Hi, I am also NOT a fanatic on all the tiny details. On the F7s I prefer a Stewart / Kato Drive over a Genesis. It doesn't have the tiny details but the Kato Drive works so well and the body shells are very strait forward to remove.The Kato Drive is also very strait forward to service. The Stewart Shells look correct - it just doesn't go bonkers on the detail parts.
I save every box that the cars came in. However, I store them in the travel cases that have the foam inserts. I sell my cars so the jewel boxes come in handy. Great tips for all.
Putting cars on a Paper Towel also woks for me. I put Matchbox and HO Slot Cars wrapped in plastic sandwich bags to protect them - over time I have had the plastic bags somehow stick to the paint on a number of cars and removes clearcoat. So wrapping those in paper towels also seems best for Matchbox/Hot Wheels and HO slot cars.
Just an FYI. .. I watched this video when you made it a few years ago. I thought your idea of using the containers would be a great help with storing my own equipment with the limited area I had to work with. So as you've shown i kept everything under what was originally a 3x8 layout. It was possible to keep everything neat and organized. But what i didn't think of at the time was the ease of mobility. I had one of my kids move out to go to college and another joined the Army. Making a larger room available one year after I saw your video. So I started a larger layout in that room. And of course another moved out of his shared room recently and his brother enlisted into the Sonar Tech School for the Navy. The storage containers idea you shared is turning out to be a HUGE advantage over the last few years, as I am again moving everything into yet a larger room! All of my equipment and supplies are easy to locate, store, and relocate! If i had used my original plan of building shelves under the layouts, this would have made even these seemingly small moves far more complicated and disorganized! So even though you mentioned that this video may not have been interesting to some, it has been a tremendous help to me and I am sure others! The savings in stress, time, and money alone made this video a beneficial endeavor! KUDO'S to you sir and keep the ideas and videos coming, Thanks yet again :)
Thanks Mike. I, too, use Sterilite containers. Haven't used the drawer units yet. Great idea. My shelf layout is only 12" wide. I struggle finding containers with drawers that will fit under it. My wife has done a great job putting curtains that match the decor of the guest room the layout is in, mounted under the fascia. Under layout storage is great!
I don't presently have a layout of any scale (I live vicariously through youtubers like you until such time as I have time and space for one) but you are correct about saving boxes. I collect classic Video games and sometimes the box alone can be worth well over $100 even without the game inside because so many people have tossed away the boxes when they got the game new back in the day. So I save the boxes to most things I buy until I have made sure that A: The box isn't going to make my item more valuable B: I won't want to store the item in the box and C: the waranty period of the item is over. Only when all 3 conditions are met do I recycle the box.
Mike, this was a great video. I agree about the boxes especially where engines are concerned. Having a box from 15-20 years ago, shows that the person was careful with the equipment. They may also have had the engine not on the track that often. I'm a big fan of your videos.
Lots of things (and thoughts) to consider - Mr. Fifer gets to the point and makes good points on containers and as well what size of rolling stock one would (or should) pull behind his locomotive.
I use the Sterilite rolling drawers for most of my storage (not trains). The wheel base on bottom doesn't hold up at all even with light use. I cut 3/8" plywood to fit each bottom and added light duty metal base blue rubber casters on the them and they roll reliably now for cleaning. Note: I also secured the plywood to the base with small stove bolts. On a side note, I still have my HO set from the early-mid 70's and the boxes for all the rolling stock. Opened the storage box they were in last year (hadn't seen them since I went in the Marines in '81) and it was like being a kid again. However, the price tags on the boxes made me cry, lol.
If you want to keep the boxes a car comes in a guy could put them in the drawer with the car when not in use. I really like the organization you have with the black system of storage with casters. Awesome!
As usual, you have inspired me to get real. I am going to try to find those stacking drawer systems. I have the usual collection of mismatched tubs and can't ever get to the stuff I need. The drawers are so much easier to get to that I need to convert to a uniform system that allows access. Wish you had shown how those Axian boxes work - I love them and have found them invaluable for getting delicate rolling stock to and from train shows.Thanks for the video - great as always.
Hi Mike: This video was really helpful on how to store cars and what specific storage products to use. Unfortunately, I got involved in the hobby late in life (a long time bucket list item) and added rolling stock and locos (N Scale) before building my layout. Hence, I have a lot of old stuff as I improve my array of Micro-Train coupled cars. In the meantime, I'm going to added the pastic storage boxes you suggest and also retain all the plastic boxes. Thanks, Mike!! - Dean from cold Mijnneosta
I have been using Sterilite containers for years as you do, they are great for N. I don't take them to shows as I have now decided to put cars and engines in Ammo cans for traveling. Obviously for a show we don't take everything so this should work out. As far as my HO goes I only have to store MT boxes as everything is on the RR. I have stayed away from over buying on the HO and my home brew policy is don't put more than you can handle on the RR. Thus nothing is in boxes. The N is a different story as we run many passenger trains, long intermodal, etc. So storage is important. Thanks again.
