Garden Railway Forum

Hi I was wondering how do other forum members store their locos when they are not being used can anyone advise.

Good strong boxes, 7.62mm NATO ammo boxes with foam lining are just the ticket for smaller engines such as MSS/Mamod.

Thank you Big Jim I'm certain I can get hold of one.

I'm pleased Bernie has asked this question as I was going to enquire about storing of our beloved loco. Thanks Jim for reply to the question.

I use plastic tool boxes from my local German-owned supermarket, suitably lined with foam padding.

I do the same, plastic tool boxes.

Thanks Tom and Tony I will pop to home base this week and get a couple of plastic tool boxes.

steamer68 wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2017 9:00 pmThanks Tom and Tony I will pop to home base this week and get a couple of plastic tool boxes.

Measure your loco(s) and take a ruler with you to make sure it will fit! Been there, done that...

A 28mm or 40mm wide strip of wood fixed to the base inside sits between the wheels and helps to stop the loco moving.

On a lot of these boxes the lid does not hinge back fully and stops at just past the vertical. This means that whenever you remove the loco from the box the box then falls over backwards. A sharp knife will soon have the hinges modified so that lid opens fully.

TonyW wrote: Tue Dec 26, 2017 12:41 pm On a lot of these boxes the lid does not hinge back fully and stops at just past the vertical. This means that whenever you remove the loco from the box the box then falls over backwards. A sharp knife will soon have the hinges modified so that lid opens fully.

I have this problem with my boxes so thanks for tip Tony!

Hi Tony thanks for explaining this and great advice on the hinges.

ASDA have some rather nice large storage boxes in at the moment, sold to go under the bed and just the right size for a few coaches.

Ikea Billy bookcase in the corner of the living room. It was my wife's idea! Who am I to argue?
Rik

Lucky boy, I would not be allowed to do that in my house.

Nice collection Rik, possibly a little tight, easily corrected by the introduction of a second cabinet?

Peter Butler wrote: Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:26 am Nice collection Rik, possibly a little tight, easily corrected by the introduction of a second cabinet?

The lower tier has alreadu been designated

Rik

Hi Rik you have a lovely collection housed in their own display cabinet.

We use homemade wooden carry boxes with heavy duty hinges and catches. One thing we always do when storing locomotives (especially during winter) is to leave the regulator open when not in use. This prevents a vacuum forming within the boiler and causing stress.

I leave the blower open on my coal fired loco when not in use.

Never left the regulator open on gas locos and Roundhouse manuals state to close all controls when not in use?

JMORG wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 10:04 am We use homemade wooden carry boxes with heavy duty hinges and catches. One thing we always do when storing locomotives (especially during winter) is to leave the regulator open when not in use. This prevents a vacuum forming within the boiler and causing stress.

If you do the calculation using the temperature range for Gloucester, the pressure differential in a closed vessel is approx 1psi between the winter min. and the summer max. temperatures.

Which is negligible in a pressure vessel designed to operate at 40psi with a safety factor of 7.

While a pressure differential of 1psi won't stress the metal shell, it may be enough for oil to find it's way from the lubricator into the boiler through an open throttle.

Since my locos don't run very often, I drain the boiler and leave the filler plug out when they are stored. I don't leave the boiler open because I'm concerned about stressing the metal, I do it so the boiler dries out. The throttle is kept closed and the reverser is in mid gear.

Regards,
Graeme