Need advice for long term storage.

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,

I have some bittersweet news to report.

After some deep soul searching and alot of hard thinking, I have decided to go follow my childhood dream of becoming a railroader for the Union Pacific. (Family tradition, Navy man or UP RRer) As such I need to box up and store my extensive model train collection. I have most of the orignal factory boxes. But I am wondering if there are any other precautions I need to take in terms of storing them for what could be up to 30 years. Would seeling locomotives in gallon sandwich baggies with a dehumidifyer packet to keep water from oxidizing the contacts be a good Idea, I will have to store these in a storage unit as my parents are preparing to move out of the house they are at, and that is where they are presently being stored.

I will still do Model Railroading on a limited basis. I will focus on the main 4X6 foot main section of my model railroad But That will have to wait until I get some seniority and I am not moving to a new location every 6 weeks or so.

I know this is suprising considering that I am not happy with what Union Pacific has done as a corporation as of late. But considering family traditions, I feel most compelled to work for this railroad. Any advice you all may have would be appreciated. Also anyone who has had to experience this before, what could I expect when I go to unpack them?

James.

[Leon Silverman]

Dear Student:
Your sandwich bag and dessicant packet sounds loke a good concept. However, be aware that some food storage bags are intentionally made pourous. You might be better off with freezer bags that are equipped with zip or press locks to ensure a good seal. Either way,. fill an empty bag with room temperature water and set it down for a day to see if any puddles form under the bag. If the table surface stays dry, you have a non-pourous bag. Otherwise, the dissicant will eventually become saturated and you will still wind up with corrosion or dried out lubricant (from the moisture being suck out of the package).
Here is something else to consider: In thirty years time, those boxes will be moved at least once. Make sure your trains are cushioned in their boxes. The easiest way to accompli***his is to wrap the trains in bubble wrap. This not only provides cushioning, but also provides an extra moisture barrier.
Sealing the containers is critical. I had some trains stored away for about 25 years in my garage and found a lot of egg-festation on my Penn-Line GG1's and sections of Tru-scale pine roadbed switches. The GG1's could be cleaned up and repainted but the track was history.

[Anonymous]

Thank You MR. Silverman.

Most of my collection gets rotated on and off my layout on a fairly regular basis so I hand'nt need to worry about storeing them other than in their box on a shelf until I wanted that car again. I will take heed on the bubble wrap and the pourous bag advice. Thougn I might use tissiue paper for the in the box coushioning, as I think it would be less prone to damaging some of the more fragile details.

Thanks for you comments. Does anyone else have anything to share?

James

[georgev]

Long ago, in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, I had my HO locomotives and rolling stock stored for about 8 years during a Navy career and when I started civilian work. They were just wrapped in newspaper and stored in corrugated cardboard in the garage. When I had them shipped to where I finally settled down, they were in fine shape - just needed fresh lubricant. Admittedly a dry climate in San Diego where they were stored. Didn't have any insect trouble - maybe I was lucky. They were shipped back and forth across the country a couple of times as well - no damage with the paper as padding.

I would be leery of anything plastic for packing as it tends to deteriorate over long periods. Foam packing can stick when it's old - I would not be surprised if bubble wrap or freezer bags do also. Newspaper (or newsprint - the paper without the printing) may be more stable. Maybe you could seal the trains in the bags after wrapping them with paper - with dessicant which also sounds like a good idea. It might be good to clean out any lube in the locomotives before storing also - the grease will get pretty caked.

Good luck with your new career! Keep us posted.

gv

[PennsyHoosier]

Wow! What a move for you. Best of luck in your new endeavors. As to your collection, storage in a dry area that is not given to extremes of temperature is critically important.

[tatans]

I think there was a posting not too long ago here regarding the use of foam packing material for long term storage, a lot of "collectors" are in for a big surprise when and if they open up their 25 year old brass engines and let out a shreik, ask a foam manufacturing company the makeup of their foam and their uses, try the--search this forum---- for that article.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for your input, I have a much better idea of how to go about this now.

Everyone have a nice day.

James

[cacole]

I can tell you one thing to NOT do -- don't use white styrofoam sheets or peanuts as cushioning material. A friend of mine had some locomotives and rolling stock in long-term storage while he was in the Air Force. When he finally got around to opening up the boxes last year, the styrofoam had deteriorated and stuck to everything. It is extremely difficult to remove this mess without damaging the paint. If you want to use paper, don't use anything except plain white -- no old newspapers, because the ink will transfer to plastic over the long term. The new plastic bubble-wrap material may also be a good choice, since it appears to be a type of plastic that will not deteriorate and become sticky.

