How to Build a Storage Case for an Electric Train

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RON HAZELTON:
Now… I came up here looking for tree lights. But what I’ve come across is a bit of my childhood. You know, for decades, trains and Christmas have gone together like eggnog and mistletoe. Generations of kids have been captivated by tiny locomotives chugging heroically beneath the dipping bows of fragrant evergreens.

Well the trains haven't changed too much since I was a kid. But these days there sure are a lot of cool track side accessories.
[MUSIC]
[TRAIN WHISTLES]
So today, I want to start my own family tradition by building a special holiday train storage box that unfolds into a layout and Christmas tree stand. When the holidays are over, the train cars and track will go back inside safe and sound and all ready for the next holiday season.

And you know what, when the time comes, I can just see myself passing this keepsake along to my kids so they can share it with their children. Yeah, what we create today just might become an heirloom. So what do you say? Let's build a tradition.

Now this is quarter inch bead board. You can get this at any home improvement center and chances are they'll cut it to size for you. I'm gonna make our box 3 feet x 3 feet and the bead board is going to form the outside skins if you will.

Around that. we're gonna put up a frame made up of in this case, 1 by 4 pine. Again, you can make your box as thick as you want it.

My first step is to apply a bead of woodworking glue to the top edge of the one by fours.

Okay now, I'm just gonna set the bead board right on top of the 1 by 4. Now I want to make this look like an old packing crate.

That's why I've chosen the bead board. And when it comes to attaching the bead board to the sides here, well I might enhance that by actually using nails with large heads. In my case, I happen to have a staple gun that's gonna make the job go faster. So I'm gonna use this.
[MUSIC]

Well here's the first half of our case and that was pretty easy, wasn't it? Now we're going to move right ahead and build another one just like this. And there's our second half right there. Now together, these are gonna form our train storage box.

Now keep in mind, this is also going to be though, a support for our Christmas tree. So I want to add a little additional bracing in this. One piece coming out from here and then another piece kind of crossing over here. So I'm gonna go ahead and glue and nail these in place.

Set these in place. Glue along the edge. Now just to take a tri square, set it in here and make sure that these are perfectly vertical.
[MUSIC]
Well now it's time to join our two halves into one box. Now what's gonna hold our box together permanently is this piece of piano hinge. I've cut it to length and all we have to do is lay it down here right across that joint.

Then, I drill pilot holes with a self-centering bit and put in the screws. I’m careful not to over tighten the tiny fasteners and strip out the threads.

Okay, piano hinge is on. Take the clamps off. And put this back up on the bench and open it up and see what our train box looks like. Pretty nice, huh? Now what I want to do is take some of the train pieces and just kind of lay these in here to get some idea of how I might want to arrange the storage compartments.

RON HAZELTON:
Electric trains are a holiday tradition and today we’re creating a storage box that will last for decades and hopefully become a treasured heirloom. The outer case is done, now it’s time to customize the interior.

Now what I want to do is create some compartments in here into which we'll put each of these individual cars. And the compartments are to keep them from banging against each other and also to protect them.

So I want to use sort of a cushion material. And something that's easy to work with. And I've settled on this. This is rigid foam insulation. You can find this at any home improvement center. It's really inexpensive and very easy to work with. Let me show you. For example, I'm gonna need several strips that are about 3 inches wide. So all I'm gonna do is just mark these. Want to use a really sharp blade for this.

Make just a couple of passes. And then once I've scored the surface like that, just break it in half. It gives you a nice clean edge. Couldn't be easier to cut. So I'm gonna go ahead and - and shape a couple of more of these.

Now this is the adhesive I'm gonna use to put this down. It's designed for foam board. Should work really well. And we'll start by kind of outlining this section right here with these strips. And I think the best pattern is kind of a serpentine pattern like that.

Then we'll just drop this in.

Now in order to make this foam more durable to give our train some added protection and to make this whole case look more attractive, I'm going to line these compartments with some felt.
[What Child Is This?]
Now this is white glue that I've thinned down with a little bit of water. I'm just gonna brush this on the inside of the compartment.
[MUSIC]
These panels, made from the same bead board as the case sides, will keep the train and accessories snug in their compartments as the box is closed. The panels are held in place with small squares of Velcro. And, there’s plenty of extra space for storing additional pieces that will surely join the set in holiday seasons to come.
{Jingle Bells}

Well I guess it’s the end of line for my old train set but the new one, well it’s just leaving the station. All aboard!!

Here's a custom made case for that special train set that comes out for holidays and celebrations.

While I was up in my attic looking for Christmas tree lights, I ran across my childhood train set and came up with a holiday idea. I decided to revive an old family tradition by building a special holiday train storage box that unfolds into a train platform. When the holidays are over, the train cars and track go back inside safe and sound, all ready for the next holiday season or specail occassion.

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25Project Comments

We welcome your ideas and suggestions. Read through comments from other readers or leave your own.

What a great project.

Tom

Jan 3, at 4:06pm

Would love to have written directions.
Please!

Kathy

Dec 29, at 9:30pm

Ron the train storage case looks great do you have writen plans for this project? I would love to get a copy!!!

Mark

Dec 28, at 1:49am

Great project. I am going to show this to one of my brothers. This will be a great father & son project.

joe toth jr.

