How to Store Locos When Not in Use

[Sir TophamHatt]

I don't really want a display cabinet but I want them accessible.

I might come round to some sort of cabinet but I haven't got a clue where to put it and have zero monies for one.

 

So I was thinking a plastic box but I don't know how to divide them up or keep them from crushing each other.  I have no more than 20 trains.

 

Thanks

[Kris]

I keep mine in their original boxes in several large lidded plastic storage boxes. 

[Barry O]

A4 boxfiles divided using strips of foam board and using pieces of non acidic paper to stop them sliding about.

Or really useful boxes with the foam board divider.

 

Don't use bubble wrap for any length of time as it can leave marks on paint.

 

Or you can buy a display cabinet.

 

I am fortunate that a friend is a retired carpenter and he has made a number of stock boxes for use by club members over the years. These, being wood, aren't see through but make storing locos and rolling stock easier.

A lot of Hornby and Bachmann locos need to have modifications to the original boxes when you fit their detailing parts.

 

Baz

[rob D2]

I use ikea pull out hobby draw things in wood with bits of foam dividing locos and keeling them upright.

 

Lots use theming and thin really useful boxes in a similar manner

[Bernard Lamb]

A plastic storage box and a roll of bubble wrap seems good to me.

Lay the bubble wrap in a concertina pattern and keep the trains upright.

With luck and a bit of thinking ahead it should be possible to extract any item without disturbing the others.

Bernard

[gwrrob]

A 10 litre Really Useful plastic storage box holds seven 4mm locos.

[Chris Chewter]

The Bachmann collectors club do fold up card stock boxes, although I've never used them.  They always felt a little on the expensive side to me.  Perhaps someone else on this forum has used them and can let us know if they are any good?

 

http://Bachmann-collectorsclub.co.uk/products/stock-boxes/00-scale-stock-boxes-pack-of-5.html

[Wellyboots]

There are a couple of threads already that cover storage/stock boxes, which might be worth a look;

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81499-storage-boxes/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/29124-stock-boxes-the-wfrm-way/

[teaky]

A4 boxfiles divided using strips of foam board and using pieces of non acidic paper to stop them sliding about.

Or really useful boxes with the foam board divider.

 

Don't use bubble wrap for any length of time as it can leave marks on paint.

 

Or you can buy a display cabinet.

 

I am fortunate that a friend is a retired carpenter and he has made a number of stock boxes for use by club members over the years. These, being wood, aren't see through but make storing locos and rolling stock easier.

A lot of Hornby and Bachmann locos need to have modifications to the original boxes when you fit their detailing parts.

 

Baz

If one were daft enough to do this Baz what's the best solution to remove the multiple round marks that result?  Will they just polish out?

[Barry O]

If one were daft enough to do this Baz what's the best solution to remove the multiple round marks that result?  Will they just polish out?

The ones I have seen had to be weathered to cover it up. Looks like an octopus attack which leaves a permanent mark on paintwork. May just be a chemical reaction? Better to use acid free tissue paper.

Baz

[Sir TophamHatt]

Ooo, I didn't really think about box files...  I have a fair amount of foam floor underlay which I could reuse just for this.

 

Unfortunately, the majority of the trains I have come from that awful plastic wrap (Bachmann Thomas - I know, a curse word around here )

[Fat Controller]

Another possibility is the type of lattice-sided plastic stacking trays that mushrooms are delivered in to supermarkets, canteens and restaurants; these have location points at the corners to facilitate stacking. To echo what others have said, don't leave bubble-wrap or foam in direct contact with paintwork; make friends with your local baker, and get some 'Baker's Tissue', wrap the stock in that, then in plastic foam.

I have a useful source of 'free' lidded cardboard boxes, the right size fo 4mm scale stock; unfortunately, they're the ones that up-market shirts and other items of female attire are delivered in.

Whatever you do, label the outside of the box or tray with the contents; it reduces uneccessary handling.

[47164]

kitchen roll inner act as an outer protector and then wrap in cheap kitchen roll, doesn't, stick or react with paint work or weathering.

[DCB]

It depends, if your railway room is normally kept dark a Display Cabinet is the best answer.  Put your new rtr loco in the Display Cabinet and get something 50 years old by Hornby Dublo to pull trains, well thats what we seem to do.   The narrow  Railway Display cabinets are expensive but other wider glass fronted cabinets are widely available on free cycle.  Just reverse engineer one and thin the shelves down.

 

You do need to keep stock in a dark place or the paint fades, I once saw a red Hornby full brake which had  faded to the Khaki colour of the Hornby Kings.    This applies to layouts as well I feel, though it may be exposure to sunlight which is the problem rather than electric light.  

 

I have shelves under the baseboard which at 15" deep take 00 stock end on, there is a sliding door to keep out light and it is for surplus either unfinished or no longer up to standard stock. However handling stock will inevitably cause damage so I try to avoid it where possible, shifting stock between display cabinet shelves and layout occasionally and trying not to touch the stock except for uncoupling when it is on the layout.

 

If you put stock in drawers make sure they slide easily or the stock gets damaged when you close of open it, end on or side on it makes little difference.  Maybe in subdivided box files in a nice metal filing cabinet is the optimum?     

