Train Box Storage Upgrade

Spaceballs!!! Great movie!

Has your storage place changed the gate entry code to something a bit more challenging yet? 😂

Curt

And I thought I had a lot of trains.

Who cares!!  We all have plenty of train boxes

You know you have too many trains when.....

I dunno which is crazier, paying rent to store empty boxes . Or the guy who finds a brand new brass hudson under his layout bought 10 years ago that he forgot about.

I drink coffee like there's no tommorrow, but at least I got a handle on my train purchasing....I think 😉

I just threw out a bunch more boxes today . I threw many away just over a year ago. They were a fire issue and I just threw them away after a lot of thought. I just  didn’t have the room. As far as throwing away value. I’ll be gone from here. The money won’t matter. Everyone’s needs, room and value are different. It’s just too difficult to try liquidate all of this in my humble option.

Wow!  I thought I was “unusual” because I recently made up a spreadsheet so I could find the location of my empty train boxes, but…

At the end of the first Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark of the Covenant is stored in a box and carted off into a huge warehouse packed with nondescript boxes. Should everyone consider establishing their own warehouse full of boxes in which one box contains a mysterious and powerful treasure? What might be in that box?

Thanks for posting.  My sweetie thinks that I keep too many boxes (she's right), but she saw a portion of the video and it took some pressure off me.

An adequate storage unit in my area would cost $150-225 per month.  I asked myself if keeping my boxes is worth ~$2500 per year, every year, or if I would rather spend that money on trains, golf, and vacations.  The answer for me is to live without the boxes.  I don't plan to sell stuff, and I do try to keep the boxes for the heaviest and most valuable items.  I also contemplated how much time would be required to find a specific box if it became necessary.

I'm sincerely happy that you have the time and resources to keep your boxes.  It will be interesting to see a follow-up video when you need to retrieve a specific box.   

There is no way I could afford to pay storage fees to store my boxes. Good for Eric that he can afford it. I do also feel that 98% of the trains we buy go down in value and paying to store the boxes makes that even worse. I guess for some guys money is not an issue so the depreciation doesn't matter.

However I do keep all my boxes. I guess one advantage (If you can look at this way) of being mainly a 2 railer is that most locomotives aren't made in 2 rail so I am not tempted to buy more locomotives. These usually would be locomotives that are outside of what I am trying to model. I am also at the point where I don't need any more trains but of course I get the emails from Mr.Muffins and the Public Delivery Track and there is always stuff I would have bought if offered in 2 rail. Freight cars I still buy because they are easily converted.

I keep the boxes to locomotives if the engine came with one. I do not keep the boxes for rolling stock except for the k-line passenger cars.

As for what to do with it after I am gone, I have made it clear to the wife to call the train club and donate it lock, stock and barrel and write it off on the taxes.

Hey Eric thanks for the video - I thought it was both insightful and educational especially for anyone planning on putting their trains / boxes in a storage facility

Having just gone through a relocation from Bucks County PA to Charleston SC finding a really good / secure / climate controlled facility was way up on our priority list - my trains were in storage for a year while our new home was being built - the storage facility we used was fabulous and everything survived without a scratch - including me 😊🚂

I should show that video to my wife -- She'll never bug me for having too many trains again! 😁

(Actually, she's a good sport about it and even brought up "Are you sure there's nothing else you wanted?" at the train meet over the weekend when I only picked up three things!)

I've got a secret. I keep my 1979 Porsche 911 Targa in our garage. Needs current tabs. Don't drive it for now. Distracts her from the trains.

Hielsie

Save engine boxes only...  All others are tossed.

I watched the video last week. No not too many yet. Now that there is more storage. Then it will be time to think about it. More storage that is.

Other than engines, I store the boxes under my layout.  It is well organized from a structure perspective, but I have no idea what is where.  

If I were to want to thin the herd, then I would likely grab boxes and see if I could find the car, and determine if I wanted to sell.  Taking a car and then trying to find a box would be fruitless.

I keep my engine boxes upstairs in my attic.  This makes it easier to find if I need to send an engine back to get serviced.

John