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Post by simulatortrain on Feb 21, 2021 18:24:09 GMT -8
What do you do to store your excess rolling stock? Display cases? Drawers?
I've had it in mind to use some big flat filing cabinets, but they're so expensive to buy new and hard to find used in my area. Any suggestions?
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Post by edwardsutorik on Feb 21, 2021 18:31:01 GMT -8
I use the A-Line boxes. Both for storage and for transport (Free-mo events).
Ed
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Post by sd40dash2 on Feb 21, 2021 18:33:18 GMT -8
Metal wire frame shelving, trains in the original boxes. Works well, sturdy, quality, easy assembly, affordable, practical for all sorts of storage.
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Post by espeenut on Feb 21, 2021 21:06:51 GMT -8
...like Ed says, get some of the A-Line boxes, they work extremely well, as they're quite sturdy and come with dividers and foam inserts that the cars rest on.
cheers,
Lorne
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 21, 2021 21:10:30 GMT -8
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Post by jonklein611 on Feb 22, 2021 5:00:31 GMT -8
A line boxes for the stuff that goes to the club, and original boxes for everything else.
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Post by markfj on Feb 22, 2021 5:31:15 GMT -8
For now I’ve just been using the original boxes of the rolling stock or kits. I add tissue paper to help cushion the sides. This works ok, but sometimes the side grabirons get damaged and this IMRC 60’ PS-1 took a tumble to the floor while moving boxes around. This was a tough break (literally!) as I can’t figure out any good way to make the repair. I don’t think glue will work because there is so little surface area to work with without interfering with the coupler motion. Probably have to find a complete replacement frame. Surprisingly none of the finer details were damage. Thanks, Mark
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Post by lvrr325 on Feb 22, 2021 11:50:52 GMT -8
Best bet is put it back in the original box, so if it gets dropped or moved it's well protected, although as I posted with the LV C628s that doesn't always work.
You want to keep those boxes anyways, if you should ever need to sell them they bring more in that box. I have a collection now that came without any boxes and people treat them like they're the same Tyco and AHM junk in the other boxes.
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Post by simulatortrain on Feb 22, 2021 13:56:10 GMT -8
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. I have a few Spring Mills boxes I use for storage/transport, and they are nice as I'm sure the A-Line ones are. My question then would be what do you then do with those boxes? Do you put those on shelves, or just don't have enough that it's a problem (i.e. most of it stays on the layout)?
Let me explain further because I could see where my questions could come off as odd. I keep original boxes until I detail/weather things, then I prefer to move them to the SMD boxes where they take up less space. The boxes I have are getting full, my house is fairly small, and I won't be building a layout until some point in the future when I'm in another house. So when it comes down to it I guess I'm just looking for a spark of inspiration for an organizational scheme I can start now.
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Post by jonklein611 on Feb 22, 2021 14:00:36 GMT -8
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. I have a few Spring Mills boxes I use for storage/transport, and they are nice as I'm sure the A-Line ones are. My question then would be what do you then do with those boxes? Do you put those on shelves, or just don't have enough that it's a problem (i.e. most of it stays on the layout)? Let me explain further because I could see where my questions could come off as odd. I keep original boxes until I detail/weather things, then I prefer to move them to the SMD boxes where they take up less space. The boxes I have are getting full, my house is fairly small, and I won't be building a layout until some point in the future when I'm in another house. So when it comes down to it I guess I'm just looking for a spark of inspiration for an organizational scheme I can start now. Boxes go in plastic totes, plastic totes go on rolling 6 shelf wire rack from Costo / Sam's Club.
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Post by oldmuley on Feb 22, 2021 15:37:46 GMT -8
I've been using strawberry flats from Costco. They are super sturdy, interlock for stacking, and best of all they are free.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Feb 22, 2021 16:32:18 GMT -8
Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. I have a few Spring Mills boxes I use for storage/transport, and they are nice as I'm sure the A-Line ones are. My question then would be what do you then do with those boxes? Do you put those on shelves, or just don't have enough that it's a problem (i.e. most of it stays on the layout)? I put my A-Line boxes on shelves. Or on the floor. They are VERY strong. I can (and do) stack them 16 high with no problem. For transporting them, I use the special A-Line "transport bag", or whatever it's called. I don't really have a layout, just a very large test track. I have enough equipment to fill it many times over. So, no, most of it doesn't stay on the "layout". Ed
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Post by champagnetrail on Feb 22, 2021 16:42:16 GMT -8
Years ago I lucked out on a large antique Hamilton map/blueprint cabinet. It has six drawers and is large enough to hold about 300 freight cars.
