Show your storage solutions


bunchaj said:
I bet I would notice if anything went missing. Jerome told me about the forum so here I am. I spent less than $200 on the shelves, works great. Everything is exactly where I want it and easy to get too. No I don't own a hobby shop but I keep a few in business.

Jay
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard Jay! Glad to have you and I hope you enjoy "hanging" out here!
 
Here's where Jay screwed the bins together for those interested. You can see the black screw head at each corner.

DSCN0123.jpg
 
Jay, is that a national group you work with? I remember working with a group like that when I was with LASO but this was in the late 60's so BB Athearns were still top of the line. We worked mostly on Tyco junkers and old Marx O gauge stuff. :)

I'm glad your signifcant other is both tolerant...and busy. Does she ride with you too? We had a whole group of deputies who used to ride to Sturgis every year. There was a fine line between some of our guys and some of the Angels. :D

I had tons of Athearn engines before I sold my house in California and decided to travel. I sold them all off because I thought I'd never have a layout again. I sure wish I had some of them back now. I saved a set of SD-7's an F-7 set, and an SW-7, all of which I had detailed, painted and decaled. I never thought I'd have a layout again but things change. The sad part is that those engines I worked so hard on back in the late 60's and 70's look really bad compared to a modern P2K or Kato. :( They still run good though. I've a big basement so all I need to do is talk the wife out of some more space so I can use it for more storage and maybe expand down one side of the wall. I've got a dogbone style layout in one corner but I sure would like to have some more space for a decent staging yard.

Good to meet you, and stay safe.
 
I have collected 3 plastic rolling carts and a couple desk things that are drawers like that. One is holding a bunch of track, and the 2 other rolling ones are filled with books and various junk that I have collected, most of it computer stuff. I think I have a huge drawer just of CD drives. One of fans too. Never thought about actually storing engines or rolling stock in there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jim, it's not a formal group, we had 8 folks at one point, down to 3, I do the engines. Most of what I work on for charity is Life Life (not P2K), mostly the SF GP38s that are very inexpensive and available everywhere. It's been a couple years since I had Tyco to give away, they were just awful to work on and repair, that truck/drive system was far to complicated and unreliable, repair parts were impossible to get. I cannibalized 2/3 of them to get maybe 1/3 to be usable to give away.

She does ride with me when we are in the same place at the same time, eventually will get her own! I am in Blue Knights, grew up outside Sturgis and family still in that area so I always have free space for folks to stay during the Rally. Definately don't hang with the folks that blur the cop/outlaw line, most are almost too tame (had a friend go up with me a couple years ago with his wife and she said she was not impressed by how women were 'objectified' and some were 'inappropriately dressed'...at Sturgis...hmmm...go figure).

I really prefer the Blue Box Athearn, don't believe in the Athearn vs. All Others arguments(kinda like the Ford vs. Chevy or Harley vs. Ainta...as in Ainta Harley). Have and run what you enjoy. With a little time and patience, an Athearn can look and run like any other maker's units, but that's the difference for me. I enjoy spending hours getting things right and don't enjoy pulling something out of a box that takes no effort to detail, prototype, etc...I get enough excitement at work, home time is for relaxing and super-detailing out engines and rolling stock. Even the older BB Athearn can be put to prototype accuracy with patience and work. But in order to get engines that Athearn doesn't do, I still find them from other manufacturers and still can find things to keep me busy with them (just finished a Kato SD9043MAC in UP that still had 3 days worth of proto-fixing to do).

Thanks again for the welcome, sounds like a really good group of folks here!

Now I need to find the "shoulder to cry on when you fry an NCE decoder, the second decoder you ever installed, less than a week after you FINALLY got DCC" forum.

Jay
 
Jay, it was a formal, nationwide group of law enforcement and firefighters that fixed trains for kids in the late 60's and early 70's, kind of like Toys for Tots. I think there were over 100 and I got engines to fix all the way from the east coast. I wonder what ever happened to them?

I've only been to Sturgis once with some deputy friends, most of whom were narcs and other UC types. It was hard to tell who was who sometimes. :) That was about 15 years ago and I hear things have gotten a lot more out of hand since then. Indeed, it's probably not the best place for a feminist to visit. :)

I spent so many years detailing BB Athearn's that I kind of miss it now. I still have a few left from original stash. I've got a pair of SP SD-9's that I detailed in the early 70's that looked good then but are sadly lacking now. Lift rings were unheard of then. I think I'll order some more detail parts and see if I can bring them up to modern standards. With DCC, I can even use LED's for the Mars lights now so it would be worth it, if only for the sentimental value. The Athearn RTR's a re not a bad deal and have the right basic details and are a great starting point for super detailing. I've done one GM&O unit and it came out great using a Details West kit. As you say, plenty of excitement at work so loosing yourself in grab irons and MU hoses is good therapy. I still enjoy it even in retirement.