[mcouvillion]

I had some of my trains stored for about 6 years wrapped in newspaper, then carefully arranged in various small cardboard boxes. I did not have any trouble with the newspaper, although it did change color and become very brittle. I had stored much of the rolling stock in the original boxes. The small foam blocks that come with the Athearn kits held up well, but I 'm not sure it would last more than 10 years. I also cut up pieces of the wavy soft foam packing to fit around corners or odd shapes. This stuff held up well, also. I like the idea of using the freezer bags to seal stuff, and the dessicant bags, but the handling and extra space may become unwieldy. You might wrap several pieces in tissue paper, then put three or more in one of the gallon-size freezer bags with the dessicant. This would make the packages easier to handle and you could put like items together.

Man, I hate to see someone have to put up his trains long-term. Been there, done that. It hurts.

Mark C.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mcouvillion
Man, I hate to see someone have to put up his trains long-term. Been there, done that. It hurts.

Mark C.

Yes it is. But its a better option than getting rid of them altogether.

James

[Anonymous]

i put mine in the attic under bout 2 feet of insolation in a frezzer bag wrapedm in a towl and in dip the bag in clear sealint . u have to cut the top of the bag off to get it out but they wont sratch and its pretty cheap

[Virginian]

I had most of my stuff stored for 10 years. What I found was the best thing is to wrap the engines and rolling stock in plain white Kleenex, the kind without lotion, first, and then bags, bubble wrap, or whatever, all seemed to work okay. Sometimes the paint may even have something on it that causes it to stick, but if it sticks to the tissue plain old water will disolve it away. If anything else sticks to paint it is liable to damage or discolor it. Use heavy cardboard boxes, tape seal all the edges, and good old moth balls in pantyhose feet distributed throughout the storage should keep the bugs and small rodents away.
Good luck in your career.

[PennsyHoosier]

What about one of those goofy vacuum devices that we see on the TV?

[Roadtrp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Student of Big Sky Blue

Hello Everyone,

I have some bittersweet news to report.

After some deep soul searching and alot of hard thinking, I have decided to go follow my childhood dream of becoming a railroader for the Union Pacific.

Whatever happens to your trains, that is the COOLEST danged thing I ever heard of in my life. Congratulations!! You are doing what 60% of us would love to do but we are either too tied down or too scared to follow our dream.

Frankly, who cares what happens with the models? You are going 1:1, and there is absolutely NOTHING cooler than that!!

CONGRATS!!!

[tup] [bow] [tup]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp
Whatever happens to your trains, that is the COOLEST danged thing I ever heard of in my life. Congratulations!! You are doing what 60% of us would love to do but we are either too tied down or too scared to follow our dream.

Frankly, who cares what happens with the models? You are going 1:1, and there is absolutely NOTHING cooler than that!!

CONGRATS!!!

[tup] [bow] [tup]

Thank You. I admit that it is a little scarey. And Yes I hate to see my trains having to be packed away, But It is a much better option than having to get rid of them. Especially since I have been continually adding to them since the age of 4.

I have some affairs to put in order before I can go off and do this and that is going to take me a while but I will keep all of you apprised

James

[Wdlgln005]

another thing I would do is to get a digital camera and take some shots of the current condition of your fleet. A not card will help you determine any changes ofer time. I would think your system of using the origonal packing + plastic bags and dessicant will work fine. You will have done everything to keep it clean & dry. Another tip for locos is to try to keep them with the wheels down so any grease or oil dosen't get into the motors. You may have the most problem with rusting track. Perhaps thr rail could be polished with a paste before you put them away.

You could also get some plastic trak like EZtrak or Kato Unitrak and run some trains when you do have some spare time. At least it would be a way to have some fun and monitor the condition of locomotives.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Wdlgln005
You could also get some plastic trak like EZtrak or Kato Unitrak and run some trains when you do have some spare time. At least it would be a way to have some fun and monitor the condition of locomotives.

I have some EZ track. Thats an exellent Idea. I should do that. [8D]

James

[Anonymous]

James, glad to see you're following your dream! I sure wish I could do what you're doing.