-pat
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Post by kmaster on Feb 23, 2021 5:05:21 GMT -8
For my stuff, i dont really have a special way of storage, but put the boxes in blue totes from walmart, and keep them in the attic.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 23, 2021 5:31:15 GMT -8
Houses that I live in, the attic would get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. I wouldn't want to subject my models to those kinds of temp extremes.
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Post by kmaster on Feb 23, 2021 6:36:49 GMT -8
never been a problem for us, my dad and I have been doing it for upmost of 20 years, only thing that has happened was an exploded bottle of smoke fluid, but that wasn't stored with any of the trains.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 23, 2021 7:31:14 GMT -8
Dang. Your trains however!
I definitely wouldn't do that what with as much money I have spent on my trains. Extreme heat and cold can't be good for them. Call me risk averse.
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Post by kmaster on Feb 23, 2021 9:02:00 GMT -8
I understand where your coming from, we are just a bit wreckless i guess
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Post by slowfreight on Feb 23, 2021 12:44:14 GMT -8
I had to keep my eye out for a while, but was able to get some old kitchen wall cabinets from a friend. I set them under my staging track but they fit nicely under my newer, thinner layout. They are flipped upside down so that I can reach the knobs, and sit on a 2x4 and the old baseboard molding. Shelves are padded with leftover 1/4" foam padding from the carpet tile floor, mounted with spray glue; this keeps things from rolling off. Doors close without hitting 89' rolling stock. Total invested = $0.00
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Post by theengineshed on Feb 23, 2021 15:15:20 GMT -8
I bought approximately 50 of these Sterilite containers about ten years back. Clear for US stock, blue for British stock. For locos I build foam core cradles like in the photo. Long locos like centipedes or AB units fit diagonally. For rolling stock I just line the box with a shop towel, and use foam core strips to separate the stock. The boxes are stack-able, and lock into each other. For trips to the club, I use a Harbor Freight locking strap to lash 5 or 6 together vertically. You can then carry them using the strap across the top like a suitcase handle. The model number and box dimensions are on my flickr page. I model different eras and more than one road. These smaller boxes allow me to put locos and appropriate cabs in one box. My rolling stock is in boxes by era. Makes it easy to grab what you want for a running session. Storage Containers by Pete Piszczek, on Flickr
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Post by rockfan on Feb 24, 2021 10:18:00 GMT -8
I have a lot of Athearn 85' flatcars I put in paper boxes, they originally had two stacks of copy paper side by side.
I use thick foam and traced the flatcars one right side up, the other one upside down, so the trailer hitches won't hit, besides they're still separated by the foam, I eliminated alot of packing and have eight cars per layer doing this.
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Post by simulatortrain on Sept 6, 2021 17:27:16 GMT -8
Wanted to update this with what I settled on. My wife got me this cabinet I had picked out from Michaels for my birthday. It has 6 drawers, which I'm going to line with similar foam to the available storage boxes. It's pretty sturdy and can hold cars on their side in all 6 drawers, or they could go on their wheels depending on height. Boxcars or most covered hoppers won't fit in the top three that way. The wheels are a bonus allowing it to go anywhere it's needed. I think it should work out well, a pair of them should be able to handle whatever rolling stock I don't have on the rails at any particular time.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Sept 6, 2021 19:08:17 GMT -8
Rather elegant looking.
Background, not so much.
Ed
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Post by eastonj on Sept 7, 2021 15:24:59 GMT -8
Wanted to update this with what I settled on. My wife got me this cabinet I had picked out from Michaels for my birthday. It has 6 drawers, which I'm going to line with similar foam to the available storage boxes. It's pretty sturdy and can hold cars on their side in all 6 drawers, or they could go on their wheels depending on height. Boxcars or most covered hoppers won't fit in the top three that way. The wheels are a bonus allowing it to go anywhere it's needed. I think it should work out well, a pair of them should be able to handle whatever rolling stock I don't have on the rails at any particular time. Looks almost identical to the IKEA 6 drawer "Alex" unit. I found one in a local Craigslist ad and liked it so much I bought a couple more for under the layout. I lined the drawers with sheets of foam from Carolina Custom Foam and cut sheets of plastic from an unused painters drop cloth to lay on top of the foam. -Jeff
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Post by Gino Damen on Sept 7, 2021 23:54:42 GMT -8
Hi, I use aluminium tool suitcases with custom cardboard trays.