This is a great bunch of folks here, probably the best train forum on the internet. We promise we won't laugh at you no matter how many decoders you smoke. :eek: What engine were you putting the decoder in and was it hardwired or a plug and play? Were you programming on the main or a programming track? What kind of DCC system do you have?
 
It was an NCE decoder KRS-SR into a Kato SD9043MAC. It smoked and burned out in about 2 seconds. It was the second decoder I had ever installed, no warnings in the decoder sheet or Kato instructions. I went immediately online to search out any problems, found a page on Kato's web site that explained why it happended and a quick fix. Luckily I had another decoder for it (that was intended for a Kato Alaska RR SD70MAC), did the fix (it was an overhanding power strip on the Kato board that needs to be bent forward away from the board...doesn't affect DC operations so who knew!?). No damage to the engine or board, new decoder works perfectly. I'll take advantage of the NCE "no questions asked" replacement for $12 for any reason (if it was warrany reason, it would be free). Programming on programming track mode (I got an NCE PowerCab last week). Not a great intro to the world of DCC, if I burn up a decoder a week then I will have to start liberating engines to pay for it...not to worry, I've learned a $29.95 + $12 replacement lesson. Although off this topic thread, are there any obvious DCC pitfalls that I need to know that sage wisdom has to pass on? I'm very mechanically and electrically inclined, but there are always good bits of advice that folks learned the hard way (like Kato SD90 decoder issues) :)
 
bunchaj~

I am not a DCC expert but I have installed a few decoders with some success. I usually go to this website BEFORE I do an installl or puchase of decoders for certain types of locos. http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips.htm this place has a lot of info for each type of install and great advice for what type of decoder for type of loco and manufacturer type as well. It has saved me a couple of times. Here is what they had on your loco you mentioned the SD90/43 MAC...http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2002/060302.htm and then this....http://www.tonystrains.com/gallery/sd8090_loco.htm

Hope this helps...you can pretty much find anything on types of DCC installs here (tony's trains) and of course "our" guys here are very good at helping out.
 
Jay, that, unfortunately, is a known issue with some Kato locomotives. It's rare that you'll ever run into this with a DCC ready engine - you were just unlucky. As Alco said, I do check both Tony's and Litchfieldstation.com for any know issue before I install a decoder. The guys at Tony's are both friendly and really know DCC. If you have any doubts before doing an install, give them a call. They are usually happy to walk you through the installation whether you bout the decoder for them or not.
 
Took a trip to Wal-Mart today. I came across these storage bins. They are Sterilite brand and measure 15 1/4" x 21 3/4" x 39 3/8". There is 4 shallow drawers on top, then 3 deeper ones at the bottom. I could only find these 3, so I'll be checking other Wal-Marts soon. They cost $32.00 each.

100_3255.jpg


100_3256.jpg


These things are going to free up a lot of room in this cramped little room I call my office.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Portable storage

I use a large fishing tackle box w/hinged lid for storing all my small stuff. I've seen this idea also used for storing N scale locos and cars in flannel lined sections of another larger fishing tackle box. A 2'x3' board with track fastened to it (store it on end in a closet) can be used as a test track or even a switching layout. Use removable houses/buildings for added scenery.

Works well until a larger palce can be found.:)
 
Jerome, et al. If you use those kitchen no slip pads under your locomotives or rolling stock, be sure they always sit on their wheels. If you lay them on their side, intentionally or otherwise, after a while the pad will leave an imprint on the plastic. It's one of those, "Don't ask me how I know," things.

Ray
 
Oh, good point, Ray. I've done the same thing and ended with waffle-sided boxcars that weren't that way when I put them away. :)
 
Since most of us are into modeling and woodworking is part of it, I make most of my own displays, the rest of the stock get stored in plastic container similar to what already been mentioned.

picture.php



picture.php
 
ray46 said:
Jerome, et al. If you use those kitchen no slip pads under your locomotives or rolling stock, be sure they always sit on their wheels. If you lay them on their side, intentionally or otherwise, after a while the pad will leave an imprint on the plastic. It's one of those, "Don't ask me how I know," things.

Ray
Click to expand...

Ray, thank you for that tip. I do like waffle sided box cars, but not all of them!!! LOL
 
bump this old thread....anyone else care to share there storage facility? or work bench?

lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top