Displaying Trains

N

nolatron

Member
Nov 17, 2004
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Katy, TX
railroad.sodh.net
Hi all,

I've removed my layout for the time being and planning on getting a shelf or something to display my trains. Mostly N-Scale now, but I plan on picking up some HO stuff and maybe 1 or 2 G-Scale locos (so I picked the middle HO forum to post in :) ).

My question is, is there anything I should worry about with displaying these trains for a long period of time? Will it be okay to not run a loco for months, years? Any period things I should do to maintain them? I'm not too familiar with the mechanical workings of a loco motor, so I'm just not sure.

I just don't wanna buy locos now for collecting/displaying, only to end up having them not be in good running condition down the road when I rebuild a new layout.

Thanks.
 
I wouldn't worry about it when storage isn't going to be for more than a year or two. Longer than that and I would clean them right down to the motors, removing any grease that may be on the mechanisms, then reassemble them with a light coat of oil. The grease has a tendancy to coagulate and harden over time, leaving a bear of a mess to clean off when you want to run again. When you're ready to run them again, a light dab of grease on the gears and a drop of oil in the bearings is all you will need to get back up and running.
 
I know this thread is an old one but I thought I would post a picture of an HO train display case that I made a few months ago. This display case wasn't too hard to build. My dad helped with the planning and construction of the case. It cost me about $65 CDN for the materials. I'm very big into collecting and displaying my trains. I do have a small portable layout that I use to test run my trains but most of the time they stay in the display case or in their original box. Anytime I run a train of mine that has been sitting on my shelf for more then a month or two, I always make sure to properly oil the trucks.

The train models you see in the picture are in a particular order. The top shelf I have my only IHC 4-6-4 Hudson in the TH&B road name and then my Santa Fe engines. The second shelf I have my Kato BC Rail Loco with 2 gondolas, boxcar and a caboose which I combined using a Life-Like body with an Athearn floor and trucks. The third shelf shows my Athearn DD-40 Penny's with 3 Athearn Hustlers. My last shelf I didn't know what to do so I placed 4 Herpa Promotex Transport's. It's not my best display layout but it will have to do until I can think of something better.


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