Low Impact Displaying Trains

Will the new display area be in the basement or in a finished room like a bedroom?

Rick

I had fewer, shorter trains to display and couldn't afford a nice cabinet so I found a free-standing bookcase. I set track at angles, with 'stoppers' at both ends and just placed the engines (mostly) in those spaces, and rotated the collection. They became a nice conversation piece for guests (and it was easier to pick them up to run on my little layout.)

Shelves of some kind seem the obvious solution. But you can't put brackets in the wall. So, that to me implies shelves that don't need brackets.

I've thought about something generally like this myself and one idea came to mind, but it would be pricey and require custom carpentry, and therefore may be impractical. And I realize it's rental property and so there's probably a limit to what you want to spend there.

Anyway, here it is. Have a large display case containing shelves built from the floor all the way to the ceiling on one side of the room. It couldn't fall because of weight and it'd be "wedged" in.

In the bottom portion I'd put cabinets and in the top part shelves.

My original thought with this was to display a huge collection of brass HO engines that were models of virtually every wheel arrangment made. That was how I thought would be a cool way to display them. And I considered track lighting to illuminate the display.

Anyway, someone else bought the HO engines and I got into O Gauge instead...

I wish you luck with your project.

quote:

Originally posted by Railrunnin:
I will be renting a new home soon and want to display my rather sizable collection. I can not put brackets in a wall to hang shelves.

What other methods can I use to display a few hundred trains? (or even fifty or so select pieces).

Thanks for any ideas / pictures.

Paul

Paul,
The Hallmark stores by us are closing, nice glass shelved cases for sale. Maybe something by you? Building a shelved case that is just under ceiling height might work, "stacked style" with a small lower cabinet would make it easier as no ceiling interference on assy. and no kneeling to see bottom shelf. Do you need doors for dust control?

Although a good number of my trains are displayed in wall-mounted cases with glass or Acrylic doors (I hate dealing with dust), a number are also displayed in covered display cases that sit on the fireplace mantle and other such fixed objects, and even more are displayed in free-standing barrister bookcases (the type with glass doors).

I have more than 100 trains--mostly engines and trolleys in O gauge and Large Scale--displayed in this manner in my living room, dining room, den, and "train room."

Where there's a will, there's a way!

quote:

displayed in this manner in my living room, dining room, den, and "train room."

Alan, in theory nothing wrong there, but if I did that, and management started finding trains in all rooms or hidden behind sofas and under beds and so forth, I'd probably have to find a new place to stay...

Thank you for the replies.

I would like to display these in a den / living room environment. Although there is a huge unfinished basement as well.

John, cool looking stuff but probably out of my $ range for the amount I would need.

Lima, where ar you located? Anyone know how to go about finding stores like hallmark closing to search out those type of display cabinets?

Alan, any pictures of your displays you can share?

I have thought about a number of bookcases but glass displays or wood w/plexi fronts would be preferable.

Paul

I have a couple display types. One is wall mounted (which you can't do), the other is a glassed in display case my grandpa and I built. It has two sections of fastrack screwed to the bottom and my JLC scale GG1 fits in it. That case is in our dining room on top of a new radio that was made to look old (flat top and big).