Do you keep your O gauge building boxes? Menards boxes?

To each their own…but if you save boxes for the collectibility, you might just end up with a bunch of boxes……if you want your hobby to be a business, you send them with your sales…..wonder if lack of a box ever stopped a purchase….I chose space, rather than getting a big box to put little boxes in.

Every box gone is more room for a bigger layout

I’ve kept all my building boxes but, the wife was in my storage area recently and grumbled about my “mess”. I may need to have a reckoning with myself whether to continue keeping these or toss them.

Curt

I have my boxes but they take up so much space. I plan on spring cleaning.

When I go I told my family don't kill yourself trying to find and match boxes. Just sell the trains.

I've kept all my building boxes. I take the styrofoam out and flatten them without damage. They are easy to reassemble. I keep the styrofoam or packaging in  big trash bags. Yes it will be a puzzle trying to figure out what styrofoam goes with what building(I shoud have labeled them) I've saved a lot of space.

@Kevin1 posted:

I've kept all my building boxes. I take the styrofoam out and flatten them without damage. They are easy to reassemble. I keep the styrofoam or packaging in  big trash bags. Yes it will be a puzzle trying to figure out what styrofoam goes with what building(I shoud have labeled them) I've saved a lot of space.

Not convinced this practice saves any space, but...

I have all my boxes, and glad that I do, since everything is currently in storage...ugh.

@Mill City posted:

Not convinced this practice saves any space, but...

I have all my boxes, and glad that I do, since everything is currently in storage...ugh.

I keep the trash bags on top of the flattened boxes, and one trash bag on top of another, has worked for me.  Has saved me horizontal space for my train boxes, dont like stacking them too high.

The trash bags for foam and flattened boxes idea seems worth a try.  I have no space for expanding the layout but it sure is nice to free up space underneath the layout where all the buildings have been placed until now.  I told my wife if I go first, she can use my list, get all the boxes in the attic and start selling.  Her response: "Not happening."  She'll call my local hobby shop, tell them to come and get it all, take the money and call it a day

Mike

@Kevin1 posted:

I keep the trash bags on top of the flattened boxes, and one trash bag on top of another, has worked for me.  Has saved me horizontal space for my train boxes, dont like stacking them too high.

Oops...it's been so long that I forgot that not all foam inserts are the same size of the box, but rather just end pieces. Now your madness makes sense...lol.

I have all the boxes for the buildings I use on my Christmas tree layout, as I put them away each year. I tried keeping the boxes for my other buildings, but it just became too much. I even had some stored in trash bags in my backyard shed. I finally gave up, and started throwing them away.
The Menard’s shipping boxes, however, can come in handy for storing other items, so some of those are still around.

I’m keeping boxes for now as I know I have another move in the future.

I keep all of my boxes.  Might come in handy some day for shipping items or storing them in to protect from damage.  Having original boxes is what some buyers look for.  My boxes are neatly stored in the attic of my extra garage.  Has never been any damage to them through temperature changes.

Ron

I keep boxes for bldgs and trains. I have my original MTH Coors train set box signed by Mike Wolf. With that said, I am running out of space under the table.

@Mill City posted:

Oops...it's been so long that I forgot that not all foam inserts are the same size of the box, but rather just end pieces. Now your madness makes sense...lol.

I looked at my MTH building boxes last night and, I agree, it looks like a lot of them just have some foam that can be removed and put in plastic bags and then the boxes lay flat.

As far as saving the boxes for shipping, that has served me well in my last move.  Nothing got broken.

I also experienced a flood in my basement.  It was only 1 1/2 inches but the styrofoam in the bottom of my boxes saved my Z4000 transformer and my Lionel hobby shop.

Ron, I too, store my boxes in the attic of my garage and I've never had a problem with temperature ruining them -- and I live through Wisconsin winters.  I also installed a drop- down ladder in my garage ceiling -- so having easy access for getting up there has made a huge difference.

If you've ever had to mail or receive a train - especially a delicate one - that had no box you might know how anxiety-inducing that can be, fearing how well it was packed or how much damage it might receive in shipping. Guys and girls, please, please don't just throw away the box to an expensive and delicate train model.  If you don't care about the hit in value, and the ease in storing the piece should you need to, then for the sake of successive owners of the models.  I see $1K+ steam engines for sale without boxes and I wonder who in their right mind would throw the box out in the trash for so fragile a piece?!

Buildings and other smaller accessories don't generally matter as much, and I don't keep every building box especially if it's particularly large and bulky.  But if you're going to throw out a box, especially if it's an orange and blue one, you might consider posting it on eBay or the forum classifieds and seeing if it sells.  There are people out there who might have lost the original box who would be willing to pay for a replacement, believe it or not.

