All of my engines stay in thier boxes that they were bought in.
I pile up boxes from the Blue Box stuff, and they slowly get consumed. One box served as a paint stand until it got too "Icky" to continue such service. One would be holding extra parts, wheels etc. Another is serving as a sort of a project box where the complete kit is held while being assembled or waiting parts. One is actually used as a weathering tool.
I go through boxes this way. It might take me 2 years to actually consume and throw away that box but I always hae about 10 boxes stacked neatly and ready to go under the workbench that are empty.
Once every two years or so, I swipe some computer keyboard covers from the college dumpster and they hold 12 nicely wrapped peices of rolling stock. I slowly accumulate these boxes. Beats paying 20 dollars per box. That is probably the only time dumpster diving is very profitable and saves ALOT of money. Sorry Hobby Shop! LOL.
Once in a while I will spend 16 dollars or so for 2 foot by 2 foot by two foot boxes and shipping tape. Those get filled with long term storage and stacked. I think I have about 12 of these boxes stored in the corner safe until the railroad is ready for those items. I opened one of those boxes and dug out the coal cars to be rebuilt and painted this week.
I keep track of boxes by letter, date packed and a notebook (Hard cover) that lists the contents of each box. So if I wanted to take my Heavy weight passenger cars to a club I grab B box and toss it into the back of the car along with the engine.
Oh yea, the passenger cars and rolling stock stay in the boxes they come from the store in. They are just too expensive to be breaking stuff off them. Kinda reminds me of russian dolls. Big box, smaller box and finally the really small box containing the car.
I keep locomotive boxes and boxes for highly detailed models such as my Kadee PS-2 hoppers. Other than that, I don't keep them.
Tom
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
Like many here I for some reason save the boxes my stuff comes in. It is now to the point I am stuffing them in a garbage bag under the bench.
For the engines like my BLI's Proto's 1's and 2's and PCM I under stand. If repairs are needed you have a way to send them back. But I have been saving the athearn BB boxes for rolling stock and other's none high end rolling stock.
Being a E-bayer I don't care if the orginal box is there, would you folks bid higher if it had the orginal box? Main reason I ask one day my stuff will be listed on E-bay when I am no longer running my stuff but watching from the great round house in the sky. I want my beloved Sue to get the max for what I have. There is a list on the computer of what I have and APX worth of resale that my daughter will find.
I don't want her to fall pary to the Tomb Raiders. Beside zoning codes will not let me bulid a Pyrimid, I have checked!
I will add I will be happy to be dead when Sue finds out what I spent on the BLI's and PCM's!
Thinking a head before I am Dead, Cuda Ken
I hate Rust