Signage at Trout Brook and Elsewhere

[Graham Buxton]

The turn table site will be a curious site for all that pass by for a long time.

That seems like an opportunity to place an informative sign display board with some information about what & why about the museum and directing the curious to our Sheepscot site (and to www.wwfry.org)* for more info. 


*maybe even put a  QR code on the sign that resolves to the WW&F website! 

[Jeff Schumaker]

The turn table site will be a curious site for all that pass by for a long time.

That seems like an opportunity to place an informative sign display board with some information about what & why about the museum and directing the curious to our Sheepscot site (and to www.wwfry.org)* for more info. 


*maybe even put a  QR code on the sign that resolves to the WW&F website! 

I was thinking the same thing, but aren't we limitied to the number of signs we can have, due to state regulations?

Jeff S.

[James Patten]

The State limitation you're thinking about is with Official Business Directional Signs (OBDS), those blue-and-white reflective signs that you see on the highway. 

Any sign we put there would be subject to Alna's sign ordinance - which is somewhat restrictive as to size.  Think the size of one at Sheepscot is the max size.

[Bill Reidy]

For reference, a photo of the Cross Road museum sign at Sheepscot to show its size.

[John McNamara]

For reference, a photo of the Cross Road museum sign at Sheepscot to show its size.

That seems appropriate. It answers the question of "what's this?" and directs people where to go to find the answer. There's no need for gaudy flashing lights.

[Jeff Schumaker]

How about something like this?

             CURIOUS?

     Turn Right at Cross Rd.

       WW&F Ry. Museum


We could have a life size cutout of Fred next to it.
Jeff S.

[Stephen Piwowarski]

Burma shave anyone?

In all seriousness, the town of Alna does have some sign ordinances which place a limit on business signs to 12 square feet. I don’t know if there is a limit on quantity, location or information regarding other forms of signage.

I will check the ordinance later.

At Sheepscot a new ‘welcome/entrance’ sign by the parking lot entrance will be made this year. It will be double-sides and to the full dimensions allowable by that code.

Steve

[John Kokas]

Does the ordinance specifically say "business" signs?  How would they address an "Educational/Historic" sign ?  If the sign is designed to address the historic and purpose of the RR does it really qualify as business ?

[Graham Buxton]

With a possibly smaller size sign, adding a QR code could allow those reading the sign to use their smartphone to get more information than can be displayed on the sign.    So as a demonstration, here are two sample codes: 

WW&F Home page:



The QR code above takes one directly to the WW&F home page, so is useful, but the home page is somewhat generic for a sign located at Hwy #218.  But QR codes are not limited to just a homepage, there could be a QR code on the Hwy #218 sign that redirects  to a specific page within the WW&F site.  As an example of this concept, I prepared a second QR code below that redirects directly to the WW&F "Volunteering" page:


WW&F "Volunteering" page:


Those QR codes are 'live', and work fine with my Android phone, so  you could try scanning them with your phone and they should take you to their respective web page.

I used the "Volunteering" page because is was handy, but there could be a page more specific to the Mountain Extension, or if desired on a sign at a different location, any other WW&F webpage.

[Stephen Piwowarski]

D. Permanent signs shall conform to the following criteria:
1. Directional signs shall be limited to three square feet and shall not exceed six in number.
2. Freestanding signs relating to goods and/or services sold on the premises shall not exceed twelve square feet in area, per sign, and shall be limited to two signs, which may be two-sided.
3. Temporary signs (garage sales, etc.) shall be permitted for seventy-two hours only.
4. All existing signs are grandfathered, as long as they conform to State Law.

[Bill Baskerville]

Adding a QR code is great.  I scanned the two above with my I-phone and they took me directly to the proper page.  We could come up with a QR code link to explain the turntable at the north end of track.  Or, for that matter, add one at Sheepscot to take visitors to the schedule link.  They can be added to displays attached to cars in the car barn or so many other places.

What a great idea....

[John Kokas]

I would suggest a separate QR code thread as the discussion is getting very interesting.  From an educational standpoint, how about a QR code based walking tour of the museum.  We could link various buildings, equipment, etc. to web files with an audio/video experience on the topic being queried.  Kind of like having a virtual docent.  Would be great for school trips.

[Stephen Piwowarski]

QR code’s themselves would upset the authentic/historic appearance around the railroad, however(!) I think they are a really great way of sharing information, especially on the museum campus.
I could see having a lot of fun with a QR code scavenger hunt of sorts where QR codes are strategically hidden out of plain sight but in interesting places that encourage further exploration and inquiry.
A small problem at Trout Brook is that I don’t believe their is signal for any provider there, so a QR code could not redirect (at least immediately) to a new page.

[Bill Baskerville]

Perhaps we can find a clever way to "hide" the QR codes.  A simple way would be under a small (2"x2") black rubber square tacked to various places, like the center side or each end of the Sheepscot turn table.  This would not show up in a picture or when scanning the area.  But if one was aware of their presence and was looking for them, they would be easy to spot. 

They would be a great way to provide more information about our collection and our activities without marring our campus or equipment.

[Graham Buxton]

A small problem at Trout Brook is that I don’t believe their is signal for any provider there, so a QR code could not redirect (at least immediately) to a new page.

With a bit of ingenuity  the [lack of] connectivity at Hwy #218 could be addressed in the immediate area of the sign.

A 'local' wifi system from  something like a Raspberry Pi (a small single board computer including wifi) running off solar&battery could serve up a cloned copy of a WW&F web page. 

If the stored page needed updating, someone would need to physically go to the Pi to update it, but that doesn't seem like a big problem.