[SRT]

I'll be moving soon, and need to box up a bunch of HO freight cars and locomotives.

I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to pack them. I suppose some damage is inevitable, but I want to do what I can to minimize it.

You guys that do train shows -- how do you move your cars and locomotives around, without wrecking everything?

Thanks

 

[smokey]

When I packed up all my stuff 10 some years ago, I used LOTS of newspaper and wrapped all the rolling stock, not too tightly. Obviously put the engines and heavier stuff on bottom, stack them so they somewhat support themselves (like building legos!!).

When unwrapping the stuff a few months back, I found damage to be totally minimal; maybe a broken coupler or two, some tweaked handrails here and there... but hey, it gives them that used look!!!!!

The track I stacked in groups of 10~15 and used those plastic zip-ties, run between ties, to hold them semi-tight and in an orderly manner.

Overall, it was a bit of work doing it all but, shoot, with the amount of money we have invested in this stuff... take your time and do it well. It will be well worth it when you pull them back out of hibernation!!!!

 

[Boston&Maine]

This is why I make sure that I keep all of the boxes which my trains come in so that I can handle them easily

 

[smokey]

Ya know... that's always a good idea, too








freakin' show-offs...

 

[shaygetz]

Welcome to the forum...I keep my boxes when I can and I've built a stacking tray system that holds about 125 cars. It sits in a cradle that is wheeled so that it can be pushed around and under the layout....

 

[SRT]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have all the original boxes for my other scales (G, O, & N); but all my HO stuff is scratch-built or kit-built -- so the original boxes don't help much.

I'm worried that any kind of packing material will cause some damage.

I think I'm going to secure each car to a piece of track (with small nylon ties around the trucks); then securing each piece of track to a piece of thin plywood; and then secure the plywood to the bottom of a sturdy box.

It'll be a lot of trouble to do it this way, but by avoiding any packing material touching the cars -- I'm hoping there will be very little damage. I'll have the boxes in my possession during the move -- so they won't get tossed around.

This is a "one time" move for me, so it probably isn't practical to build a padded box that would accommodate each car.

Thanks!

 

[Boston&Maine]

That is actually a very good idea SRT... I wouldn't be suprised if there was no damage at all that way... I think that the time you put into packing them will all be worth it in the end :smilie_daumenpos:

 

[sptrains.com]

Wow that sounds like a lot of work. When I moved in to my new house, I bought a bunch of the HO scale train car boxes. They have foam around all of the sides, and are extremely gentle and secure. You could also use the egg carton foam that has a profile like /\_/\_/\ the points compress against the item, putting very little pressure against it, but it holds everything snugly in place.