I have a question I’ve been pondering for a while. I’ve got lots of engines and cars. Most of them came in the original box with the original packing. I plan on displaying or operating the equipment. But it seems if people want to resell an item, it is important to have the original box with packing.
So the question is, what do you do? Do you have a room full of empty boxes in case you want to sell something one of these days? Or do you just toss the boxes? I imagine the older something is, the more important the original packaging is.
I save them now, mostly because I will be moving and wish I had every box.
As and official Old Friendly guy, I have a lot of old stuff that didn’t cost much money back in the day and isn’t worth much money now. That said, I would rather buy old stuff on ebay that is still in the original box, because:
a) it might be like new and
b) it will probably survive shipping intact.
I don’t have much to sell, because I realized early on not to buy outside my time period or geography.
I have some newer and what I would consider expensive rolling stock and locos. I am saving those boxes. If I had all new, high end stuff, I would save all the boxes. In our previous threads about what happens when you roll into the scrap yard for the final journey, most of us believe that most of the layout will go in the dumpster.
Having had to liquidate my mom’s house, few of us have the time energy and inclination to advertise, sell and ship everything that could be of value.
I model in HO scale. I would think that such a heap of cardboard and plastic lying around would present a fire hazard and require significant space for storage.
I weather most everything, so I destroy any collectors’ value before it even goes on the layout.
I don’t ever plan to resell anything, but I keep locomotive and rolling stock boxes in case of a move, or transport, and after me someone may want the boxes with the trains, which also help identify them.
As for storing, the bigger the layout is , the more storage it has underneath.
Fire hazzard? Not unless you put them near some source of combustion, no more so than 100 other things in our homes.
I kept all boxes for HO locomotives numbering 300+ at this point. Most of the freight/passenger cars (500) where kits, once built the boxes where discarded.The newer RTR detailed cars packaging was retained. O gauge locomotives, freight, and passenger cars number 225+ and every box has been saved. Also O gauge signals, built up structures, and original Plasticville boxes have been retained. All of these boxes have been packed into larger boxes and then put into plastic bags. All of this is in the attic of the house. The center of the attic is floored for storage of Christmas decorations and train boxes. Been there for three decades. The perimeter of the attic is heavily insulated and I think all this plastic and cardboard does provide some R-value. When my time here ends, my kids have been told what to do. If they don’t…I won’t be here to worry about it!
I am so glad you like it. I love seeing pictures of donated SGRR equipment in interchange service. I have sent away at least a dozen of these to forum members. Yours and Harrison’s seem to appear the most.
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As for boxes… I throw 99% of them away.
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When I was in N scale and had a massive collection of Micro-Trains boxes I saved them all. This was because the boxes were like jewel cases. They fit the cars perfectly, kept them protected, and were easy to store.
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In HO, Kadee, BLI, and Brass Importers use good quality boxes that are worth saving. Pretty much everything else belongs in the rubbish bin.
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The boxes for my Bachmann 2-8-8-4 and my Walthers/Proto H10-44 are works of art. These fit the models perfectly and keep them 100% safe. I will hold on to these. All other locomotive boxes are in the landfill.
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The only need to move my trains is in case of Hurricane evacuation. In this case the Axian train storage boxes are the best option I have found. They hold lots of trains and do not take up much room in the car.
If you arrange to send a loco to Blackstone for service, it must be shipped in the original packing, which is designed to protect it properly. Otherwise they’ll send it back unrepaired.
I generally save the boxes that the models came in, but since a lot of my stuff was bought “used” it usually came without a box. I have bought boxes, but I also improvise with the ones I have, like these two modified Athearn flatcars in a Walthers box which originally contained a single GSC 52’6" flatcar (the source of the bulkhead ends on these cars)…
…or perhaps an Athearn Blue Box which originally held a passenger car, and now accommodates four Athearn 34’ open hoppers…
Another Walthers box, this one for their Jordan Spreader. It now holds four scratchbuilt hopper-bottom boxcars…
As for the boxes for expensive rolling stock, I generally toss them them, as most of mine were bought as kits, and I usually make some modifications during the build, making them unsuitable to fit into their original packaging. That packaging is well-done, and the kits have always come to me undamaged, but they’re suitable only for that particular car.
Here’s two of them, from Tangent, in another Walthers box, likely originally containing one of the 50’ single-sheathed automobile cars, of which I’m so fond…
I do not weather my locos or rolling stock, and I do keep all of the boxes which I store on shelving under my layout.
From time to time, I sell off stuff on eBay, loco boxes are crucial, rolling stock boxes are preferred, and all fetch a higher price than without the box.
I have 600+ frreght cars on my layout…if I kept all the boxes I’d need a separate building just to store them! I have kept the boxes the locomotives came in.
Thank you for the great discussion. As per usual, there’s things I’ve not considered. I now haved lots of things to think about. I don’t plan on selling anything, I’m building it with my grandson for my grandson. He may decide to sell things years from now. So I want him to have information and the boxes he might need, as I imagine components from this era will be worth mor 50 years from now. Thanks, again gentlemen.
I save locomotive boxes. i don’t save rolling stock boxes because most of my stuff is built from kits with fine detail. It won’t go back in the box without damage (or won’t fit).
I bought a couple of flat drawer units from Ikea to store my built up rolling stock that rotates off the layout. Marty McGuirk has a cool video where he shows how he set up the drawers to hold the cars upright without damage. He uses wood strips that allow the cars to sit on the truck side frame bottoms - pretty slick.
As for storage under the layout, if you’ve been in the hobby long enough you likely ran out of storage under the layout years ago…
I have never been in the habit of throwing out the boxes since the beginning of my Model Railroading career/hobby. Yes they take up lots of space, sometimes get in the way. I can’t say that when my trains go to Auction, the person in charge will take the time to match the box to the rolling stock. If I sell them yes, what’s listed on the box is in the box.
I was at a whole train layout sale in a house, the cars sold and then someone found the HO Kadee car boxs (24 more or less) and bought them for I think $1.00 each.
When I go to Train Shows, alot of second hand HO rolling stock is loose in box lot box’s but each car sold separately. Would they command more $ if in original boxs, would the seller want to open and close all those boxs at each train show?
I’ll just keep saving the boxs I guess.
When I get tired and want a change of what is on the layout in rolling stock, I put the cars in those long white storage boxs (packing goes much faster), mostly a box is full of a like type of cars. The Locos. go back in original boxs or up on the wall on those aluminum shelve’s with HO wheel grooves milled in.
You can always get rid of the empty boxs at a later date if they get in the way as clutter. Once they are gone, there gone.
I guess I can add that all my rolling stock and Loco’s if empty or full, those box’s are stored in which ever larger box’s they fit in the best. Mostly Beer box’s (Athearn short BB, Roundhouse, Bowser, etc.) and Toilet box’s for the longer BB and like the 89’ cars.
I keep ALL boxes for every single freight car and locomotive. I throw them into those plastic tote boxes (that my wife likes to use for storage).
However, I have less rolling stock than most people, so I do focus on high end equipment where the boxes are designed specifically for the engine or freight car.
Even brass models are worth more when in the original box. Some collectors famously threw the boxes away or gave them to the dog to play with–that lowers the value of the brass models. With plastic, it’s much easier to sell in the original box.