If you are one for drop & plop buildings and/or infested with collectoritis, only then is keeping boxes of any concern.

Otherwise, toss them.

I don't have the space to store them so I recycle the boxes and styrofoam goes in the trash as they don't recycle it in my county in NYS. I just save the boxes for locomotives and rolling stock.

My attic is full of boxes (I hope they help as insulation), as is the space under my layout.  If I need to have work done in the attic, a lot of them will have to go, and it's a pain to have to move boxes every time I work on the layout wiring.  So, for cars I've started to get rid of the foam cradles and flatten the boxes.  For now, I'm still keeping the cradles for engines.  (This applies only to boxes for modern trains, not anything collectible.)

Nearby storage units start around $100/mo for 5x10.  Are my boxes ever going to be worth $1200 per year?

IMO, unless one is planning to move soon or has plenty of extra space (why not fill it with trains?), keeping modern boxes isn't worth the effort.

@Mallard4468 posted:

Nearby storage units start around $100/mo for 5x10.  Are my boxes ever going to be worth $1200 per year?

@mwb posted:

If you are one for drop & plop buildings and/or infested with collectoritis, only then is keeping boxes of any concern.

Otherwise, toss them.

Paying for a storage unit is something I thought about as well.  But I'm at $100/mo., too, so, I agree, $1200 to store boxes is a dealbreaker.  The fact I considered that makes me feel like "collectoritis" is creeping in and thank goodness I have more sense than to do that.  But I don't know... when it comes to this hobby, sometimes I'm weak

I also have considered a ton of cardboard boxes with syrofoam inserts may help provide some added insulation in that attic.  Good point.  Every bit helps.

Mike

Due to space, I was temped to get rid of all boxes, except those containing engines and cars. However I kept procrastinating, and have saved all my boxes. Good thing I did. We recently moved across country about 1200 miles. Those structure boxes, especially the Menards boxes, came in really handy for packing all the train items. As I unpack at the new home, I have not found any damage to structures repacked in the original boxes. Now, I am going to trash the boxes, no mor e moves for us.

First : Only pre-war and very few post war trains are collectable. Any thinking beyond this fact is a pipe dream.

Second: Trains are not an investment but merely an expenditure of (what hopefully is) discretionary income.

Third: Trains and model railroading are merely hobbies or interests and nothing more.

Hence IMO: The keeping of boxes is merely a waste of time, space, and attract and provide living quarters for silverfish, roaches, termites, paper lice, and bookworms.

But, to each their own.

Building Boxes - Nope - once the building is complete, out the box goes. Sometimes I cut out the front panel to keep track of my buildings.  I only have a couple of pre-made buildings that came with their boxes - if I needed the space out they would go.  Wondering why I am holding on to the MTH girder bridge box - that takes up a lot of room. 

I've sold off an MTH Greyhound station with only the foam insert - the box had a lot of moisture damage that would have raised unwarranted concerns if included in the listing.  (Having the foam insert sure helped in shipping.)  Sold 30ish HO  (1950s vintage)  buildings - no boxes.  Also bought a few pre-built structures, no boxes.  Lack of a box has not been an issue for me either buying or selling.  Of course if something is listed as new, I would expect the original box. Selling price is more important than the box.

If I  buy a used train building, or item its nice to have the original box.  I  don't keep boxes for the value, I keep them because that's how I like to buy any train item,  with the original box, and that's how I like to sell train items, with the original box.    No its not a deal breaker if there is no box but its nice to have.  

Menards buildings are packed well. But that is what their boxes are designed for - to survive shipping. Once you open them they are not really suitable for storing unused structures. I DO NOT keep Menards "boxes".....

@Michael Hokkanen posted:

Menards buildings are packed well. But that is what their boxes are designed for - to survive shipping. Once you open them they are not really suitable for storing unused structures. I DO NOT keep Menards "boxes".....

I have had no problem reusing my Menards boxes. The plastic cover that is over many of the buildings will fit right back on the plastic base, and can be secured with tape or staples. Sometimes it can be hard to remember where the foam inserts go.

Jeff

The subject of boxes has always seemed to get a wide range of opinions on the forum.   I keep all of mine.  Makes it much easier to stack and store.  It also has slowed down my purchases thankfully.

For items 1970 to date I will buy without the box, but the price has to be really good.  That's just me.  I like the box for handling,  storage, etc. 

As for large building boxes I'm not sure I would keep them.  Never had any.

