Lionel Storage Boxes

Hi Ken, I know there are folks that make boxes for the Post War items but I can't remember their name. Try going on Bing or Google and run a search for Lionel Post war boxes and see if that finds something.

Good Luck.

I buy trading card boxes from BCW.  They come in all sizes and perfectly fit most O-gauge items.  I use the multi-bin ones for sets.

O Scale Hauler from forum member laidoffsick. Great product and great service!

East Coast Train Parts (eastcoasttrainparts.com) is licensed by Lionel to reproduce original-looking Lionel boxes for engines, cars, accessories, etc.

However, I do as GUNRUNNERJOHN above suggests.

John Knapp

I have several of these rail car storage & carrier boxes that I really like for my trains.

http://henningstrains.lightspe...orage-system/dp/4315

I use a combination of the BCW boxes John mentioned, and generic white boxes from Hobby Surplus Sales. I don't think Hobby Surplus lists them, you may have to contact them and ask.

East Coast Train Parts does make some very nice reproduction boxes. Many come with inserts that match what Lionel originally used. But IMHO, they are expensive. I use them when the item needing a storage box is in very nice condition, and needs those inserts to protect the train.

Almost all of my rolling stock is stored in boxes from ULine which are not unlike those BCW boxes...

Bill Henning posted:

I have several of these rail car storage & carrier boxes that I really like for my trains.

http://henningstrains.lightspe...orage-system/dp/4315

Bill, the difference between $5 and $25 is substantial if you have a bunch of cars you want to store.  

This box is 19 x 15 5/8 x 4 and costs $4.25.  It's large enough to store ten ore cars or five of almost anything else.

Thanks to Gunrunner John, I was able to find these - Thanks!  BCW seems to only offer most of them in batches of 10.  My local baseball card shop South Bay Sports Cards has them individually for $0.75 each, which may be a source if you're looking for a smaller batch. 

Here are some dimensions and how they look:

I buy enough to get the free shipping when I order them.

Sord,

What did you use for foam and where did you get it? Still looking for foam options here.

I think I will be going for the 'buy enough to get free shipping' option as well. Still ciphering what I need to put the order together.

keyrouteken posted:

Hi Everybody...    Seasons Greetings !!    Does anyone supply Lionel 'storage boxes', especially for older post-war locomotives and rolling stock !  I have so much stuff that my wife and I are thinking of packing up what we want to store or sell and get it out of the Train Room.

Most of my stuff is NEW or EXC COND, from 50's and 60's.  But for now, I want to wrap it up and keep it clean !  Your comments are graciously solicited !

 

Ken.

 (KRK)

Try comic book storage boxes. Look up on eBay. I use them, they are relatively cheap, very sturdy and stackable and a great size for o gauge trains. I use the five-compartment style 

You'll have to explain that to me, I can't see how these work better for trains than the trading card boxes.

Comic book storage boxes at BCW

The foam I use is called pick n pluck.  It's really easy to make custom shapes without having to use a knife or scissors to cut the foam.  You just pull out the pieces to make the custom shape.   I got the foam scraps from a Pelican storage case being used for another purpose.

Thanks for the added info. That is interesting stuff that I had not heard of before.

sord posted:

The foam I use is called pick n pluck.  It's really easy to make custom shapes without having to use a knife or scissors to cut the foam.  You just pull out the pieces to make the custom shape.   I got the foam scraps from a Pelican storage case being used for another purpose.

You are storing your pelican? Let it fly free!

After reading here about the BCW boxes  I went ahead and ordered some.  In addition to the 3200 card and 5000 card boxes, somehow I accidentally ordered a couple of the "card house with 12 - 802 CT boxes".  They are not ideal since you need to store cars on their sides, and a bit of overkill with a box per car, but work fine for some rolling stock. 

3200 count (4 Lionel PS-1 boxcars) :

5000 count (5 mth premier gondolas with pipe loads) :

Card house:

802 count (mth premier rea reefer):

I use a lot of these, I recommend wrapping the items in acid-free paper inside the boxes to insure no damage.  I also cut custom foam fitters using a hot wire table to keep things from flopping around in the box.

pennsy484, will the card house boxes hold scale lenth desiels? what is the lenth of the insert boxes ? 

Lionelzwl2012 posted:

pennsy484, will the card house boxes hold scale lenth desiels? what is the lenth of the insert boxes ? 

Nah, I don't think so.  I just tried a Railking SW1, and a Lionel tmcc scale f7, and the boxes won't accommodate the height..

Interior Dimensions (WxHxD):14 1/8 x 2 3/4 x 3 3/4

I have a number of locomotives in those boxes.  My Aerotrain, the MTH Strasburg 4-4-0 set, etc.

I use these:

Card House WITH 12 - 800 CT Boxes

These are the one-piece versions of the boxes Pennsy484 was showing above. I find them ideal for traditional sized rolling stock. The boxes are 14" long (interior) which means you can put a Baby Madison or an Autorack in them. For a Madison car, you'd have to get the 930 CT box; it would stick out a couple inches, but that wouldn't hurt anything. These boxes hold steam locos nicely, but diesels won't fit, except for the little Alco FAs. If you need to hold diesels, you can put it into the slot without the separate box.

I wrap the car in a polyethylene bag which I slit open (you could use sheeting, of course, but for me it just worked out better to cut open a bag). It is hard finding someone to sell you fewer than a thousand plastic bags at a time! I got 200 from clearbags.com, 8x18", flat, 3mil. They will just close around a GP, and they are thick enough that you can remove things from their boxes by picking them up by the bag -- even the heavy die-cast steamers.

