Here’s one for the forums: I recently purchased an A-line storage system (full carrier with 5 low boxes) for traveling as my layout is not where I live and I have to travel to it and for a few other reasons. I was recently wondering if I should move all my cars and engines into this system. I was curious if the group thinks original boxes are better or the storage system is better. Any opinions are welcomed.
Gidday, A case of “Catch 22” . I have a Proto 2000 Heritage 2-10-2 that broke the tender drawbar, the tender and associated wiring was attached, in what I considered was adequately wrapped and protected in foam. I was Wrong. [:$] Now it and my other tender engines travel in their original boxes. The downfall of this is that the wiring plugs and harness have to be disconnected and reconnected each time which, as I considered that they are too small to be robust, I was originally trying to avoid, so back to the drawing board for me.[sigh]
I sometimes wonder that with the fine detail that I am exceeding “design capabilities” in that these locomotives were to be placed on a layout and left there??
Apart from photos I’m not familiar with the "A-Line Totes so will not comment.
Here’s some links to some similar threads, just to confuse the issue…[*-)]
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/213991/2348869.aspx#2348869
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/213642.aspx?sort=ASC&pi314=1
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/199495/2179000.aspx#2179000
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/195449/2134817.aspx#2134817
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/195449/2134817.aspx#2134817
Cheers, the Bear.
I use about 80 Axian white boxes similar to A-Line to store HO rolling stock at home on shelves. But IMO, they’re too flimsy for engines, so I have a two-door metal office cabinet adapted with shelves on roller-bearing drawer slides to hold up to about 100 engines. The wood shelves have track grooves. This cabinet is next to the layout, so exchanging engines is both easy and safe. Engines are thus upright, remain connected, and kept dust-proof.
Taking trainsets to club meetings was another problem. The cardboard boxes are neither water-proof nor durable enough for a lot of travel. So I bought two aluminum cases 18x12.7x5.5" from MCM Electronics (#22-8125) for $30 each and made them into two-level train cases, using the W-shaped Axian foam that is available separately and a heavy pasteboard mid-deck. One box can carry a large steam engine or two diesel units along with nine full-length passenger or 14 freight cars. MCM now sells a larger case (#555-15185) case for $50 which should hold up to 11 passenger or 27 freight cars along with power.
Hal
I have both A-Line and Axian Technology (AT) storage boxes and use them exclusively for my storage. The A-line I use for my diesels, as laying them down in the AT boxes tends to mash the railing - at least the plastic ones. For rolling stock and my steamers I use the AT boxes. The foam on the lid keeps them from shifting horizontally.
I still keep my original kit and RTR boxes for both my locomotives and rolling stock in the event that I should want to sell any of them at some future date. Original boxes will fetch a better price.
If you do end up using the A-Line boxes for storage as well as transport containers, I would line them with tissue paper to mitigate any possible contact of the paint on your locomotives and/or rolling stock with the foam in the boxes. The tissue will also catch any oil leaks from your locomotives.
Tom
I too struggle with this problem. During the past holiday season I aquired a lrge collection of N-scale stuff. Everything from Scenery to Locomotives. None of it was contained in original boxes. Prior to the accusition nearly everything I owned has the original boxes. This includes everything I brought with me from the seventies.
Recently I was at a well known sporting goods store ‘Gandering’ at the fishing tackel boxes…Not that I am a fisherman but because boxes for fishing luers are just the right size for storage of rolling stock. At least N-Scale rolling stock. A little bit of foam padding and I am good to go. The boxes were made by a company named Plano. I have seen them at the Big Mart of Wal as well. They were also written up in another model railroading magazine.
I have several of the A-Line cases and will be getting more before long. I keep most of my equipment in them when off the layout. Some equipment (my Amtrak locomotives, for example) I keep in their own boxes since the original boxes do sometimes offer better protection. I think that determining whether to use the original boxes or some other storage system depends a lot on the individual pieces of equipment.
Kevin
The one I noticed with the A-Line instructions is that they say to put the cars with trucks up where there are no roof details that could be damaged. IME I found that the boxes work better the other way with the wheels down as that way the cars don’t move no matter how much the box shifts. Secondly, I would think that doing that would prevent the foam from coming into contact with the paint (unless of course one has wheels painted). My cars are “new” enough for what I model that the wheels don’t have weathering on them.
I have the A-Line tote/boxes as well. The AT(Axion Tech) boxes work if you have cars with cast-on grab irons. Laying highly detailed cars on their side in an AT box is a sure fire way to damage them. A friend has several of those boxes and lost grab irons on several freight cars. All he uses for transport now is the A-Line boxes.
I have found that transporting ‘low’ cars like flat cars and gondolas can be an issue due to their ability to ‘move’. I purchased extra A-Line foam spacers to ‘pad’ these cars, and try to make sure there is a ‘tall’ car on either side(as I do for engines).
I keep all of my original boxes, and I make a computer label that goes on the back side of the box with the reporting marks/AAR code. For cars I do not have boxes for, I purchase Accurail boxes direct from Accurail. I computer generate a label and put the car in it. And I always transport them ‘wheels down’ in the A-Line boxes.
Jim
That wouldn’t work for older boxcars with vertical brake wheels, which is what I have a majority of on my early 40s layout.
With the AT storage boxes and boxcars with more delicate parts (e.g. Proto 2000, Branchline), I’ve had virtually no problems since laying tissue paper on the inside. I’m also very careful about how I stack the individual boxes, which can really exacerbate the problem.