 

Ebay is a good place for surplus stock, Some people pay good money for other people's cast offs

[teaky]

The ones I have seen had to be weathered to cover it up. Looks like an octopus attack which leaves a permanent mark on paintwork. May just be a chemical reaction? Better to use acid free tissue paper.

Baz

Drat!  Octopus attack is an accurate description.  I noticed it several months ago and changed the wrapping but it was too late by then.  It is on a blue A4 I bought unboxed and simply stored in the packaging it arrived in.  I'm intending to hack it into the rebuilt W1 using one of Graeme's resin creations so it will be receiving some attention and some weathering but I wasn't intending it to be filthy.  Ho hum.  Thanks for the info.

 

P.S. Apologies to Anotheruser for diverging from the OP.

[bob hughes60]

Hmmm. I just checked some of my stock in case of "octopus attack" aka bubble wrap. Could you give us any idea of time scale involved and which model brands are susceptible?? (i.e. some manufacturer's paint or all manufacturer's paint?)

Thanks for the heads up on this and any further details gratefully received.

Bob Hughes

[chriscleveland]

I built a storage box from staples 50 litre box and made up wood trays within to hold my stock for transport etc they are lined with dept for protection

[teaky]

Hmmm. I just checked some of my stock in case of "octopus attack" aka bubble wrap. Could you give us any idea of time scale involved and which model brands are susceptible?? (i.e. some manufacturer's paint or all manufacturer's paint?)

Thanks for the heads up on this and any further details gratefully received.

Bob Hughes

I cannot answer your question accurately Bob.  In my case it is only one Hornby Railroad A4 on which I discovered the problem after it had been wrapped for, I think, a couple of years.  This was a loco I bought off eBay that had been removed from a set.  I will never again leave anything wrapped in plastic of any kind, so I hope not to be able to add to this information.  I do not keep boxes for stock except for locos.  Currently, my choice would be to use alittle acid-free paper and a strong box (plastic, cardboard or wood) but I cannot pretend thatis based on significant experience.

[cal.n]

I use ikea pull out hobby draw things in wood with bits of foam dividing locos and keeling them upright.

 

Lots use theming and thin really useful boxes in a similar manner

 

Yes, I bought one a couple of years ago and they are the perfect size for all my unboxed 4mm stock. Unfortunately, I only bought one and have been looking for them ever since.  

[colin penfold]

The Bachmann collectors club do fold up card stock boxes, although I've never used them. They always felt a little on the expensive side to me. Perhaps someone else on this forum has used them and can let us know if they are any good?

 

http://Bachmann-collectorsclub.co.uk/products/stock-boxes/00-scale-stock-boxes-pack-of-5.html

I have some of the Warley Stock boxes which look identical to these without the expensive branding. Currently available fom modellers mecca but have also seen them at shows and got mine from the Ian Allan online shop

 

://www.modellers-mecca.co.uk/accessories/8261-wsboo-warley-stock-box-oo-gauge.html

 

They are very good

[loickebros]

Thinking about trying some of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121749709763?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[sp1]

Thinking about trying some of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121749709763?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I have some N gauge ones of those, which are great. 10 locos in one tray (plus odd assorted size wagons/ vans), another tray full of coaches, trays which hold I don't know how many wagons etc. I have one of those metal toolbox/ camera case things which hold three of these foam trays - enough stock to run a decent size railway ( the rest are stored in a decent quality cardboard box which holds about another half dozen trays, and I no longer have an N gauge layout!! In N I can therefore store all of that in something less than the size of a large crisp box, or carry enough stock to run a moderately sized layout in something the size of a large briefcase.

In 00 I would think you would have to construct a collection of large wooden trays/ cases to do the same (foam is flexible, but in the N size this is no problem, being not much bigger than a sheet of A4 ( ok, they are a bit bigger! - but can be lifted easily by putting your hands in the right place - I suspect an 00 equivalent would require more support.

[The Johnster]

When you say accessible, how accessible?  I have some stock which sees occasional use on the layout which lives in the top drawer in one of the cabinets which support the baseboards.  I use card dividers to stop it rolling about when I pull the drawer open.  One wants this sort of reserve/excursion stock to be more readily available than faffing with the original boxes or anything you have to actually open.

 

I think the general fading of models exposed to light is not a bad thing as applied to the non rolling stock parts of the layout, the track, scenery, buildings and so forth.  The real thing fades/weathers in exactly the same way, and parts of it need repainting sometimes, so this is realistic prototype practice which should be encouraged IMHO.  Models stored should be kept in the dark, of course, and if you put them in display cabinets you have to accept a degree of fading unless you are keeping them under museum conditions, and even museums have some trouble...

 

Do led lights make a difference to how things fade, or are leds too recent a develoment for anyone to have found out yet?

[sp1]

Further ramblings: I would be (and still am) worried about the foam degrading, but I think I have had these since the days when they first appeared (none of my N gauge stuff is later than when Bachmann took over Farish (GWR castle from a set) or the original Dapol 14xx / Pannier/ Prairie whichever was the latest. All still run great! The only problem has been the handrails on the 14xx - these are plastic,? and on the side which has been in contact with the foam have gone soft and 'bendy' - easy enough to replace, but is this due to the foam??

[Brassey]

I have a couple of display cabinets which occasionally appear as special offers at Lidl