Skip to main content

Probably an ole question, but I have my 50's era Sanfe ABA  with aluminum passenger cars and a steam freight set.  Want to store them in the attic in a closed plastic tub.  

What do you all recommend wrapping the trains in - was going to use brown butcher paper, but not sure that's best.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thank you

 

 

 

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

You will need to bake the moisture out of those pods/packets for them to be effective.  The packets will then be neutralized once they have absorbed more moisture.  You will need to re-bake those packets periodically to restore the effectiveness.  Personally, I would never store my trains in the attic.  The heat will accelerate the ability of the moisture to create rust.  But if I did, I would buy some used red colored shop rags that had been recently chemically cleaned.  I would wrap each car in those rags.  I bought used trains from individuals and every time they were stored in those type of rags, there was never any rust or mildew effect.  Could be the effect of the residual hydrocarbons or could just be a coincidence.

I believe that butcher paper is waxed on one side.

These days when I store trains, I put them in food grade plastic bags. The bags are left open, and sometimes I even make extra holes to prevent any moisture from becoming trapped.
The train (in the bag) is then placed in an individual cardboard box.
Baseball card storage boxes are good for many items, otherwise I use boxes that I purchased from ULine.

I would also consider using corrugated wrap.

In the past, I would wrap the train (in the bag) in newspaper. for some cushioning.

I've never put desiccant right in the boxes with my trains.

While I prefer not to store any train items in the attic, I do keep some stuff up there because I don't have another spot. I had boxes of Lionel "O" gauge track, including Postwar 022 switches up there for years, just stored in plain cardboard cartons. Much to my surprise, none of the track has developed any rust. I imagine that other people's results would vary, depending on the climate, and how their attic space is ventilated.

 

Billnav60 posted:

...putting in a couple of those desiccant pods that come with new trains to absorb moisture. 

Those are pretty much a waste of time and effort - they saturate very quickly and regenerating them is an even bigger waste of time.

Better off  wrapping stuff in high quality soft paper - think industrial paper towel and storing in individual boxes (ULine is a good source or comparable) all in a dry temperate space w/o extremes in humidity.

Add Reply

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×