Dang it.

I always forge to sign. When replying, the signature always appears.

Foible of the forum

For whatever reason, signature lines don't show up in original posts, just the comments. 

One of the many things that is fixed with the new forum software. 

The plastic is there to

The plastic is there to prevent details from snagging in the foam. I've got about 40 years of experience on that one, and I learned comprehensively on the first or second brass loco I bought back in the late 70s or early 80s. The plastic was gone, and some of the details were entwined in the foam - and they got bent as I took the thing out of the box.

For the hard plastic "clamshells" such as those used by Bachmann Spectrum or Bowser, the plastic wrap doesn't seem necessary and I have not used it since I started buying that sort of thing in the early 2000s, with seemingly no ill consequences.

To date I haven't messed with keeping them wired and connected, except a couple of times that I took a relatively large batch of gear to the club. In those cases, I used A-line boxes and more or less lined the rolling stock in the track-like spaces. The only foam was a "track replacement" where the necessity of plastic wrap protection was minimal to nil, so they went into the A-line boxes sans Saran Wrap.

I don't worry about acid free as rolling stock is handled frequently by fingers with no gloves. If it's going to get damaged by paper acid in the relatively little time it's in contact with same, I would guess that it would have been damaged already and by a much greater amount by the human handling. Sorry for the guesswork. I should also point out that I do know the value of acid-free paper. As a photographer, I know it's valuable in preserving the archival quality of prints. However, those prints are basically never touched by human hands (we literally use white gloves while producing them and then they are practically sealed into matting and framing). You'll get more finger oil onto a locomotive getting it into the box the first time than any of those prints do in many years.

Clarify?

What I should have said in the first place. I want boxes to be useful. As in: both storage for a period of time and to be easily grabbed for a short operation. i.e. I play with steam at one session, and may choose to use diesels at another. Yes, I can mix, but don't usually. So when playing with steam, the diesels can be in their original boxes, as stated above about the way the manufacturer ships them. But steam is another issue. The mfgr ships them with the engine and tender in separate holes in the foam. I want them coupled/wired together and a box long enough to hold them. So that's why I asked about using corrugated from other boxes and wrapped with ? And when I mention what's normally available in a household, I exclude acid free. But we have waxed paper, plastic wrap, parchment paper. And of course, newspaper and such. The foam peanuts can be saved for this use, but they are a mess. I had a huge 36 gal bag full and finally disposed of them. ?? So now, should I have kept them anyway? I can figure from what most of what y'all have said that a smooth plastic wrap may be best. So should I go quality and use Saran or would a cheaper brand suffice? No one mentioned wax paper, so I guess they are not good. I did try bubble wrap, but that again, can damage detail. The worst case is house cars with brake wheels sticking up. And yes, even though this is about locos, we may consider cars while on the subject of boxing. Long term storage is the usual outcome, but there are other things to consider. My layout is small (a 12" by 24' shelf) and I only operate so many cars/locos at a time. And like to be able to change time periods, etc. for operation. Keeping the unused locos/cars in boxes while not in use.

I've often thought about this

...and the best thing I can think of would be some sort of tube with a track in it, that you can place onto a straight track so that you can roll a loco on and off at will.

It's not quick, it's not cheap, but it is a solution. You'd also have to have some sort of retractable pin solution on the sides and top to keep the loco in place once it has rolled onto the cradle.

Storage

You could have a look at my article in the June 2019 MRH

https://forum.mrhmag.com/magazine-feedback-was-ezines-891776

An alternative approach

I believe most recent factory packaging, both locomotive and rolling stock,  is very effective at protecting the product. The downside is the time investment needed to pack and unpack to operate. I observe guys at our club spending 10 or 15 minutes, or much more, unpacking and then another similar time investment re-packing.

My approach going back several years has been the Aline boxes (and there are others, too) which provides the best value and space utilization considering the restraints of my club locker. I leave my steam locos connected to their tenders and have had no ill effects in several years of doing this. The time to assemble and disassemble a train consist is minimal even when using 4 locos and 30 cars in the consist.

A-line

I know you said cheap and around the house, but that's not what I've used. The A-Line boxes aren't cheap, and they're definitely not "what's around the house," but they do what you want: just plop the steam locos and any other sort of rolling stock in there, pick it up and off you go.

Homemade boxes

When I got into On30, I only operated on a club modular layout so efficient transportation is key.  I made my own storage using paper boxes, the trays are soda/beer can "flats" trays. Locomotives got special attention because I didn't want to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the wires each time.

Locomotive cradles are made from scrap cardboard cut and glued together. Ribbon at each end serves as handles as well as to keep sides together when out of the box. Foam comes from original packaging or other pieces I have laying around.

I can fit 3 trays in each paper box.  Everything packs neatly and efficiently.  Setting stuff up and putting away at shows is quick.

For HO scale, I long ago found the "meat packaging" boxes discarded from a restaurant I worked at were an ideal size, and have standardized on boxes that size.  They stack nicely, transport easily (including carrying or wheeling through doorways), and I can get 2 levels in them stored fairly densely.

Craig

A number of the guys in the HO modular club

use a system similar to what Craig pictured in the post above and have had success in transporting the models and setting up quickly as well as taking the layout down quickly without damage.  One guy uses something like the 1/8 thick white foam used as underlayment for a floating hardwood or parquet type floor.  He cuts the pieces long enough to be longer than the rolling stock and wide enough to be about inch taller than the rolling stock.  To take the locos & cars out of his boxes, he uses the foam as a sling to lift them out or to put them back.

Plano 3730 tackle boxes.

Plano 3730 tackle boxes. Hobby Lobby carries them under the Creative Options line. About $7 each with the usual coupon 

Check em out.  Nice for HO scale locos. I use craft foam scraps so they don’t slide around in the slot and another scrap “sling” to lift them out. Should get 3-4 locos in one.  About 14” wide so really big steam locos may not fit  

Jeff

What do you use to cushion?

And how do you keep them from rolling? Smashed couplers? Crushed detail? I do have some of those boxes and have found they work for cars, with lot's of padding. But the re-padding each time you use them get tedious. Locos are heavier and might be subject to more damage. ? Drop one loaded box on the floor and you will see what I mean. ? Don't ask me how I know! I've tried bubble wrap, other plastic wraps and they all seem to have some kind of fault. Or maybe I'm just missing the right kind!

For the cradles I made, the

For the cradles I made, the sides fold up and the pieces of thin white foam on the sides are placed to hold the model fairly tightly without damaging side detail.  The end pieces fold up against the front and back of the body.  That prevents pretty much all lateral movement during normal handling.  It does not protect against roof damage should the box fall upside down.  I have used a thin sheet of foam on top to provide some protection in that case.

When making my boxes and cradles, I use a hot glue gun to glue everything together.  Where possible, even the foam pieces are glued in place so there's no need to fiddle with them when inserting or removing models.

I have experienced damage from dropped boxes as well, and have learned from that where I need to make improvements. My philosophy is that there is a tradeoff between using the factory packaging and custom storage.  Factory packaging emphasizes protection from shipping/handling extremes at the expense of being much less efficient and dense. My storage and transport needs prefer density and efficiency, while still maintaining a reasonable (but not bullet-proof) level of protection.  So that means I understand and accept the risks and have to take some extra care when handling my boxes.

In HO, I don't belong to any clubs at the moment, and I only have diesels, so I continue to use the factory packaging for my newer locos. Otherwise I would come up with something more efficient for storing those as well, probably something that uses just the clamshell part of the original packaging.

Craig