Boxes for train cars your take

Like many, I throw away most (not all) RS boxes, and keep nearly all loco boxes. Low-end locos (cheapie MPC/low-end K-line) for projects may have their boxes tossed. 

 

O-scale is just so big. Too big, actually - 1:58 (like the K-line Allegheny) would be better than 1:48; it would preserve the heft but drop it below the Unh! level.

 

And how much chance is there for a new scale AND gauge (2-rail, of course)?

 

Yep. Exactly.

Save engine & caboose boxes

all others are gone or will be soon 

I had to dismantle my modest layout not long ago due to the room being occupied by another family member (This isn't the first time. Maybe a "Bates Motel" sign out front will discourage them ). Luckily, I saved all the boxes in the attic and the equipment is well-stored. I'm also considering downsizing my collection, narrowing my focus. Having saved the boxes will be appreciated then as well. Few people buy their trains with the intention of selling them, but stuff does happen. 

So far I save all of my train boxes, it is becoming quite a space consuming proposition that takes up a lot of room. I have just not yet been able to part with any of them for whatever reasons? Whether I will ever be able to remains to be determined. I have almost everything currently stored under the layout on shelves I added to my Mianne bench work. However, the shelves are just about full.

 

On a brighter note I've now got more trains than I have room for on my current layout.  The train buying has tapered off drastically in the last few months as I concentrate on some much needed accessories. The new Lionel command control accessories were just in time. Unfortunately those also come in boxes. But, I am planning a layout expansion using Mianne which will have the same shelves under it as the current layout has. I just have to stop purchasing things before I run out of room under the expansion and all will be well. 

I keep all boxes because the value is little higher when I sell the item.

I posted this a little while ago about how I plan to deal with my boxes...

 

I have an idea to get rid of all my old train boxes. Would preferably do this in California so it might get on Storage Wars. Put the empty boxes in plain sight a storage locker with a sacrificial 675 and a caboose sitting out in the open. Don't pay your rent and they wind up auctioning the locker off and they get into bidding war thinking this is a gold mine. I could see Dave Hester running up the bidding just to get the locker and then...

Hilarity ensues !!!

 

 

Jerry

Save Engine Boxes, Recycle Rest.

Ouch!  Threaded where I dreaded!

 

I believe it's time (for moi) to rethink this whole box thing.  Not only is it a space-taker-upper thing, but it's an affront to the aged, feeble-of-recall that I am, IMHO.  I mean, you see this crisp box lurking beneath the layout, on a shelf,....wherever...and you think, 'Wow, I should take that out and run it!....only to find that you already have.....and it's somewhere gathering dust on the layout!

 

So, in a sense (or trying to make some, thereof!) getting rid of the boxes of items that ARE being utilized on the layout, display shelves, etc., would leave a stark indication of the wretched excess for which there's no room, no priority interest, no usefulness,......and, therefore, should be disposed of....in a fiscally responsible manner, of course!!!  The remaining 'boxes' would all have stuff in them that is just, ...well....,'stuff'. 

 

It's sort of like the current media advertisement for who-knows-what that asks the question 'Will a new pair of shoes make you a better person?', for which the answer is an obvious 'No!, of course not!".   Will boxes and boxes of unused 'stuff' under, around, above, etc. the hobby domain make you a better hobbyist?   (Oh, dear....now I'm REALLY in trouble!!...............no.)

 

And, saving the engine boxes, only?.....reminds me of the ol' Magnavox "Works in a drawer" advertising from the 1950's.....its an admission that the item is doomed to failure and in need of repair in my lifetime.  Better keep the 'emergency stretcher' handy for the patient!   So sad.  

 

Value for the next owner?  So, what?.... I should help myself be miserable to end by selling off in my lifetime one of the few things, my hobby, that provide an enthusiastic quality of life?   Or, I should care that the administrator of my estate gets a few extra bucks from musty old boxes to give to ????? when I'm gone??  Seriously?  Do ashes or a crusty corpse really care about such things????

 

Have we taken 'Box-mania' to a ridiculous level of passion/necessity??

 

Just a question.......

 

Struggling with the answer, I remain...

 

 

Once my trains come out of the manufacturers box, they never go back, but I save the boxes anyway. WHY? I don't even know. I can see saving the engine boxes, especially for stuff like Vision Line. Rolling stock.... good question. For now they sit on shelves.

 

If I need to store anything....

 

Too true. People always want the boxes.

My plan is to take all the boxes for my rolling stock that's out on the layout and put them in large trash bags and store them in our shed. But I keep all the rolling stock boxes, especially the locomotive ones as they protect the locos very well.

You might like to look into what ULine sells and pick a size and make that your standard for your rolling stock.  Standardizing aids in storage.

 

I use the 4x4x12 for 90%+ of my rolling stock in standard O.  You might find the 8x3x4 or other size suitable for the narrow gauge stock.

I started out collecting diecast cars and trucks, and I've saved every box. Same thing with all of my trains, and all of my wife's collectible figures. I actually had to use them when I moved 10 years ago, but I have a whole lot more now. No idea what I'm going to do with them all, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of them. I just keep looking for places to stash them. May need another shed soon. 

I think after that last incident, he is no longer employed by A&E.

I typically buy from Home Depot or Lowes the nice hard 27 gallon storage containers with the yellow tops and load the boxes in them. They are stackable and I label them so I have an inventory list.

 

Just counted them, over 40 - I guess that's a little out of control but when I sell the ones I no longer want, the manufacturer's box makes it easier to ship and sell.