Thanks Mike for another great video. I have hung onto boxes for years, as I've entered the hobby and exited, and finally returned. I have those pesky little boxes from the early 80s with $1.89 sticker for the Atlas & Bachmann cars. Throughout all my moves across country (Ret. Navy), all my cars are in great shape because I've kept those boxes. For the last 30+ years, I have had most of all my train items in an old wooden Army footlocker. Until the last couple of years, when I had more than the footlocker could hold. I give a 1+ to the Sterilite containers. I keep all my locomotives in them, stored upright. Keep up the good work on these videos, I'll be watching, and thanks again.
As the daughter/wife/mother of model railroaders (as well as being a very casual one myself), I thank you for this video. There are many great ideas here. We've stored cars in paper towels for ages, but I wonder now about the acids in the paper and its effect on the finish. I wonder if there's a soft, archival paper that could be used instead. Hmm.
I have stored my cars for years in and on paper with no issues but in reality it would seem that storing cars for decades in anything could potentially be a problem.
Another option for wrapping models could be plain, unbleached cotton muslin (available at fabric stores, usually in the quilting section). It comes in 36" widths, and can be serged to prevent fraying. Wash it in hot water and plain detergent, and give it an extra hot rinse to get rid of any starch.
Axian Technology Storage Boxes, best in the business. When going to the cub or shows, easier for getting out your locos/cars or putting them anyway at the end of the day. On the flap of the box, I write (in pencil) what is in them to find stuff quickly. In pencil because you may want to change what you have in them. Plus, Axian makes a cloth zipper bag that can carry up to 5 boxes.
+AZ Mike I have those as well but too hard to get in and out of in the train room. www.fiferhobby.com/html/axian_train_storage_and_tote_b.html Thanks , Mike
Mike great advice. However you did forget to mention or spin it the other way. Weather you have room for a small or large layout and you have a concept of what you like in cars or love to run. Build your layout track plan according. My 3x8 n scale has no smaller then 22 in inch radius turns so I can run the long stuff no issue.
Hey Mike, are your black and clear sliding drawers 11" or 14 1/2" wide? I cannot find the black and clear stackable ones like yours anywhere yet! Do ya have a place I could look? Aaarrrggg 😫. Great video that still is great info!
I save all my boxes. The other peev I have is the people that cut off trip pins. I do not use them on my layout, but if I want to resell something some people who do use trip pins will not buy them. So do not cut of the trip pins.
question why not track up some 1/2-1" balsa or 2-3 ply wood shape to draw dimension and sit the rolling stock on rails lock cars together and some trackk cupler locks.. over time yo likely do more damage to the cars and rolling stock.. you look like you have enough wheels to create a wood base to mount your draw stackers on The only advice i would make in track layout look at the largest car you intend to run on your layout then design a radius curve to suit that loadout though also run your smallest car and check to see if derailment happens with length you are running if 50x53' cars then you run 100-150x 25-38' cars to see if derailment happens where plausible and possible try and correct flaws in pro-typical to remove bottlenecks that exist in the real world
I'm bad about collecting allot of N, but they are easier to store than HO. I have almost all N KATO passenger trains and the boxes they come in are great, so they are easier to store.
,Ike great video! I have fo much stuff , do you usedisplay shelves or cases for your trains? For paperwork etc I'm I the process of scanning train stuff paper snd creating a file for my laptop or pc. Thinks, George
+N.J.CProductions Let me say this about that. My current layout is small, 32x72, 1-cab/throttle pack, all in Bachmann EZ track. Bachmann EZ track works, BUT the plastic roadbed is taller, and it makes ballasting it rather difficult. Not to mention the looks of it. Also, you would probably want to run trains, more than laying you own cork/Atlas track as a beginner. I have built two other small layouts for my grandkids, both using Atlas code 80 track & roadbed. But as Mr. Fifer said, KATO would probably be the way to go. For my next layout, it's more than twice the size of what I have now. I will be using all Kato track. I hope this helps... Good luck and have fun.
Hey Mike, Can you tell me the model number of the Sterilite rolling cabinet that you keep your rolling stock in on paper towels? I can't seem to find that set of drawers.
+Mike Fifer Are you sure these are Sterilite? If it's not too much trouble, can you measure a drawer? These don't even show on the Sterilite website. The drawers at KMart are a different brand and I can't tell the size.
+SteveRawley64 These are what they were and I have mixed and matched sections. www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-5-Drawer-Wide-Tower-White-Wheels-Not-Included/15442448?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=15442448&placement_id=irs-106-t1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=d3f40c47-338e-4640-bb12-b40799dca960&customer_id_enc&config_id=106&parent_item_id=16415880&parent_anchor_item_id=16415880&guid=7349b777-a0d7-4fb1-aba6-60b817d226c1&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n The drawers are 10 1/2 X 14 X 3 Mike
hi Mike iam looking to let go if my C PS2 atles gold series with loksound for a GP-45 SD-50 .If you know of someone, got feed up trying to get it to work with my Zepher
