Selling HO Atlas Loco's on ebay.

[sbntx82]

Anyone sell used Atlas HO Locomotives on Ebay or anywhere you ship? What do you do with the handrails and details you very carefully placed on the model before you pack it up?
I have in the past tried to take at least the end rails off but wound up breaking one. Now that parts r getting scarce not sure I want to mess with that. The older Atlas packaging seemed to be
made to pack them securely without the handrails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There is always the local train shows I guess.  
 Thanks
 SB

[lvrr325]

Cut the foam to allow for the handrails with a snap-off utility knife. As long as the engine is secure and not able to flop around it should be okay.

[ambluco]

I have sold dozens of no-box HO locos and cars on eBay. Including custom painted and detailed engines.

Buy a roll of large cell bubble wrap. Make sure the loco is assembled and wrap the loco in bubble wrap. Keep wrapping and wrapping. You should end up with a log about 8” in diameter. Seal with a piece of packing tape. Use a piece of packing tape on the ends and slightly pinch the ends to seal.

Pack in your shipping box with peanuts.

Never lost one yet.

If you are familiar with Mike Confalone and his Allagash Railriad, this is how he ships all his locos and cars out too. His engines can run upwards of $600. This is how you’ll receive them.

[edwardsutorik]

Re: ambluco's suggestion

I think I'd put a spacer between the handrails and the body, so as to lessen the inward squeeze of the wrapping.

And, yes, be sure to close up the ends enough so the loco can't slide out. I bought a brass engine that was packed just fine in the round-the-round part, but not so much the ends. It arrived with the cab smashed in at the back.


Ed

[Mr. Trainiac]

I have done something like lvrr325 suggested. Kato is another brand that suffers from the handrail problem, especially if you store the box on its side. The unassembled model rests on the side sill, but once you put the railings on, the weight of the model sits on the stanchions. I trace the railings and cut the foam with a knife, hot wire tool, or just the end of a soldering iron to melt a channel for the railing.

For end railings, you just want to prevent forward and aft sliding while in transit. Some dense foam that lightly squeezes the pilot or draft gear on either end will prevent movement without touching the railings.

[lvrr325]

To me there's no better means to ship than the original box and plastic it comes in.

If I have to ship a loose engine it gets at least two layers of bubble wrap, then I cut up a USPS large video box (slightly bigger than a small flat rate) and put it in there, then put that box inside a second box. I just sent a Rivarossi O scale 0-8-0 to Florida that way but I had to use a larger "shoe box" for that. Like edwardsutorik mentioned I was worried about the ends, it was a tight fit to the box, but it arrived intact.

Engines that come in a plastic cradle you can cut holes for added detail parts too. I ended up with a loose Athearn SD40 high hood and a box for a low hood, so I cut the upper front out to make the high hood fit and it went in there just fine.

Nobody is perfect, Bowser's own packaging on the last round of C628s allowed enough sideways motion that every one I got that had a cab visor and wind deflectors had some damage from the cab top hitting the side of the box. But only if it had both of those detail parts, LV units had the damage but D&H did not.

And that really is the bottom line, you want it packed so it's not able to move around. If it can move, then when USPS or whichever carrier uses it for a football in transit it's going to hit the box and break things. Those foam inserts Atlas used can take having a few more notches installed and keep the loco secure. I have been selling some old Bachmann Hawthorne Village On30 trains and they from new shipped in a big foam thing that supported them only in certain spots. 20 years of bouncing around in those and I have yet to find one broken at all.

[prr 4467]

Many people throw away the original styrofoam insert blocks. As lvrr325 said, I keep them and cut them to clear the handrails.

Another solution that some ebay sellers use is to just take a single styrofoam peanut and place it on top the low nose of the Atlas diesel, but above the handrails so that they don't get bent, with another one, or part of one, at the rear, above the handrails, so the engine can't slide around inside its box.

[sbntx82]

Jan 23, 2024 7:48:15 GMT -8 prr 4467 said:

Many people throw away the original styrofoam insert blocks. As lvrr325 said, I keep them and cut them to clear the handrails.

Another solution that some ebay sellers use is to just take a single styrofoam peanut and place it on top the low nose of the Atlas diesel, but above the handrails so that they don't get bent, with another one, or part of one, at the rear, above the handrails, so the engine can't slide around inside its box.

Thanks for the solution guys. I do have all the original boxes so I will follow the suggestions here with the custom cut foam inserts as well as cutting out the styro a bit for a better fit. Back 15 20 years ago when i painted brass i was very good and packing. Always used peanuts and ample space for it to float n the box. Never had a claim against me.
Thanks
SB
.

[ChessieFan1978]

Of course trim around the handrails on the ends. I also place a thin piece of cardboard under the fuel tank, prevents the locomotive from sliding around. Also add a piece in the box between the end of the foam insert and actual box. There is a little play there too. Lastly I always place a piece of plastic wrap (I use a trimmed sandwich baggie) between the loco and foam insert cradle. That helps with scratches caused by the foam insert.


locomotive transport by Matt Fisher, on Flickr

[ambluco]

That's the beauty of the bubblewrap. The model does't move, slide back and forth, or need to worry about custom foam pieces everywhere.

[prr 4467]

As a frequent ebay buyer with hundreds of purchases as well as hundreds of sales, I refuse to buy any item that has plastic handrails that is not actually in its original box because when simply rolled in bubble wrap without any support behind the handrails, they can get bent enough in shipping to take on a permanent set that has been for me nearly impossible to fix.

In the past I was able to heat tweezers in boiling water and then bend and straighten some BLI handrails so that they looked good, but I have been less successful with that method on Atlas locos and/or have just apparently not tried hard enough recently. Since wavy/bowed handrails can detract...I only tend to buy models where the photos show the model is actually mint all the way around.

To each his own.  Others may not care about the handrails.

[craigz]

Jan 22, 2024 17:16:21 GMT -8 edwardsutorik said:

Re: ambluco's suggestion

I think I'd put a spacer between the handrails and the body, so as to lessen the inward squeeze of the wrapping.

And, yes, be sure to close up the ends enough so the loco can't slide out. I bought a brass engine that was packed just fine in the round-the-round part, but not so much the ends. It arrived with the cab smashed in at the back.


Ed

Spacers can be made from these foam door hanger things <https://www.amazon.com/Hygloss-77748-Worldwide-Rainbow-Hangers/dp/B008U2RYKO> . Works quite well and cheap enough too.

[bboc]

How thick are they?

[loco8107]

Jan 22, 2024 14:47:57 GMT -8 sbntx82 said:

Anyone sell used Atlas HO Locomotives on Ebay or anywhere you ship? What do you do with the handrails and details you very carefully placed on the model before you pack it up?
I have in the past tried to take at least the end rails off but wound up breaking one. Now that parts r getting scarce not sure I want to mess with that. The older Atlas packaging seemed to be
made to pack them securely without the handrails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There is always the local train shows I guess.  
 Thanks
 SB

As far as parts are concerned, Altas in the past has always had more parts available when a new release happens. I have noticed less parts on eBay in recent months tho.

[loco8107]

I have always made sure the handrails are on the loco and do a very good job with packaging. Never had issues. And yes I always use bubble wrap when shipping anything. It’s well worth it.