Dec 22, at 6:00pm

Hello Ron and Happy Holidays to you. Would you have written plans for the Electric Train Storage case. Thanks

Phil

Dec 20, at 12:02pm

I enjoy receiving your emails. like I used to enjoy your television show, time warner cable does not have it. I enjoy you videos especially this one with the train set I look forward to many more, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your family

Paul Brown

Dec 19, at 3:06pm

What a neat idea to use the storage box as the support for the tree and the train. It’s great that you are keeping the tradition of a train under the tree and passing it along. I am a long time collector of Lionel trains and like to see more people putting trains under the tree and keeping this hobby alive. The only problem I have is that I would need about 30 to 40 of these storage boxes to house my collection, but it is a great idea that I will consider for my Christmas train!

Rock

Dec 19, at 2:55am

Kind a neat…

Russell Darrow

Dec 18, at 10:44pm

Great idea == It’s even something that I can do. Thanks Ron, for a wood project that I can do.

Have a Happy Holiday season !!

Carole3

Carole Ann Beers

Dec 18, at 6:48pm

Nice idea for a treasured train set. What type of insulation is in your attic? I couldn’t see any. It must have been too dark to be seen. Love your show.

Jeanne

Dec 18, at 6:22pm

Thanks Ron, it looks good. I had been thinking of digging the old train out. Maybe I’ll be ready for next Christmas now that I have some inspiration!

Warren Rudd

Dec 18, at 4:36pm

Nice Ron.

My first train was given to in about 1945/46 and I still have it, as well as the original box - memories!

bob marconi

Dec 18, at 3:07pm

Some great ideas for storing treasured items. I love making the customized compartments with the rigid foam and then covering them with felt. Very classy, and can be used on a number of projects. Thanks for a very smart storage project.

Kevin H

Dec 18, at 2:51pm

This is great and I can see how it would mean getting the trains out more often and getting more use out of them. My son and I are going to take this one step further. Imagine building two more box sections and mounting them to the outside of what Ron built with latches like he used to hold the box closed. Cover the outside of the primary box with felt or whatever you want, and mount the track permanently on the beadboard. You can also mount accessories. When the secondary boxes are attached, they cover and protect the track and accessories. You just need to make these secondary boxes deep enough to work with whatever you have permanently mounted. To use the setup, removed the outer boxes and open the main box. Now you just need to hook up your transformer and you’re ready to go - no time assembling the track is needed. We also plan to run the wires (like for track switches or lights) through board where the track is mounted and inside the storage area of the box so they are hidden. Yes, the box will be bigger to store, but it will save a lot of setup time whenever we want to use the train.

Dec 18, at 1:54pm

What a great idea. This storage box can have many uses. Thanks for leading us through the process of building it.

Raymond Pflanzer

Dec 18, at 12:13pm

I actually won a nice set from Lionel a couple years back and have been considering a project like this.Thanks,Ron and Happy Holidays to all!

Clark

Dec 18, at 11:50am

I have 42 HO engines, and almost 300 rolling stock..and almost an actual mile of track
O scale, I have enough track to fill your box….( yes I am bragging)

I bought the peg board and other supplies to build travel boxes for my trains but the project was put on hold when my basement flooded due to a failed sump pump, and I had to dismantle my “in progress” layout to replace the laminate floor, but now I have the time( since I am laid off) and this has motivated me to get the job done.
Thanks for the kick in the pants…
Merry Christmas

jefrey

Dec 18, at 11:49am

Wonderful idea, and not just for trains! I have some antique ornaments that need protection. And this idea can also be adapted to make some underbed storage containers. Thanks again Ron! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

Mary H.

Dec 18, at 11:14am

@RON - Sorry to hear that you had trouble viewing the video. I watched on my six-year-old system and took it to full-screen; it was like watchin’ TV! If you haven’t already done so, seek out a punk kid computer geek and get him/her to check out your system. You might only need some inexpensive RAM, could need to get rid of junk software processes running in the background, larger Windows swap file setting, updated video driver, etc.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s why you want to get the punk kid computer geek. Hope you get things worked out!

Pappy

Dec 18, at 9:14am

Neat Idea but keep the old Lionel Set.

DAVID GRAHAM

Dec 18, at 9:12am

Great idea, Extra space for my other trains. Have a merry Christmas.

Richard Kanuck

Dec 18, at 9:03am

Love all your how to videos and tips and tricks Ron. Especially this one. Thanks for taking the time to make them. And Merry Christmas to you and all of yours.

But if I had one complaint, it took like 20 minutes to watch this video because it was constantly buffering. It’d buffer, get done buffering, play a couple seconds and buffer again. It did this throughout the entire video. And all the videos do this which is why I only watch the ones that really interest me. And yes, I have broadband.

But still, great video and again, THANK YOU.

Ron

Dec 18, at 2:43am

I have a train set that was my dad’s from the ‘40’s my youngest son who is 24 and I are going to build this new years weekend….OUTSTANDING….much better than the old cardboard box!!

chris

Dec 18, at 2:16am

I haven’t built this yet, but have two train sets that need some protection. I have been thinking of how to go about this and your ideas are pretty straight forward.
Now that my boys are 17 and 25, they don’t play with the set very much at their Grandmother’s house, so this idea will keep it safe for their children.
Thanks.

John

Dec 3, at 3:11pm

Been waiting for this but 2 problems… Video link broken and dimensions????
Some say it is dumb but I like the Idea. I have a unit that is ONLY for Christmas season and want it protectd the rest of the year.

Andy

Oct 23, at 7:43am

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