In these boxes, the cars have to be stored lying down. I find this a great advantage, because the moment you open the box, you know what you have. Other boxes, you are just looking down at the car's roof.

A before-and-after of a table in the basement. Yes, I was using plastic shoe boxes from IKEA for train storage. Not terrible, but there are far better. There were things in that pile in the back that I hadn't seen in a couple of years.

One of the great things about this system is that everything is accessible at once. Things on the bottom can be gotten at without moving things on the top. It really helps prevent your boxed items from becoming "out of sight out of mind". I find myself pulling out boxes and opening them just to look at what's inside :-)

(Worth noting: for whatever reason, there is no volume discount on the "card house with 12 boxes" KIT. But you can get a discount if you put the Card House and the boxes into your cart separately. As far as I could figure, it is most cost-effective to buy 10 Card Houses and 120 of the 800 CT boxes.)

Thanks for the great pix!  With your help, and the help of the Forum Members on the 2017 "boxes/storage thread, I placed an order with BCW.

I use the 930 count boxes for my 15" aluminum passenger cars; and the 800 for the PW F-3s.

And simply typing a word doc with labels for the 6 sides of each box identifies the contents nicely, attached with clear 2" packaging tape.

@Pingman posted:

I use the 930 count boxes for my 15" aluminum passenger cars; and the 800 for the PW F-3s.

And simply typing a word doc with labels for the 6 sides of each box identifies the contents nicely, attached with clear 2" packaging tape.

Do you have any pics of the 15" cars and F3s in boxes? That's pretty much what I'm looking to store. And some GPs. Thanks

looks like a nice fit. I like that there is room for padding. Thanks

I see they make a 1600 count, so one can keep A and B units together. Kinda handy

@MattR posted:

Do you have any pics of the 15" cars and F3s in boxes? That's pretty much what I'm looking to store. And some GPs. Thanks

The PW F-3 A units fit in the 800 size boxes as shown in John's photo without the padding; basically, where the couplers end are the 800 box ends.  I wrap mine with acid free paper and they fit snugly--minimal movement.  The 800 and 930 boxes are the same dimensions except for length.

The 15" aluminum cars fit the with minimal movement in the 930 size box.  Vista dome cars don't fit due to height, unless I accept a very minor bulge.  I'm going to experiment with a cut-out where the dome presses against the box.   It isn't as if I am going to be packing the passenger cars tightly and have concern for box rubs; I don't. 

I'll snap some photos later in the week since the trains are at my club layout.

I didn't have an 800 CT box handy, so I used what I had.

Train Boxes Plus makes great storage boxes for all scales. (512) 878-3619 is their number and trainboxesplus@icloud.com is their email. If you are on facebook you can see their page at https://www.facebook.com/trainboxesplus/

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I buy trading card boxes from BCW.  They come in all sizes and perfectly fit most O-gauge items.  I use the multi-bin ones for sets.

  

Like John, I've been using these for my postwar rolling stock - great solution and pretty cheap.

Paul

I found that I was closing the boxes a little too tightly when assembling them. By pulling the front of the box back out, perhaps 1/8", I am able to fit diesels into the boxes, too.

It is possible to shoehorn a GP7/9 into an 800 ct box, by doing some cutting on the ends. I removed one layer of cardboard on one end and two layers on the other:

Interestingly, I discovered along the way that the newer traditional line GPs, with the horizontal truck-mounted can motors, are actually longer and will not fit in this modified 800 ct box! I suppose I can cut the coupler hole all the way through; or else order some 930 ct boxes.

I belong to a modular club in the Bay Area and use various boxes to store and transport my equipment to our layout.

For my 70 foot passenger cars, I find that the Sterilite 28 quart clear boxes are perfect for my use. It will hold 4 passenger cars or 4 E7/E8 engines or any combination of these. I place a non-slip piece of rubber on the bottom, helps to keep them from moving around. I use foam between the cars/engines to prevent them for scratching each other.

I also use the BCW boxes, the 4 compartment size, for my F units and for 40 foot box cars. The one thing I did to help in removing the engines and cars, was to cut a slot in the middle of each divider to better handle the removal.

I also found that banker boxes will hold 8, 40 foot box cars. Since this is 2 layers, I used a 1/8 inch piece of plywood between the 2 layers of cars and places non-slip rubber on the top. I also cut a piece of 1/8 inch plywood and glued it to the inside of the cover to add stability to the box.

I always add foam as a cushion to all of the boxes. See photos.

RAY

Orange Hall at York........across from MTH parts.....

East Coast Train Parts....they sell licensed boxes.....just like the originals......

www.eastcoasttrainparts.com

Peter

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I buy trading card boxes from BCW.  They come in all sizes and perfectly fit most O-gauge items.  I use the multi-bin ones for sets.

  

Plus one on the BCW boxes.  I use them for Lionel, Marx and my Flyer stuff.

Thanks for all the info and pics. I appreciate it

Ray of sunshine - I also use the 28 qt Sterilite plastic containers and have found that I can get five (5) passenger cars or 5 of many engines (standing up) in each container BUT instead of block dividers between them (as you do) I use the thinnest SHEETS of bubble wrap that's come in packaging I've accumulated over the years.  I put the sheet 'over the first car, then under the next,' from one end of the container to the other.  It's snug - but not too snug and, if blocking is used at the END of each car or engine, there's little chance of any movement occurring.

I bought BCW boxes to store and move my postwar Lionel. To get the price I bought the larger quantities of several sizes. I can’t bear to toss the leftovers. Write me for a list and prices, I want them to do more than occupy space in my closet. Email in my profile
dick Lawrence