Okay, figure someone has the answer here.
While on vacation I bought a BLI DC/DCC Steam Locomotive and want to get it home safely.
Do airlines and TSA allow passenger to put electronics such as DCC model railroad items in checked baggage or carry--one?
My return flight is only my second time flying so I am not clear on model railroad electronics yet.
Thanks
You can carry-on electronics, which that would count as. However, it would be in your interest to take it out of the bag and into the tray when it is x-ray time, the same as you would with a camera, phone, or anything else bearing a circuit board.
Hi northeast...
Here is the TSA website that outline some of the things that can be carried on or packed in checked baggage or not:
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring
It doesn't mention model trains directly, but if you search for 'electronics' it suggests that such devices should be packed in the top of your carry on bag so they can be easily examined.
There is a phone number under the 'Contact Us' section where you can ask directly:
866-289-9673
8 am to 11 pm weekdays
9 am to 8 pm weekends
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
First, I always take the most expensive/important items in my carry-on. That way they are highly unlikely to go 'missing'. [wink, wink]
Secondly, if they object to something, you'll be called back and have an opportunity to account for the item, to verify it's yours, and/or to find another way to get it to your destination. That objection would take place upon scrutiny during the normal screening of all checked luggage. Really what you/I should worry about is whether or not it will arrive, and secondly what condition it will be in if placed in soft-sided luggage.
Perhaps you don't HAVE to point out there's a computer chip in the locomotive.
I expect that if it's in the typical foam filled box, and it's in the typical clear plastic "holder" set in the foam, and it is sent through the carry-on x-ray, they will see a model train. They can ask what it is. You can say it's a model train. You can show it to them. They can see it. That's about it.
I am NOT going to say that nothing will go wrong. I will say that I seriously doubt anything will go wrong.
Ed
They are not gentle with checked baggage. Plus TSA may cut the lock off your bag if they want to look insided.
I would carry it on the plane, presumably you have the original box, which may allay their concerns over something weird they have never seen before.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
It's just an idea, but you may want to consider shipping it to yourself, either via Fed Ex or UPS. My wife and I have done that when on vacation, and we don't want to put the items in our luggage or carry on due to weight or other factors. We did that last time we were in Oregon, when we bought a bunch of jams/jellies (glass jars no less). The stuff was delivered a few days after we returned home, with no damage to the merchandise. You can also insure the items when you ship.
Jeff
Take the train if you have time, they will not bother you about having trains in your bags.
BMMECNYCTake the train if you have time
I saw that and wondered how close the train would get me to my college roommate in NH. I live in MD. Quite close, but the cheapest ticket is $138 and it's 9' 10" by train or $168 and 90 minutes by Southwest Air.
BigDaddy BMMECNYC Take the train if you have time I saw that and wondered how close the train would get me to my college roommate in NH. I live in MD. Quite close, but the cheapest ticket is $138 and it's 9' 10" by train or $168 and 90 minutes by Southwest Air.
BMMECNYC Take the train if you have time
Plus TSA, plus the airline overbooked and you get forcibly removed from your plane....
Take Business class... its generally quieter, and you get some of that price back with the complementary stuff in Business. Also more leg room. If I have the extra time to spare or I can make the time, I take the train.
I'm with Jeff. I think it would be less hassle if you just shipped it back home USPS or UPS rather than carrying it on the plane with you. If you pack it well it should arrive safe 'n sound.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I'm with the ship it home crew. Stop by FedEx or UPS on your way to the airport, ship it home. Just make sure it's marked as fragile and it's got plenty of padding and it should be fine. I'd trust FedEx or UPS years before I trusted the airline to get it there safely. Especially considering I've literally seen airliner workers stand and throw luggage in the general direction of the plane.
I was flying home from Germany year before last and I had bought this model of one of their "ICE Sprinters" and flew back with it to the States. I will never do that again. I'd rather pay the extra for international shipping and wait for it to arrive in one piece a week later. Because when I got home, it was in at least a thousand pieces that it wasn't in when I packed it.
An artist sees the world in colors and patterns. An engineer sees the world in mathematical equations. Both help shape the World and are just as important as the other.
I don;t think they'll care much about a model train. Last trip to Vegas I stuffed a box full of Arduinos and electronic parts in my bag and it all arrived just fine. I'd take the loco as a carry on though, much safer that way. But in a bag, with something like extra clothing around it for padding, as you never know what your fellow passenger will do trying to stuff something in the overhead bin. I had my electronics in my checked bag, in a plastic parts box, packed in among my clothing and nothing was damaged. Guy on the flight out with me was carrying his electric guitar.
I think we worry too much soometimes. Any smartphone, tablet, or even modern laptop will, to the x-ray scanner, look more like it has a block of something inside it than any DCC decoder. The li-po and li-ion batteries in modern electronics very much resemble a block of explosives in the x-ray. That's why they used to (I haven't been asked in ages) ask you to turn the device on to prove it was a battery and not something else in there. They do have other methods besides just the x-ray, there are also chemical sensors that can detect residue, so perhaps that is why they don't bother with the power on test. Even witht he heavy metal frame, a model loco looks like, well, a model loco. Unless you've crammed a slug of lead in the frame for extra weight, there's nothing that would show up as a solid dark blob to even give the hint of something strange going on.