A big selling point for me is finding something I would like and it does not have the original box, then I don't have to decide whether to keep the box or throw away a 60 year old piece of cardboard.  I have the same problem with buying milsurp radio gear from WW II.  Some of it comes packaged in the original, just as it was sealed in 1944 material.  Even the box is a bit historic.

We keep all of our boxes.  We even keep the plastic bags that our HO containers come in.

Also, to be frank - I have all the train car boxes and just plain don't have room to store the rest.

@modeltrainsparts posted:

First : Only pre-war and very few post war trains are collectable. Any thinking beyond this fact is a pipe dream.

Second: Trains are not an investment but merely an expenditure of (what hopefully is) discretionary income.

Third: Trains and model railroading are merely hobbies or interests and nothing more.

Hence IMO: The keeping of boxes is merely a waste of time, space, and attract and provide living quarters for silverfish, roaches, termites, paper lice, and bookworms.

But, to each their own.

There's a lot of various opinions on this topic and all valid, of course.   Thanks for all of the replies and discussion.

I have sold only a few items over the years, but I have purchased quite a lot on the used market, specifically online.   Not having a box for a building might make me skeptical but would not prevent me from buying at near market value (discounting a little for no box).  However, used Lionel/MTH/Atlas O rolling stock at $40 -$100 a clip without a box is a deal breaker for me.  I would want a serious discount without the box.

As far as investment value, I personally have the same opinion here as modeltrainparts.  I don't buy to make money.  However, to maintain the value of my stuff in case I want to pare my collection, boxes matter for engines and cars,  IMHO.

nope

@IRON HORSE posted:

As far as investment value, I personally have the same opinion here as modeltrainparts.  I don't buy to make money.  However, to maintain the value of my stuff in case I want to pare my collection, boxes matter for engines and cars,  IMHO.

You hit the nail on the head.  Folks speak like the only two options are 1. run a business selling trains, or 2. care nothing about value.

I don't see this as a business at all, and I hope to never have to part with my trains as long as I'm living, but if I were to have to, I would not want to have needlessly flushed money down the toilet by depleting the value of items.

Plus, if we have children, we will pass this all on one day to them, and having an orderly collection with boxes can make it much easier on them for finding part numbers and such, especially if they did not want to keep the collection, and it can mean more value for them.  And call me OCD, but I for one keep an updated spreadsheet with nearly every piece of value in my collection listed.  My family knows where this file is saved.

I keep all my passenger and freight cars in plastic bins. When we moved I wrapped each car in paper and taped the outside of the bins  so the lids would stay on.

I did use the engine boxes and styrofoam.

All buildings were carefully wrapped and put in cardboard moving boxes.

Nothing was damaged in the move.So don’t save boxes just for moving.

I'm not moving, and I got rid of the rolling stock boxes for the most part.  I keep passenger car set boxes and engine boxes.

I keep all of my boxes and the manufacturer shipping boxes if I have them. The freight (delivery) boxes I recycle. We have an Amazon problem over here. We don’t need more boxes. My bride has the app.

I have personally downsized my collection to the point that storage is not an issue. I do have almost every box, instructions sheets, and original shipping cartons to my engines, cars, accessories, Department 56 snow village, as I feel it adds some value to each product at the time of the sale. Because I’ve ballasted most of my track, switches, the value is very small, so no track boxes. In the not to fart distant future, everything will go to a new and better home. I do not plan to leave the sale of my model railroad up to my wife, and as I near the young age of 80, preparations are in the making. It’s a fun hobby, and my boxes are in great condition and organized, I’ve enjoyed the many friends I’ve made along the way, it will be my pleasure to visit my friends with layouts all over the country, traveling will be my next adventure, Lord Willing. Great Question, Happy Railroading Everyone

The answer is Yes.

I have an out building that my is shop and where I park my truck. Currently it also has a friend railcar in it for the winter.  I floored the roof trusses before putting the ceiling up and storeall my boxes up in the attic of the out building. So far I have been keeping all the boxes so when mysids have to dispose of all the stuff it maybe easier for them to sell. I keep the locomotive boxes as a safe way y store them in case I need to pack them for some reason. But they are taking up a HUGE amount of space so not sure about keeping the building boxes. something to think about but for now the are all under the layout as I am not ready to unpack them and place them on the layout.

I keep all boxes, even the shipping boxes for the engines in case of repair.

I just got rid of a third of my stuff to Cabin Fever Auction, happy I saved the boxes!

There also handy when the time comes to move.

Ahh...the blessing of an unfinished basement ceiling.  My boxes are all saved up between the joists.  Pairs of simple 1" X 2" lath strips make for a nice resting place.  I try to group them by brand.   I also make travel boxes for those orphans who have no container.