Car shop Interior (Lots of Pictures)

[Mike Fox]

Because of the design of the original building, a floor can not be poured in Bay 2 or 3. Well, I shound't say can not. I should say it would take a lot to pour a floor for the existing bay 2 and 3. The posts were tied together at the base by means of 2x6's or larger running under the tracks between posts. Pouring cement over those would level the floor up but that would be the weak spot.
   I thought about raised walkways this weekend. Like the one from the stairs in Bay 2. I thought about building one down the west wall of Bay 3 after the rail is raised to ease walking between the Machine shop and the new extension. I can see a lot of foot traffic going between the two locations and this may help a little with footing.
 

[Bill Sample]

A raised walkway also would make it easier to hand-truck heavier items around the building now that it's getting so big!
Someone probably already thought of this, but regarding heat having a ceiling fan or two might help push the heat back down where it will do some good.
If a woodworking shop goes upstairs, maybe a trap door and a pulley might be in order rather than just the stairway.

[Dave Buczkowski]

We want to make sure we avoid this kind of problem in the new space:
http://www.ihasaids.com/upload/data/1234908717.gif

[John McNamara]

Welcome to Home Depot!

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

I think there lots of choices.  We could use concrete if we built expansion joints over the sub joists, they could be made of wood or rubber.  Another possiblity is to make a walkway between the west rail and wall of bay three using asphalt.  It works well but is not prototypical.  I like the wood walkway idea but wood warps and gets slippery when wet. 

Originally we wanted to lay in a brick floor.  It would look great and be good solid footing but is expensive.  Another option is to spread more stone, Steve Z. and I built up the floor in the former kitchen area of bay one with small stone.  It made walking easier because we filled up to the railhead.  Of course some of the old shops had wood block floors.  The blocks were set on end, good for walking, bolting down machinery and moving heavy equipment.

[Wayne Laepple]

The roundhouse at the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer, NC, has a fake wood block floor made with fiberglass cast blocks. That might be a solution for us. I was in the roundhouse before it was done, when the real woods blocks were still on parts of the floor, and I can tell you, you wouldn't know the replacements aren't real wood unless you got down on your hands and knees.

[John McNamara]

....a fake wood block floor made with fiberglass cast blocks. That might be a solution for us......

In addition to the usual four-letter words that you will rarely, if ever, hear around the WW&F Museum, there are two more: "fake" and "weld". 

[Wayne Laepple]

A woodworking shop upstairs makes perfect sense. As for things too big to get up the steps -- just open the window at the end and pass them in! Seriously, though, what parts of any cars we might want to build would be too big? The center and side sills are about the largest pieces, and they are spliced, aren't they?

[Wayne Laepple]

I'd also point out the long-range problem of pouring concrete over wooden ties. Eventually, even treated ties will rot and the floor will begin to fail. The trolley tracks in the street outside my office were removed in 1939, and recently the street has come to resemble a washboard as the ties under the several layers of pavement have crumbled. Perhaps a better solution would be to fill the devil strip between Bay 2 and 3 with screenings, which will eventually pack down and become almost as hard as concrete.

[James Patten]

The too big pieces I was talking about were mainly the sills.  Most of our sills are whole, only two or three sills on the boxcar were spliced, because we wanted to keep as much original wood as possible.

Mike, I was thinking about the exact same idea with a raised wooden walkway.

[Mike Fox]

Yes, we talked about the floor Saturday. Fred called it a Mouse way or something like that.

[Ken Fleming]

Wayne is correct.  The use of screening (the fines at remain after rock crushing) and packing it down is close to concrete.  We could rent a small roller and a compactor (tamper) to do the job.

[Stephen Hussar]

That sounds perfect for in there...

[Keith Taylor]

Walking on even fine stone can be a problem for the handicapped. I miss seeing a lot of what is being accomplished at the museum because I am unable to walk on the irregular surfaces. It may mean barring access to some areas to comply with the Americans with disabilities act. Wheel chairs certainly don't like stone, but even folks with leg braces take a risk walking on the uneven surfaces of stone and gravel.
Part of the museum's mission is education. What message does it send to a school group if only some of them are invited to watch a restoration in progress? And those with disabilities are once again left out in the cold......
Keith

[Dave Buczkowski]

Keith;
Your point is well taken. When we did the Long Range Plan there was a lot of discussion and consensus that we needed to make as much of the Museum as possible accessable to physically challenged visitors (and members). It's good to be reminded of this every now and then. As I write this I am hobbling around on my left foot due to a fall last night so I am acutely aware of this issue. I think anything that is done in Bays 1-3 will be an improvement over what we have now but before anything is done consideration needs to be made about access.
Dave