ANd yeah, the train takes longer, but the difference is not as great as the flight time would lead you to believe, you have all the overhead time, and getting to the airport 2 hours early, and all that. Last trip to Wisconsin, I took the train home. It took about 24 hours, but was so much better than the flight out it wasn;t funny. Even the first leg of the trip in standard coach has easily 3x the leg room of the plane. EVERY plane trip back and forth had some sort of issue or delay, including one where I had to hang out in Detroit airport for 6 hours. No flights were direct, there was always a change in Detroit, so changing trains twice was no big deal. And, despite having a sleeping compartment from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and Business classs (talk about leg room.. and free soft drinks) from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg (had I thought it out I would have gone one more stop to Lancaster), the train was significantly cheaper than the plane. And no bag fees or other extras. Well worth the extra time to see the scenery. And you can use your phone.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Everyone for all the feedback.
I found a Pack and Ship on the way to the airport. Since it is a Steam Locomotive with a lot of delicate detail and exposed moving parts I am just going to ship and insure it rather than risk running into a TSA worker who might manhandle it.
Also, someone made the point that no matter how careful I handle it the carry on may get banged around in the overhead compartment which was a good point.
northeast_train_guy_1965 Thanks Everyone for all the feedback. I found a Pack and Ship on the way to the airport. Since it is a Steam Locomotive with a lot of delicate detail and exposed moving parts I am just going to ship and insure it rather than risk running into a TSA worker who might manhandle it. Also, someone made the point that no matter how careful I handle it the carry on may get banged around in the overhead compartment which was a good point.
I'd say that was the smartest move. At least if you ship it with the insurance if it gets damaged well, it's insured.
I would try to ship it UPS, FedEx or even USPS before boarding. FWIW I might have checked at the hobby shop you bought it at, quite a few brick-and-mortar hobby shops now also sell online, could be you could have paid them to box it up and ship it for you.
If you do take it on the plane, I think the airlines are more worried about what we might call 'active' electronics, like a cell phone or something like that. Something which, if activated, might affect something in the plane (hence the common requirement to shut off cell phones and all electronic devices during certain times of the flight). A model train is 'passive', it doesn't have it's own power source (unless you bought a battery-powered engine like a large-scale engine) so shouldn't be a problem.
That being said, if they x-ray your bag, anything with internal wiring and such may cause them to want to examine it to make sure it's not a home-made bomb. I'd probably volunteer the information of what you have, and make it easily accessible if they want to see it. (I was briefly delayed boarding an international flight - pre-9/11 by the way - because the small can of shaving cream I had in my carry-on was apparently about the same size as a half stick of dynamite.)
Off topic, but this reminded of the pre-NAFTA 'olden days' when Canada had a very high import fee on model trains from the US - they considered them 'electronics' so charged a very high duty; if they had been considered 'toys' there would have almost no fees charged. So, every so often modellers in Winnipeg or Thunder Bay would pool their money and send someone down the Twin Cities to buy train stuff and smuggle it back into Canada. Usually they'd choose a respectable retired guy who would just be "on holiday in the States" for a few days.
Agree with Randy on over-thinking or worrying too much. I had a different experience taking the train though. Amtrack from Sebring Fl to Freeport ME. stops in Penn station and Boston back bay, take subway to Boston north, two train transfers, took 45 hours + 2 1/2 hr drive to small town SE of Bangor. Had a sleeper from Sebring to Penn station which was nice. I can fly from Sanford FL to Bangor in 3 1/2 hr, add two hr drive to airport and arrive 2 hr early and add a 1 1/2 hr drive from Bangor and the whole trip is 9 hr. cost of the flight is about 1/2 the train ticket and compartment. Probably will not be taking the train in the future. It was an experience wanted and glad I did it but once was enough. Saw a lot of empty warehouses and rundown buildings, now a trip through the Rockies would be a different matter.
northeast_train_guy_1965 I found a Pack and Ship on the way to the airport. Since it is a Steam Locomotive with a lot of delicate detail and exposed moving parts I am just going to ship and insure it rather than risk running into a TSA worker who might manhandle it.
I think you made the right move, train guy. Happy travels back home for you AND your steamer...
floridaflyer Amtrack from Sebring Fl to Freeport ME. stops in Penn station and Boston back bay, take subway to Boston north, two train transfers, took 45 hours + 2 1/2 hr drive to small town SE of Bangor.
Amtrack from Sebring Fl to Freeport ME. stops in Penn station and Boston back bay, take subway to Boston north, two train transfers, took 45 hours + 2 1/2 hr drive to small town SE of Bangor.
You could have driven the distance in 1/2 that time and still had your own car to drive into Freeport...
Granted, flying is usually faster and cheaper, but a cross country trip by train is a great experience, and should be appreciated, especially by those on this forum. I'm lucky to have a local Amtrak station (about 10 miles away) and the first leg of the trip crosses the Rockies. We need to take advantage of the service while we can. With the current climate in DC we may lose all but the NE corridor.
We do work for clients in DC, and several are within a few blocks of Union Station - so I take the train. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive, because I usually go the night before, but comign home, it's never less than 6. And considering it only takes me an hour and a half from Timonium.. Well, if I take the train I can drive an realtively traffic-free 30 minutes to the Lancaster train station, hop a traina nd ride to Philly 30th street, and switch to a train to DC. Total time, yes, longer than the drive, but it is infinitely more relaxing - I LOVE to drive, but I HATE traffic. Plus I can pull out my phone or laptop and do stuff while relaxing on the train. They've been fighting since 1981 to get rail service back to what was once a HUGE railroad town, but the available (ie, not shared with some heavy freight traffic) line got turned into a bike trail that no one uses a few years ago. So driving from here to Philadelphia, one sits in miles of backup barely creeping along where in spots you can glance over and see the one biker or one jogger using what used to be the railroad right of way.