Batch-building freight cars 101part 2- 15
58:My five-drawer cabinet was custom-built using
drawer guides from the local home improvement store.
This unit allows for easy access to stored rolling stock
and offers the option to store cars upright.
58
Current inventory:
Whowill you toss from the raft?
Decidewhich cars stay on the layout andwhichwill go. The
decision isn’t final – cars can rotateoff andon the layout from
storage.Manymodelerswill purge the collection fromtime
totime tomake room formore cars and to keep the storage
space reasonable.
Wherewill the rest live?
Figureout storage for the rest of thefleet. Excess cars canbe
stored inboxes, indisplay cases, or in cabinets. Thereare sev-
eral options. Try tokeep cars youwant to rotateoffandon the
layout inplaces that haveeasyaccess. Thismakes itmuch sim-
pler tomove them toand from the layout.
Storage options
on the layout
StagingandSidings: Cars canbe semi-permanently stored in
hidden stagingor on the sidingsout in theopen. Thenum-
ber of cars is limited to the capacityof these locations. Rolling
stock canbe storedaspart of staged trains.Operations-based
layouts canutilizeunused staging (if it exists) for car storage.
Thisoption isbest because it generallydoesn’t require the cars
tohandledby the0-5-0 switcher (i.e. your hand).
Staging cassettes: This storageoption is gainingpopularity. A
cassette is adetachableobject (usuallyawood tray)with stor-
age trackson it that is storedoff the layout ina rack. The cas-
sette is attached to the layout tomove trainsonandoff the
railroad. Thedisadvantagehere is that aplanmust bedevel-
oped toprevent trains fromhitting thefloor as the cassette
ismoved. Therearemanyoptions in this category; check the
hobbypress for recent articles.
Off the layout
Storageboxes: Storageboxes (54) area commonway tohandle
cars that arenot neededon the layout.Make sure the cars are
stored standingupright tominimizedamage to thedetails. The
disadvantagehere is thatweget into the “out-of-sight, out-of-
mind” situationwhereyoumaynot rememberwhat youhave
storedaway.Manymodelers I knowhave this issue (including
myself at times). Theup-side is the rediscoveryof cool cars
thatwere forgotten.
Display cases: Display cases are anexcellent choice if you
have the space andmotivation. I knowof onemodelerwho
loved tobuild cars andfilledhis basement train roomwith
display cases and shelves. Hehad several hundred cars on
display all thetime.
MRH-Apr2014
