Last week I found out that my family will be moving to another town. I was expecting this and considering I will be graduating college next week, I knew I'd have to move out eventually. This means I will have to start abandonment procedings for my model railroad and pack up all of my trains and structures. I'm looking for any advice on how to pack my trains, but especially my large structures, the original Walthers Superior Paper Co and my mogul detailing project that is still needs more work. I don't want any details that I've added to come loose and fall off while in transit. Thanks in advance
Lone Geep
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Someone had the idea that all individual cars, structures, and projects should be placed into its own zip-lock bag. That way if something did fall off at least the parts could be easily found in the bag.
My layout is packed up for a move right now. I bought large cardboard boxes from Ocean State Job Lot, and sheets (not rolls) of wrapping paper from Home Depot. We had a couple of big boxes of styrofoam noodles from something else.
I hand-wrapped each engine and piece of rolling stock in paper and then laid them all carefully in the large boxes. I wrapped most of my structures and did the same thing with them.
Stuff is going to get broken. Stuff is going to get lost. Accept that.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
No, stuff doesn't HAVE to get broken. I shipped some of my rolling stock back and forth across the country, back when I went to college. NOTHING was damaged. Not even my two brass steamers.
Same thing when I stored a whole bunch of plastic models.
But it is certainly more work, both in the thinking part, and the doing.
Ed
We're looking to move too. I'm thinking of buying a bunch of plastic bins and newspaper for padding between structures. I still have all the boxes for rolling stock already in plastic totes.
T e d
Plastic containers or shelves are good. If detail parts get broken off they are still in the container. The only parts that break off for me are roof top antennas and after market sun visors from locomotives. Also mirrors break off of model trucks. Other than that no damage when I have moved. Instead of paper I prefer the foam padding that people use for shipping. Whenever I buy something on eBay that has it, I save it. You can also buy it from Uline. As for structures, I just pack them in cardboad boxes. I've never had them break. But if they did I could rebuild them because I built them the first time.
I have a lot of buildings in storage right now. Nothing has ever been broken.
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Many of these are craftsman kits I have salvaged off of other's old layouts.
Wrap the building loosly in plastic. I prefer 4 mil drop cloth plastic from Home Depot. Place the wrapped building in a SIZE SMALL cardboad moving box from Home Depot and fill it with loose foam "peanut" packers. Then place this box inside of a SIZE MEDIUM cardboad moving box from Home Depot with about 2-3 inches of loose foam "peanut" packers all around. Then tape it up solid covering every possible opening. That will keep the building safe.
If it is not worth this effort, scrap it and build a new one later. As your skills improve many of these older buildings won't be wanted anyway. Better to scrap them now then waste time and money packing, moving, and storing them.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I would use DAP Alex Plus or Aleene's Tacky Glue to adhere the bottom edges of the structures to some good cardboard or hardboard...Masonite or equivalent, even if just beaded. Insert the cut-to-fit hardboard base, with affixed structure, flat into the bottom of the cardboard box, BUT floating on a layer of crumpled newspaper. When it's resting in place, crumple more paper and gently insert it around the walls of the structure and over the roof. Then, close the box up and tape. Apply labels to handle with care, FRAGILE, GONNA COST YOU PLENTY! Better yet, move them yourself, rent a van.
If you are in the middle of a project, in addition to the usual good advice of putting it in a sealable bag so that even in the worst case scenario the parts stay together, take some absurdly detailed notes about where you were in the project and what is what. It does not take too long to have things you thought you'd never forget (like which side of the loco the insulated drivers are on, which wire goes where, what the sequence is of driver, washer, side rod -- etc) to be confused and confusing.
And don't try to be too frugal with making the most out of each packing box by cramming it with stuff. Be, if anything, lavish with the packaging.
Dave Nelson
When I moved home from working overseas, I wrapped each structure in plastic from wastebasket trash bags. Then packed them in cardboard boxes with styro peanuts. The bags would retain any small parts that might fall off. Same for trucks and other vehicles that had added details like mirrors.
I kept the original boxes for my locomotives so packing them was not a problem. For the rolling stock, I made up some shallow boxes, and wrapped each in bubble wrap. Again, so items like couplers that might fall off would be retained in the packing.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
7j43k No, stuff doesn't HAVE to get broken. I shipped some of my rolling stock back and forth across the country, back when I went to college. NOTHING was damaged. Not even my two brass steamers. Same thing when I stored a whole bunch of plastic models. But it is certainly more work, both in the thinking part, and the doing. Ed
I live in one of the highest rent places around, so I move a lot with changing rents. I'm currently in my sixth address in ten years.
I've broken exactly one thing in all those moves. Its all about planning ahead and being careful.
As Lone Wolf mentioned, Uline is a great source for boxes and packing material. Their prices are way better than what you will get in the big box stores. Their shipping is fast and cheap too.
https://www.uline.com/
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
A couple of thoughts as one who has moved several times and had everything in storage for a while. Paper towels are your friend. Get the cheap paper towels (plain white) and wrap your structures. Newspapers can rub off print onto items especially over time. Stuff some wads inside so nothing collapses. Make sure to tape the wrapping too. This will keep any loose parts relatively contained. Try to interlock everything in the box or preferably a tote. If you kind of treat it like a big 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle and fill any voids it will keep stuff from bumping around. Totes will be much safer for fragile items. If you do use boxes make sure to tape all seams so any random part does not escape and check under the flaps when unpacking those little buggers will make a break for it.It is better to use extra packing than scrimp on it. For particularly fragile structures give them a separate box inside the bigger box.
On rolling stock if you hane the original boxes use them. Again use a little wad of paper towel above the coupler to prevent shifting around. If you wrap up the loose rolling stock in towels and tape that will protect them. I do like the ziplock idea too. Use the car boxes for the most fragile stuff if you don't have all of them.
Finally label every box TOP LOAD ONLY that way whoever is helping will know. Hope this helps
Ok just did this. Gots some large tough bins from Cosco, the yellow lid type. Put a layer of foam on the bottom (only about 1/2") and a layer of large bubble. Wraped each fragile building in small bubble wrap and set them in and put in strofoam peanuts or othe foam chunks as neccisary. filled it up to the top with buildings and peanuts and when done you could throw that container against a wall and recieve little if any damage (my stuff was realy fragile wood buildings).
Are you moving stuff yourself or is a mover involved? If a mover is involved, you cannot expect them to treat every box as fragile so I would recommend that you move your RR stuff yourself instead of letting the movers handle it.
Also, you are obviously young enough to expect multiple moves in your life. Everything you do should be done with the thought "how can I move this in the future?". I had same problems until I decided to build my layout in an old RV trailer. Now I have minimal packing involved and can drag my trailer to my new location.
Paul D
N scale Washita and Santa Fe RailroadSouthern Oklahoma circa late 70's
Thanks for your replies everyone! I do have the original boxes for most of my rolling stock and I have other small boxes for some others that don't, like my two Junico wooden caboose kits. I didn't think about the foam sheet till after I posted but what I was thinking is to lay a cut out section of foam sheet at the bottom of the box, then place the model on top. To prevent it shifting while in transit, I was thinking of cutting small sections of foam board to go between the model and the box walls then sanwiching that with another layer or two of foam sheet underneath the lid.