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I'm curious to know how many of you display your engines in acrylic display cases.  I have always liked the look of wood, but the room that I put mine in is a bit dark, so I wanted to find something that would let as much light in as possible.  I also wanted to have it enclosed to eliminate as much dust as possible since dusting steam engines is not an easy task.  I decided to try some acrylic cases from a gentleman named Jim at customdisplaycases.com and they are exactly what I have been looking for.  Plus, they made them in the custom size I wanted and they channel the shelves so the wheels sit perfectly flush.  This one was made to accomodate a few of my 4-8-4 models while still fitting the space between a window and the adjacent wall.  They did have a mirror back option, but I prefer not to see my ugly mug when I'm looking at my models so I chose the clear back.  That allowed me to chose whatever background color I wanted, although I repainted the room 3 times before I was happy with the color. 

 

The next set I want to order will be 8 feet long and I'm wondering if any of you have any that long and if you had any concerns.  I was told that any shelf over 36" will get an extra support strip or strips depending on the length, to keep the shelves from bowing. 

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

case 7

case 5

case 6

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Last edited by audidriven
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Do they just slide in from the left side?  I have a model clipper ship under a huge acrylic case.  Been in place since about 1987 or so.  It has held up well with no shrinkage or glue seepage.  Also no dust on very delicate thread rigging.  This is a great way to display trains without having to dust them.

Originally Posted by Charlesp34:

Acrylic door slides left or right.

I think the only way you could make 8 foot shelves is to mill slots in the door to support each shelf. There would be a lot of friction though when you tried to move the door. You could reduce the friction by using glass shelves and plexi for the door.

 

Pete

 

Rick, it's completely enclosed so there are end caps.   The front is a whole flat piece that overlaps the sides.

 

Yes, an 8' panel will be a wrestling match.  I just figure that would give me more options when displaying my other engines as they will range from 0-4-0's to articulateds.  Multiple smaller cabinets result in more lost space unless I had enough of each size to make it work.  

 

Nick

I had a six foot long custom made one of the same type Pine Creek Railroad has shown and it took some finese to remove the acrylic top from the base and replace it again without hitting/touching the train and even sometimes jostling it off the tracks which were secured to the base. Had to always pick it up dead center to avoid being off balance with it. Most times, it wasn't fun!

Hello Nick,

I own three eight foot units. Before you purchase the units make sure the covers are at least .14" thick (the thicker the better). Make certain that they are no higher than seven feet off the floor. The tops can and do warp when exposed to temps higher than 85 degrees. It's far better to use two persons when handling the covers....enjoy!

Thanks Pappy!  I'll keep that in mind, especially with a heat vent close overhead.  I may just close it most of the way since the room isn't used for anything other that a display room until I get may layout room bonce when my daughter turns 18.

 

Pete, I will see what they offer, but I'm guessing it is a full piece.   I'll just have to get some help installing it and then I'll leave it for a while.   I guess I'm still waiting for that winning lottery ticket anyway so I can buy the rest.  I just can't get my wife to agree to their necessity so it will be a self funded project.

 

Nick

Originally Posted by audidriven:
Pete, I will see what they offer, but I'm guessing it is a full piece.   I'll just have to get some help installing it and then I'll leave it for a while.   I guess I'm still waiting for that winning lottery ticket anyway so I can buy the rest.  I just can't get my wife to agree to their necessity so it will be a self funded project.

 

Nick

The cases look great and I like how they allow the light in and making it easier to view your trains.

 

And I can understand the funding part of the hobby and how it relates to our wives.

 

I have tons of trains and no room to have a layout or to be able to display some of my trains. Now take in mind of my situation with room. My wife asks me if I would want some display cases.

 

Two of my wife's sisters worked in stores that used display cases. Well one of her sisters store is relocating and are going to throw away these lighted glass display cases that they don't want. My wife asks me to go look at these cases, so I look at them and they are going to throw one of them away so I said I would take it. So I decided to take the one with me which is about 5'6" high by about 24" wide. I was able to squeeze into our garage. Six months later my wife's twin sister tells her that they are going to shut down the store that she works at along with 3 other stores. And my wife asks me if I would want some more display cases and if one of the volunteer fire company I work with would want some of these cases.

 

Long story short I get 4 large lighted display cases that are 6' high by 36" wide and about 12" deep. Two more just glass cases that are 6' wide about 16" deep and about 6" high that sit on a small wooden pedal stool. Plus I ended up with 4 more cases. And that is not counting the 6 large lighted glass cases, and the countless chairs and desks  that went to the fire company.

     

So I guess you could say that I hit the lottery, and I had to get a storage locker. And I may have to wait about 4 more years till my youngest finishes high school before we get a new house or add onto our present home before I get my train room.

 

Here are a couple of the cases I got. My advice is if you see a business that is going out of business just go in and ask them if they are getting rid of anything you maybe surprised and get something. As I said the company was going to throw all of these things away. And we also got a lot of other things too that were just going to go in a dumpster, I know we had a couple of hundred of eye glass cases that were going in the trash.

 

tP1000416a

P1000420

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