 

 

I save all my boxes, it don't matter what the item is. I usually store all the boxes under my layout tables, as I don't have an attic or basement living in south Florida.

 

Lee Fritz

I keep all of my boxes.  When I was in college I used to buy and sell toys for fun.  The value was always higher with the box.  Thus, I cannot bring myself to throw away my boxes.  My wife was just yelling at me over the weekend about the box collection in the basement. 

its funny that this should come up at this time.
I am ready to head up to the attic and toss

boxes that have been up there for over 20 years.

I threw away any box for freight and passenger cars after my cars were equipped with Kadee couplers, and weathered.  I used to transport my rolling stock to and from shows wrapped in tissue paper, and then in bubble wrap, and were packed carefully in large Rubbermail totes. 

 

I kept all of my locomotive boxes.  

 

I got very lucky.  When I made the decision to leave 3 rail O, I found a buyer that purchased the bulk of my rolling stock, totes and all. 

 

Had I not found a buyer, I sincerely believe that I would have had difficulty unloading my rolling stock at higher than fire sale price.  I still have a 12 car Northern Pacific heavyweight passenger train to unload without boxes that I'm sure I will take a beating on. 

 

Six to ten years ago, when I was throwing all of the boxes away, I thought I was in 3 rail for the long haul.  Circumstances changed for me, and they can change for you. 

 

Find a way to keep boxes on your rolling stock, and it may pay dividends later down the road. 

 

Regards,

Jerry

 

A piece of rolling stock that I paid $65 for new would likely net me $25 with box, $20 without when reselling.  With the secondary market as weak as it is, no point in hanging on to all those boxes. 

The modern Lionel boxes are awfully nice, though--I did a big purge of about 200 last year and it was tough to see them go.

I keep all my boxes. I find for myself I can store the cars easier then maybe having to pile them on top of one another. Better then going through a pile of cars to get to the one I want. Yes I agree boxes may be a pain. I have well over 2000 cars.....Paul

My system:

 

Every item is photographed, inventoried, boxed and labelled. Original factory boxes, paperwork and packaging is retained for all models (large and small). External protective "packing" boxes are used for everything.  All boxes have a color coded label for easy identification. Instruction sheets are filed in a 3 ring binder for future reference.

 

A "catalog" page is maintained on my computer for every item. Examples attached.

 

Photos of the external "packing" boxes are given a file name and stored on my computer.  To locate a boxed item by file name I use the computer "search" function. 

 

 

Just my opinion but, I would much rather be spending time running/working on my models than wasting time with all that record keeping. The only boxes I have saved are those from locomotives, passenger cars, and brass cabooses. Everything else has been tossed in the trash/recycling. 

Holy cow. You must have a lot of rolling stock to merit a system like that.

This is one of the advantages to having a small layout, as my rolling stock boxes each have a car # and type written with a magic marker on the end (as the boxes all look alike and I repainted/relettered every piece of rolling stock I have) and that's it.

I misjudged how many cars I'd need for the layout as I did the rolling stock even before I had a track plan done, so I wound up with more cars than I really need for operations. I have two shelves in a cut-down book case stuffed under the layout that are dedicated to boxes. The upper shelf is the stuff still in boxes, and the lower shelf is empty boxes (the full ones have the writing facing to the outside so you can instantly tell what cars are still boxed up and what they are). On30 car boxes don't take up much room and I have about 40 freight cars total (my two AMS long coach boxes are stacked elsewhere), so that isn't taking up a lot of space.

Or OCD......

When I purchase model railroad items without a box and/or insert I try to make a custom package to protect the item.

 

I am at that point of no more room for boxes... I am going to empty boxes of the their spare parts and store them in the attic this year

Does he even HAVE a layout? 

Thanks for your suggestion.  Found one.

These have everything you need, already cut to fit and ready to use. Will hold up to 20 - 40' reefers, 12 - 50' box cars, or 6- 21" full length passenger cars. No measuring, no cutting, no hunting down foam. It's specifically for O Scale.

Maybe not so much if he started when his collection was small, or started his collection with a documentation plan laid out in advance.

 

It's when you've already amassed a whole pile of rolling stock that implementing such a detailed procedure may raise an eyebrow or two.

 

---PCJ

I didn't wanna go with the insult right off the bat, but yeah, each of those crossed my mind as well.

A good pal of mine in Florida collected HO brass locomotives like they were going out of style. He just bought and bought, whatever spun his spurs.

The guy has a reasonably large layout in a basement, but the last time I saw the thing is was essentially a parking lot for his brass. Nothing was running as there were locomotives parked everywhere. he might have had more brass locos than cars, now that I think on it.

With brass, I assume people keep the boxes. I never asked, but I assume he must have a closet filled with brass loco boxes somewhere in that house.

I have tons of rolling stock and I have no idea what I have most of the time. I many occasion I have bought something I like only to find out I already have one or four. As for boxes, Im about ready to chuck all the freight car boxes. Thyere just in the way and serve no real purpose since everything is on the layout or shelves

I recycle freight car boxes and keep engine and passenger car boxes.  Box storage is still a problem.  I don't want to rent a place to store boxes because that would be a waste of money.

 

NH Joe

Train collector or box collector? As for loco boxes, the shippers get thrown out cuz they make the shelf look messy and the bags go too. I have trains in boxes and if I want to run them I want it to be as little a PITA as possible to get them out. A box in a bag in a box is the epitome of PITA. As soon as some thing are paid off im going to invest in some O Scale Haulers from Doug LOS. They are exactly what im looking for