In those cases I have three trays made from cardboard and lined with thin PE-foam used to protect electric appliances. Very fragile cars are also wrapped in freezebags from thin PE-folie. The trays are seperated by a 3mm layer of dense PE foam (used as underfloor for laminate).
opslag_trays by G.Damen, on Flickr
When the case is closed the three trays are a press fit. This is also helped by having some additional soft foam on the bottom of the case. The cars ar oriented in such a way that they are standing on their wheels when the case is standing upright. For those cars to long to fit two on a row (everything 50 ft and up) I have trays which hold the cars standing on one side. The ends of the cars are protected by PE-foam with an cutout for the coupler and brake wheel.
I travel a lot with my modules and having the rollingstock in these cases makes packing a lot easier. The cases can be put in the nooks of the car and because they are sturdy the contents is kept save. Even the occasional drop from the car due to opening a door is survived using these storage method.
I also have some rolling stock not in these cases and they are simply stored in their trays with a layer of PE-foam to seperat them. Those trays are kept in an closet.
Gino
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Post by simulatortrain on Sept 8, 2021 4:08:40 GMT -8
Wanted to update this with what I settled on. My wife got me this cabinet I had picked out from Michaels for my birthday. It has 6 drawers, which I'm going to line with similar foam to the available storage boxes. It's pretty sturdy and can hold cars on their side in all 6 drawers, or they could go on their wheels depending on height. Boxcars or most covered hoppers won't fit in the top three that way. The wheels are a bonus allowing it to go anywhere it's needed. I think it should work out well, a pair of them should be able to handle whatever rolling stock I don't have on the rails at any particular time. Looks almost identical to the IKEA 6 drawer "Alex" unit. I found one in a local Craigslist ad and liked it so much I bought a couple more for under the layout. I lined the drawers with sheets of foam from Carolina Custom Foam and cut sheets of plastic from an unused painters drop cloth to lay on top of the foam. -Jeff Indeed- the Alex is what originally got me headed down this path, but the nearest Ikea is a ways from me.
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Post by schroed2 on Sept 8, 2021 4:50:21 GMT -8
Indeed- the Alex is what originally got me headed down this path, but the nearest Ikea is a ways from me. one problem with the furniture-style storage solutions could occur when you need more of them and they area out of production... I have built up a collection of wooden drawer sets from Ikea (Moppe, Fira and some other names that fit in my Ivar shelves...but the designs have changed somewhat over 20 years) for storing my rolling stock. I can use the individual drawers also for transportation purposes like Fremo meetings: eight of the wooden drawers (that can be stacked upon each other without damage to the contents) fit into one of the well known Ikea blue shopping bags (which I have purchased all over Europe and Asia...) and the weight of the filled bag is light enough to be lugged over stairs. I use paper kitchen towels (cheapest edition from my local supermarket WITHOUT printings on it) to wrap the individual rolling stock pieces and to fill in the rest of the drawer. special note to Gino: car cards also fit in the drawers nicely...
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Post by Gino Damen on Sept 8, 2021 10:20:28 GMT -8
Special note to Gino: car cards also fit in the drawers nicely... Yeah, those cards are sometimes a problem. But most times they stay nicely in place. It is also a nice indicator if the trays are pressed together strong enough to keep the cards put. Gino
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Post by antoniofp45 on Sept 26, 2021 6:34:55 GMT -8
Wanted to update this with what I settled on. My wife got me this cabinet I had picked out from Michaels for my birthday. It has 6 drawers, which I'm going to line with similar foam to the available storage boxes. It's pretty sturdy and can hold cars on their side in all 6 drawers, or they could go on their wheels depending on height. Boxcars or most covered hoppers won't fit in the top three that way. The wheels are a bonus allowing it to go anywhere it's needed. I think it should work out well, a pair of them should be able to handle whatever rolling stock I don't have on the rails at any particular time. Excellent idea! I have my rolling stock and motive powered stored, but scattered in boxes that vary in size between my book shelf and a closet. A simplified rolling cabinet would work well in my case as it would be nice to have my HO entire fleet inside of one unit. I'll perform a web search for something like this, but with 2 to 3 additional drawers.
High Greens
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Post by simulatortrain on Sept 26, 2021 13:33:09 GMT -8
For what it's worth, they give you hardware to put another one on top if floor space is limited.
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