Garden Railway Forum

I am building a Roundhouse Katie and am thinking about ways to keep her safe in storage and if I need to transport her. What is recommended? I can build a wooden box but would foam be ok pressed against the paint for long periods or would some sort of hold down bracket be a better approach. Are there places that sell boxes that are bespoke for carrying engines?

RetroCoder wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 5:30 pm Are there places that sell boxes that are bespoke for carrying engines?

I've never used them myself ( no need) but "Locoboxes" specialise in what you are after, so can probably advise on the best options.
https://www.loco-boxes.co.uk/

If you can make a box, why not make one with a perspex side so it can be a display case as well? No real need for foam unless during transport it will get tipped over and knocked about. I recommend this method as it's what I do for all my steamers. My smaller electric models I put in under bed storage boxes with a bit of bubble wrap between them all. These two methods work very well for me personally and nothing has ever been damaged in transport.

Thanks for your replies. All good info there. I think Ill price up how much it would cost in wood to make a box. If it starts getting expensive I may pay a bit more and go for the bespoke one as they seem a reasonable price and would be less hassle.

I have made storage boxes for much of my stock during the past 30 years or so. I use thin plywood, (3-4mm) cut on a table saw. I used to be a picture framer so the corners are mitred.. not essential but I like them that way! Small brass hinges held with bifurcated rivets, simple catch and a coat of paint finish the job nicely.
The insides are covered with felt material, available from many craft/drapery stores, stuck with PVA adhesive. I print out the contents and attach a label to the end of the box to identify each one......
Foam can be fitted as appropriate to prevent movement, and I have found no problem at all from it being in contact with painted surfaces. If you still have concerns about that, it also can be coated in felt.

Locobox referred to in an earlier comment have a reputation for being unresponsive or slow in completing orders. Simon Whenmouth of Anything Narrow Gauge also sells boxes for loco storage if that's a route you choose to go down. https://anythingnarrowgauge.co.uk/colle ... ies?page=3

Just some pictures of the boxes I make for my locos. Sometimes you can incorporate the rolling stock in there too if it's small enough.

These show how the box opens. Simply build the box with screws, then unscrew one end panel, and use 2 cut off screws for the bottom location and use a drilled out hole for a screw to locate in the top. Then simply add some for of handle on the end. They work super well and don't look too bad in my honest opinion.

I then add a thin but of ply in the bottom with 2 grooves cut out for the wheels to sit in, I do this with a bench saw set to a low height.

I have a box that I bought at Elscar show when we first got into garden railways. I lined it with some carpet underlay that was in the box that had the loco I bought off Peter Butler. Peter does know how to pack his parcels I can tell you
I also put a strip of wood that was the correct gauge for what I am running, 32mm. I also put 4 bits of wood in the box to keep it from rolling around and even a micro fibre cloth. It may seem overly done, but you can't not to do what ever you can to keep you locos safe, they are far too expensive not to.


I make my own boxes now and I think they are pretty good and just has safe as the trader bought ones..

Cost per box about £25.00

Mine are the smaller boxes for my electric locos.
They are made with 5mm ply and they will take any amount of banging around.

Lots of great ideas - and better box-making than I can manage
I like roll-on-roll-off carriers. I've described them in this thread elsewhere on the forum.

I was inspired by the ideas show here so I dismantled an old wine box and cut it to the right size before rebuilding it. I added a sliding lid and some blocks inside that hold the chassis by the buffers. A couple of coats of varnish and I now have a nice stirdy box to keep my Roundhouse Katie in.

Mmm mmm .... Rioja, one of my favourites!

Rik

Nicely done!

I really must sort out some storage boxes...

Extremely nice, that.

I did leave a reply yesterday I am sure of it...

Anyway I will do it again.

I think that's a brilliant way of recycling stuff and it would have been fairly cheap I am sure, one thing though, is there any handles to lift and carry it with. If there isn't I would find it would hurt my back even more...

Don't forget to give it a varnish just in case we get our so much changeable weather....like the wet stuff that soaks us through...