Hi everyone,

A somewhat wild turn of events has found me taking a new job in New York, and I'll be moving across the US next year. While the job is quite great, the move is going to be a big shuffle, and the trains are probably the most complicated (or should I say risky because of damage) part of it.

I'll be living in a short term apartment for a few months, but then I'll be settling in somewhere around or outside the city, to enable a bit of space. (and if I'm lucky a basement for the trains!)

So anyways, I've got to figure out how to best pack them for a safe move across country. The inventory and related tasks are no problem, what I can use advice on is the best way to pack a lot of trains for safe moving via truck without damage, presumably in large boxes with a lot of trains. To give an idea, when condensed as far as possible my collection tightly fits in one standard american closet.

Any tips on packing or less than obvious reminders would be great!

Also- any east coast Marklin fans I'd love to connect once I'm out there next month!

They key to safely transporting such items is to properly package them prior to transport. My last move occurred when my collection was still very small, so I had no problem at that point. Today, that would be a whole other story.
What you want to do is to have the models packed in their original boxes. For items that don't have the original box, those items should be wrapped in bubblepack, with the ends taped and then placed in boxes with spacers to keep them from jostling against other items.
When I moved my collection, I was fortunate to have some Canadian milk crates at my disposal, and was able to stack 3 or 4 locomotives on top of each other and package 9-12 locomotive in each crate. I had shipped my furniture, appliances and most of my records by mover, but the more precious items went into my car and made the trip with me.
Keep in mind the weight that the boxes can support. I have never tested to see how many boxes can be stacked on top of each other before the lower boxes start to compact, but I have been able to stack 4 with no apparent damage. You also have to take into account that movers may place other items on top of boxes, so you want to make sure that the Maerklin boxes are not crushed by your dishes, appliances or furniture.
I would suggest you check with office supply stores for milk crate type boxes and see if you can use those to hold your precious train cargo. Whatever you do, make sure that it is packed so that it can withstand shocks. As far as coaches and cars, they can be packed in cardboard boxes. I have a number of Amazon type 9N that I use for 30cm Roco, LSM and ACME type coaches. For Maerklin 27cm coaches, I got a number of pizza box type cardboard boxes that were originally designed to hold up to 15 vinyl records. I can put 4 of the 27cm coaches in each box with packing materials. Those boxes are pretty sturdy. For freight cars, try an Amazon 1A1. If you can find the plastic milk crate type boxes, you can experiment with what you can put in them, but remember that you have to make sure that there is no excessive weight placed on top of them.

Regards

Mike C

Congratulations on your new job in The Big Apple!

As an economical packing material, scrunched up newspaper is quite good. You might find yourself wanting to get rid of some old newspapers anyway.

Thanks for the tips guys- keep them coming!

I forgot to mention that the mover is a personal friend, and gets the importance of our train treasures. (and he models european N scale) So we are secure in shipping company, and they will be going in a sprinter van. At this phase its a matter of sourcing strong boxes, and some sort of impact-resistant lining for them before placing the trains inside... The good news is I have some time to research and experiment

PS Mike- you aren't too far away so maybe we can finally grab that coffee at some point!

Hi John , We did a big move 3 years ago with all the usual house hold stuff . The FD managed to obtain a lot of cardboxes from the greengrocer/ vegetable dealer which were about 23""x15"x6" . They were a 2 piece box ,top & bottom & ideal for "M" boxes to be carried in. Bubble wrap bulk roll was used to line the box & in between each box . Do not carry the boxes in a trailer ,only on the back seat of your vehicle due to better suspension . Geewhizz moving from sunny cal to bleak city will be a adventure when you will need more clothes etc to keep warm during the greater part of the year . Have fun packing & don't rush yourself .

Cheers Tom in Oz

Hi John,
Congratulations on what hopefully, must be a move up in the world career wise.

As I have a few of them myself, having been a Yamaha dealer, the best free box to find if you can, IMHO, is a Yamaha 5 or 6US? gallon outboard motor tank, shipping carton. The dealers usually throw them away. They are sturdy and have finger grips on the ends. So see if you can find a friendly Yamaha dealer, it won't hurt to ask, beer is usually a good bargaining tool, at least downunder
I say these, because at some point you will need to move them around by hand, and store them for a while at your new home, so smaller is best for that.
Start with an extra layer of sturdy cardboard on the bottom of the cartons, and as mentioned above lots of bubble wrap, there are various grades so get the bigger bubbles for the Loco boxes bottom and tops if possible, but good new stuff at least. I'd line the box, and have a layer between layers of the train boxes. The lining especially the bottom, not to forget the top, will also give some protection against water ingress .
Thing is they're a bit short for most car set boxes so bigger cardboard boxes will have to be found for those, but I'm sure you have some already. The thin foam that you get in flatpack furniture packs between layers, would be a good alternative between layers of train boxes, if you can find where to get some. Obviously sorting them into even heights, would be advisable, heaviest type at the bottom. I would not fill a box/carton with locos, as it will get too heavy for the safety of the contents themselves and may damage the boxes on the bottom, so maybe wagen boxes from three layers up ! Also pack them reasonably tightly, movement is not good.
Also for finding things later, where practical, sort items into type categories, I'm trying to do a bit of that now myself. IE, freight / passenger, Swiss / German, era's etc.
The packing ideas could apply to plastic boxes or crates as well, and offer better water protection, but they are usually not square, and not free, I have found
Another tip maybe to see if your shipping company offers to containerise items, in some sort of small portable container, which would keep all the train cartons and maybe some other items together.
Another idea maybe to rent a van and take all your train cartons somewhere and have them shrink wrapped together, say on a pallet for loading in the truck, and maybe store them in California or New York till you get permanent accommodation.

The logistics will take some thought, but I wouldn't leave an open car or van, unguarded, or a locked one either with my trains in, on a New York City street, much as I like the place.

Good luck with all that and keep us posted on your adventure

All the best for the new job,and generally the new life.You will live a big change,i wish this change have only possitive points for you.

Woohoo!!!

I would also move for such a job...

I just noticed that you will move across the USA, so there is no customs...Then no worries, it is easy. Just pack them well and send them by a reputable cargo forwarding agency....Surface cargo would be cheap and best.

I believe I purchased one set from you (the OP) some years ago, it was a set of marklin PFE cars (3 cars) please correct me if I am wrong, you sent them to me in Dubai at the time.

Wow, interresting story! ;-) Thanks for sharing!

The borders and duties between inter-european countries in 1999 (when I moved) was almost free (because of ongoing euroopean integration). Luckily I didnt have any problems. As my stuff had to be unloaded by forklift, and no forklift was available at the destination, I paid a handling fee right from the start. -But that didnt stop the spanish agent from trying to charge me again for bringing the forklift. Luckily for me, my soon-to-be spanish wife handled that matter (I didnt speak spanish then), and the agent had to make the trip twice (second time WITH forklift), at no additional cost for me. ;-)

John,

U-Haul stores sell what appear to be strong boxes of different sizes. You might want to check them out ...

Robert

It's always a proud moment when you see one of your friends move up like this!
Godspeed John!

And now we can expect a wagon with McLaren advertising - to be distributed through Marklin-users of course?

Congratulations on your new position John.

Gee, I wonder if anything was marked "Fragile"? Makes you wonder, no? Peter

So what model McLaren are you having as your drive car ??

Ha! No more selling. Very true I should, but I already cleared out quite a bit this year anticipating the move. That being said, if space is minimal once I move I may be forced to cut back more, but the plan for now is to avoid that :)