eb2927abf629c2ab9f2dfeeca7.png

Have not given a price as yet. Nor dimensions. Can be stacked in the horizontal and vertical. Interesting that DCC Concepts have just sent out a reminder about their MPD. I guess the SL-43 will be no longer available, hence no reply as the new version was to be kept under the radar

They have been known about for a few months now. 

 

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It’s amazing a comprehensive and well thought out system isn’t available off the shelf for storing our £100000000s of models. They represent a significant investment but at present are protected by not a lot 

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On 07/04/2021 at 17:09, zr2498 said:

Guys

In response to an number of concerns:

I have the boxes stacked near to where the loco lifts are loaded to the track, so I would normally just remove one lift at a time for loading and unloading. I have lifted a (shoe) box full of them carefully over a short distance but would not risk going up / down stairs with it. 

Occasionally I will take a loco on it's lift downstairs to the workshop. This is usually accompanied by a finger on the top of the loco just to ensure it does not slide. If it is weathered a small piece of bubble wrap on top prevents any marking.

I have checked the slideability and with most locos the tilt has to be above about 20 degrees to slide, so as long as not too many beers this is easily achieved. Slipping sideways is difficult. The loco lift bed is low profile (not elavated on rails), and the aluminium section each side would stop the loco if it left the copper grooves.

I have not included the foam pieces as suppied with the assembly as I feel it easier to keep them level by using the 2 ends as handles.

Perhaps if more distance is regularly needed then a piece of foam trapped between the uprights at the ends would be the easiest method. This has been used with cassette systems for years.

Now to frighten you. Below are 1.7m long cassettes which are used to store rolling stock.

 

DSC02788.JPG.65de4c8491746771bb635a21d2685566.JPG

 

Work in progress. These are mounted on a telescopic slide system which can be mechanically indexed.

To stop the stock rolling off there are levers at each end which will raise as the cassette is lifted. The 'stopper' on the lever is aligned for buffer height.

DSC02801.JPG.815f27a8bdb8a4bfb12d7f9ec8a1e700.JPG

 

The design of the cassettes was a bit of a project to see what could be done with minimal manual intervention.

The cassettes fit onto alignment dowels (one end) and aligment slots the other end (to allow for expansion). There are spring loaded plungers underneath which picks up power from the two BUSes and the perspex covers with removeable lids are to keep the stock as clean as possible.

As I said work in progress, so fingers crossed it all works out!

Dave

Would be interesting to see more details of the construction method of these

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On 07/04/2021 at 17:09, zr2498 said:

The design of the cassettes was a bit of a project to see what could be done with minimal manual intervention.

The cassettes fit onto alignment dowels (one end) and aligment slots the other end (to allow for expansion). There are spring loaded plungers underneath which picks up power from the two BUSes and the perspex covers with removeable lids are to keep the stock as clean as possible.

As I said work in progress, so fingers crossed it all works out!

Dave

 

Amazing Dave, please tell us more!  I'm trying to work out the function of the brass strip?

Cheers, Dave.T

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2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

It’s amazing a comprehensive and well thought out system isn’t available off the shelf for storing our £100000000s of models. They represent a significant investment but at present are protected by not a lot 

There are a couple of solutions but I feel that most modellers are either not bothered about storage for easy and quick access (i.e. they are happy with the slow options) or they don't want to spend the money on a storage solution. 

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On 07/04/2021 at 10:33, amdaley said:

I also noticed while using one of the Peco loco lift how easy it is for locos to slide off the lift.

A little lift up flap at each end of the loco lift would stop this. 

 

I use cubes of upholstery foam cut to be a snug but firm fit between the foam sides of the loco lift to stop the locos rolling out of the ends.  (There might not be enough 'freeboard' for this solution with larger locos but it works fine with all my 4-6-0s up to Royal Scot size.)

 

On 07/04/2021 at 10:48, gordon s said:

From memory the loco lift track sections are low profile and it wouldn't take much for them to slip off sideways and crash into each other if the storage box moves moves away from the horizontal position.

 

That's what the foam sides are for: to protect the model if the loco lift gets tipped sideways (amongst other possible configurations of mishap).  I understand that a lot of people don't bother with the foam sides; I do not understand why this is.

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57 minutes ago, DLT said:

 

Amazing Dave, please tell us more!  I'm trying to work out the function of the brass strip?

Cheers, Dave.T

I will add to the job list as a fair bit of work needed to explain all.

The brass strips are basically a spring loaded lever arm. At one end it is pushed up and let down by a pin which protrudes through the underside of the cassette. At the other end is an arm set at 90 gegrees with a rubber buffer fitted over wire. As the cassette is loaded onto the telescopic deck the pin pushes to lever up = down at the buffer end so that stock can run through the end of the cassette. As soon as the cassette is lifted the opposite happens and the buffer comes up. This is set at buffer height of the rolling stock and prevents the unwanted unloading out of the ends. The same could be achieved by pieces of foam but wanted an auto system (to see what could be achieved), and one less job to do when changing stock.

Dave

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