November 2017 Work Planning

[Bill Baskerville]

My understanding is that the Prebles Flag Stop building, shown in the background of the above picture, is no longer planned to be used as the electrical distribution house.  Where will it now be located?

[Dwight Winkley]

Prebles will stay where it is now located. Visitors for special events go to this Ticket window to get their boarding pass for the next train North. Track 1 (or A) at Sheepscott Station or Track 2 ( or B) beside the Car Barn.  The ticket agents do have heat, but not much with the window (upper half of the door) open all the time.

[Mike Fox]

Work done on Saturday Nov 25:


* Yard cleanup (above): Mike and Fred's Excellent Tractor Adventures

Did Mike and Fred take turns running the tractor ???

Yes. I got a good start, and Fred decided to spell me so I could bulldoze..

[Paul Uhland]

How about moving  the "ticket office" to a more convenient place half way between loading tracks, and paint it, eliminating its grungy look? Ewww.
Mike's right..spending money to visit a junky-looking place doesn't turn me on.

[Mike Fox]

Not quite how I put it. We will be putting more effort into organizing our storage habbits. I have a plan, but am not sure how much can be accomplished this year.
The big problems have been dealt with already, to make room for the bridge.

[Jason M Lamontagne]

Prebles is sided in un-treated cedar shingles because that’s how the original Prebles is finished.  Part of the charm of the narrow gauge.

Prebles may move to another location, to serve as a flag stop, as we’ve discussed a few options.  We’ll need an alternate solution to issuing tickets for events, however, as Preble’s current use for that purpose is a critical piece of reducing overcrowding (and increasing safety) in the freight shed during those times.

See ya
Jason

[Bill Baskerville]

Just thoughts off the top of my balding head, would expanding the planned electrical distribution house with two small unconnected rooms with two independent outside doors be an option?  A small room for ticket sales add a larger room for the electrical panels. 

Alternatively two rooms with one outside door into the small ticket space with an interior door into the larger electrical room.  It could be designed with a dutch door for summer events and the dutch door could have a small sales window for the winter events to keep more of the heat in.  A variation could be a full door with a dedicated sales window like at movie houses.

[John McNamara]

Bill's idea is an excellent step toward making the electrical distribution building an ambience inhancement rather than just a functional one.
-John

[Dave Crow]

I'm sure Josh Recave will be able to determine the minimum size required for the electrical distribution building, based on the National Electrical Code's minimum access requirements in front of the equipment.  If the panels or other gear have rear access then the Code has clearance requirements as well; you're talking at least 3 feet in front of the equipment at a minimum.  And... nothing can be stored in the access space in front of the equipment.

Just my two cents.

Dave Crow

[Bill Baskerville]

Dave is correct and Josh clearly knows his stuff.  The distance required for clear space in front of panels (there is a width requirement also) is a function of the voltage contained within the panel.  The higher the voltage, the greater the distance. 

Having a separate 'room' for the electrical panels allows a limited key access to that space to keep storage items from infringing into that space.  Think clean up after a big event with a rain coming... "Lets just put it in here until we can put it away later." is how clear space attracts clutter.  Stuff abhors an empty floor or clean bench surface.

Once Josh defines the space he needs we can look at one wall to see how much length or width to add for our "ticket window".  Keep in mind that a small roof extension over the "ticket window" will be a boon on damp or snowy days.

Alternatively, the two outside door option would probably be a better option.  This would allow the 'ticket agents' to use their space as they wish with out fear of their "inadvertently" putting stuff (see above reference to how 'stuff' moves around) in front of of the 'seldom used' door to the electrical room.

Just food for thought that may have already been considered.

[Jeff Schumaker]

I'm trying to picture where the Prebles flagstop is currently located, in relationship to the location of the electrical service, but am drawing a blank.

Jeff S.

[Wayne Laepple]

Well, let me comment on this, based on a space in an auxiliary building at my other place, the Railroad Museum of Penna. It's an insulated lean-to on our pole barn paint shop. It contains a large air compressor and two transformers. The transformers give off enough residual heat that it keeps the entire space (about 8 X 16 feet) above freezing except during the coldest periods.

That said, I wonder if a structure housing the electrical gear at one end, separated from the rest of the space by a wire mesh wall with a locked gate, would do the trick. After all, we're talking about a relatively small space required for ticket sales that will only be used half a dozen times annually, and only once or twice during cold weather. And since it's the electrical building, too, some electric heat should be easily arranged.

[Bill Baskerville]

Jeff,

Hi,  , take a look at page 3 of this thread near the bottom and you will see Prebles flagstop near the Cross Road end of the machine shop beyond the gray power feed electrical conduits sticking up out of the ground recently graded by Mike.

Bill

[Mike Fox]

The electrical building will be just that. Electrical. It is designed in such a way the only practical side to add anything to would be the side toward the house, and that is unlikely to happen.

And besides, it really does not want to be any bigger than needed, because of it's location on the south side of the Turntable.

[Ed Lecuyer]

I think the better long(ish) term solution is to convert the Percival House first floor into a Visitor's Center/Giftshop as has been discussed many times. That's where tickets should be purchased every operating day (not just for special events.)

Then use Prebles as a flagstop as it was intended somewhere out on the line.

But until then, it's probably best using Prebles as the ticket window for special events.