How do you store your trains?

[tomustang]

I try to get the older walthers boxes, the shorter ones, they are great for holding 2 cars

[BR60103]

One thing to watch out for: foam padding can interact with the paint on models and end up sticking to or in it. I watched a friend pull a brass loco out of the padding and by the time it was free you could clearly see the foam pattern in the paint job. Always use plastic sheets to separate models from foam.

[RobertInOntario]

Good question!

I use a mixture of all the main methods -- bubble wrap (especially for older engines & coaches that don't have their boxes) and using their original boxes.

Re locations: If I'm regularly using several locos, I'll store them safely on top of two bookcases and cover them with bubble wrap to keep the dust off. Otherwise, I store them in a small cupboard under our basement stairs -- the "'train closet" as one of my sons calls it!

A few months ago, the British Hornby Magazine had an excellent article on how you can use certain Ikea closets for storing trains. If I remember the Ikea product name, I'll post it here. These closets are ideal for storing HO-sized trains, their drawers are just the right size. The drawers slide in and out and are the perfect height for HO. The closets might need to be modified a little but you basically need to just buy one of their smaller units. My wife & I use the same (but much larger) Ikea product in our bedroom, but of course, I don't have permission to store the trains there!

Rob

[Lester Perry]

I store all my rolling stock on my layout. They are all in use all the time. All my DCC locomotives are also on the layout somewhere. The DC ones are on one of 2 shelves under my layout, that number continues to shrink.