I really enjoyed the brief on the doings at RMNE. One thing I was curious about-why was the comfort station (restrooms) constructed as a replica of a coach sans trucks? Was that ever the practice on the Naugy? Was the idea of reconstructing the freight station (which was torn down a few years ago, I believe), or building a new freight station, in either case as restroom facilities, ever entertained?

> I really enjoyed the brief on the doings at
> RMNE. One thing I was curious about-why was
> the comfort station (restrooms) constructed
> as a replica of a coach sans trucks? Was
> that ever the practice on the Naugy? Was the
> idea of reconstructing the freight station
> (which was torn down a few years ago, I
> believe), or building a new freight station,
> in either case as restroom facilities, ever
> entertained?

The concept of a separate restroom building at Thomaston originated about 4-5 years ago. The first design was a replica of one of the section houses (handcar & tool house) that once existed at Thomaston. There were a few reasons that didn't work out-- primarily size and number of fixtures. The replica of a grounded coach was put forth, and seemed to be the best solution, combining sufficient fixtures, efficient foot print, and some visual "pizazz". Don Watson also came up with a design for a reconstructed octagonal brick enclosed water tank; the original stood in the spot the Comfort Coach is, until 1935 or so. The cost on that one was way up there--- $250K+++, but he managed to fit the same number of fixtures we have now into that design.

The reason the Comfort Coach is so close to the station, is the water, electrical, etc. all feeds from the station basement. There is a sewer easement just south of the CC, so it either had to be close to the station, or another 100 feet away. Closer is better-- just ask the passengers. The New Haven did use grounded car bodies in various places around the system, so it was not completely an alien idea to our region. At least 2-3 visitors each day ask us where did we get the great old passenger car, so it does "fool some of the people some of the time".

The cost of reconstructing the old freight house would have been much more than the CC. The old building collasped after a very heavy March 1993 snowfall. The remains were picked over for salvageable pieces, and the Thomaston Fire Depatment burned the remains in early Spring 1997. Long-term plans are to put a reconstructed freight house, or possibly a relocated original freght house, on the old site. That "new" building would be museum display space, primarily.


hpincus@mindspring.com

Quite frankly, this is one the best "outside-of-the-box" projects I have seen to date. Kudos to RMNE for really figuring out a way to work out something both historically acurate/interesting as well as watching the budget. In fact, I may suggest a similar idea to some people I know who are working on a marine/ rail project....

TJ

> The concept of a separate restroom building
> at Thomaston originated about 4-5 years ago.
> The first design was a replica of one of the
> section houses (handcar & tool house)
> that once existed at Thomaston. There were a
> few reasons that didn't work out-- primarily
> size and number of fixtures. The replica of
> a grounded coach was put forth, and seemed
> to be the best solution, combining
> sufficient fixtures, efficient foot print,
> and some visual "pizazz". Don
> Watson also came up with a design for a
> reconstructed octagonal brick enclosed water
> tank; the original stood in the spot the
> Comfort Coach is, until 1935 or so. The cost
> on that one was way up there--- $250K+++,
> but he managed to fit the same number of
> fixtures we have now into that design.

> The reason the Comfort Coach is so close to
> the station, is the water, electrical, etc.
> all feeds from the station basement. There
> is a sewer easement just south of the CC, so
> it either had to be close to the station, or
> another 100 feet away. Closer is better--
> just ask the passengers. The New Haven did
> use grounded car bodies in various places
> around the system, so it was not completely
> an alien idea to our region. At least 2-3
> visitors each day ask us where did we get
> the great old passenger car, so it does
> "fool some of the people some of the
> time".

> The cost of reconstructing the old freight
> house would have been much more than the CC.
> The old building collasped after a very
> heavy March 1993 snowfall. The remains were
> picked over for salvageable pieces, and the
> Thomaston Fire Depatment burned the remains
> in early Spring 1997. Long-term plans are to
> put a reconstructed freight house, or
> possibly a relocated original freght house,
> on the old site. That "new"
> building would be museum display space,
> primarily.


[img]http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/imagesRRHX/CarFerries/PMCarferry10atPortHuronDock(PM12inStorage)c.1965[TJGaffney].jpg[/img]
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org