Tom
I switched tot he A-Line system because it keeps things standing on their wheels. Better for the details. I got plenty of the foam pieces to make sure things don;t roll back and forth if the carrying case gets tilted. Use one between each car, and fill in the ends so there’s no loose space.
But - I also have all my original boxes, at least for things that came in original boxes. For long term storage I’d probably put things back in the boxes. Depends on the box - the old style carboard flap boxes made it easy to dmaage a car taking it out or putting it back in the box. Newer stuff is often better packaged, mainly because the details are better, even mid range models often have free-standing near scale size grabs and other delicate parts.
One thing that is MUCH better witht he A-Line boxes - my big steamers, PCM 4-8-4’s with DCC and sound - that coupling cable between the loco and tender is difficult to get connected securely (and often a cause pf problems when you THINK it’s in all the way but not), let alone take it apart without pulling the wires out. With the A-Line boxes I can put the loco and tender in as a unit, much less wear and tear on the connector. I’ve used the A-Line system to tote my equipment to 3 different shows now, as well as moving groups of cars around as I painted all the couplers and wheels last summer, working outside, and have had no instances of anything broken or bent. The old totes I had put the rolling stock on its side, and it took a long time to get the bends that set in to the plastic handrails of my Proto diesels out. Never again. Upright storage ONLY.
–Randy
Just my couple penny’s worth, wrap your engine’s or car’s,in a couple or more,wraps of paper towel’s, they are soft and durable and can be used again… Do that before,you put them, in a box or container, doing it for year’s, no damage…
Cheers,
Frank
Paper towels get paper lint and dust all over everything. The blue shop towels are a better option for that.
–Randy
Randy,
That may be true, on el-cheapo towels, But I never had that problem…
Cheers,
Frank
Another fan of the A-Line totes, here.
I converted over to them in my couple of years with my former modular club and never regretted it. I’d gotten really tired of losing handrails to the Axian boxes.
The only problem was that almost everybody else in the club was using the Axian boxes and during my last set-up with that group, a “helpful” person in too bloody big of a hurry ignored the “this side up” markings all over the totes and laid them on their side “so they would stack better on the other cartons.”
That wasn’t the only reason I quit that group, but it was one of several things that pushed me past the tipping point.
I still use the A-Line cases and totes to store my equipment. I’ve never had any damage that I could attribute to the cases themselves; I really like 'em.
I have used/do use both.
Let me explain:
I have some N scale stuff that actually either never had boxes or that got throw away. So the storage boxes work GREAT for those.
Since I have virtually all my HO scale original boxes, I keep all engines in them, but like to keep “frequently used” RR cars in the storage boxes for easy access. I agree the engines, especially steamers, fair better inthe original boxes.
I have found USED dryer sheets to work fairly well to keep the cars wrapped in instead of paper towels. Doesn’t work well if the sheet are “wasted” and/or shredded as they will catch on the details of the RR cars, so inspect well before the wife throws them out…
[8-|]
This may be somewhat off on a tangent, but… I heard (on this forum or elsewhere) of the idea of using (new) pizza boxes to store rolling stock. The next time I was at my local pizza place, I asked if I could buy a couple of extra boxes from them, and they just gave them to me.
They are the perfect height for laying HO equipment on its side, if you don’t mind storing them that way (that’s the way they’re usually stored in their original boxes, anyway). I lightly wrap each car in a clean paper towel, and I can fit about a dozen cars in a single box, depending on the type of car and the size of the box.
This works great for those loose cars you get at train shows, or for those darn kits that don’t fit back in their original box once assembled with couplers (I’m talking about YOU, Accurail, and your ACF covered hoppers! [}:)])
I have a few cars and engines that fit into that category myself. Hence another reason why I decided to get the whole A-Line system (and an income tax refund splurge!) to store my collection.
The Grizzly’s rolling stock, mainly freight cars, is kept in original boxes, each individually identified on the box lid and the car bubble wrapped; transported to and from the club in flip-top storage containers.
As time goes by, and time becomes more precious, I find I’m wasting too much time unpacking/unwrapping and the reverse, particularly when running a long drag freight. The A-line system sound interesting, however I need to evaluate size and weight factors in carrying up and down flights of stairs at home and at the club (arthritis!!). With the flip-tops and the individual boxes I can readily change the number and mix of cars for a particular running session.
With respect to locomotive storage and transportation (all steam except for a gas-electric) I use foam lined cut-down bankers’ boxes and kitchen cutlery trays as shown below. The engines and tenders, stored wheels down, remain connected. An engine with tender is lifted out of and put back in its tray in its foam cradle and then to and from the cradle to the track, minimizing handling.
Ooops!
Im too cheap to pay that kind of money for the A line tote boxes. Instead, I use similiar sized boxes like those that would have once held a computer mother board or similiar low height type box like that. They work perfectly. The best boxes I have found where those that held auto parts such as the lower control arm suspension parts as these are typically more of a flat shaped component that is for a vehicles front suspension system, therefore uses a box that low and wide and since control arms are kind of heavy, its double corrugated and I found it perfect fits several excess height HO cars like auto racks and has space left to put foam inserts ISAMBARD shows above. I wish I had about 10 more of these boxes. Ive been gathering up low type boxes like these for years just for sticking my HO fleet in for bring to our modular clubs events.
Ive also taken boxes like copy paper boxes and measured out the inside for clearance of HO equipment and the foam which I glue inside the lid (since these boxes dont have “flaps”) as well as the sides and devide each row. I will then carefully take a box cutter and cut down the box leaving the bottom of the box raised to the level I marked off. Wah-lah a strong box with an actual lid, not flaps you fold back over. Think of it like building a 32 Ford hot rod and chopping the top 6 inches.