Let's suppose a growing railway museum has made it through the "bare survival" stage. They've got a rail line, they've got land, and they're thinking about a restoration shop. To simplify life, let's say "not steam" and not electric traction either.

What sort of a shop should they start building? How much square footage? How much lineal feet of track in-shop?

What are the worst mistakes they could make in the design of their shop facility? What are the smartest things they could do?

I would say the answer would have to be based on what kind of work the shop was intended to house. A common "approach," if you may call it that, is to build something based on what was available, or seemed affordable at the time, and then cram as much into it as possible. Another approach would be to identify the activities you need the building to accommodate, and then design a facility into which they will fit.

Many industrial buildings are designed to be flexible. They use long-spanning roof structures to eliminate, or minimize interior columns. This makes it easier to reconfigure the equipment inside as needs and technologies change, but it would still be a good idea to try and figure it out before hand. A facility for diesel locomotives would be different from a car shop which would be different from a building meant to house both. There is a Harriman-era car shop in West Oakland that was later converted into a small diesel shop and had been in use for over a century (incidentally, it has been fenced off for a while, and I fear the worse).

In planning a new building, there are a lot of questions that need to be asked (and answered). What kind of equipment will be worked on? What special machinery is involved? How many projects will be underway simultaneously? How many workers? Are bathrooms, lockers, and showers already available on site? How does it fit in with the masterplan? Is public viewing desirable? Would the building serve an interpretive purpose? What is the budget? What is the schedule? ...and so on.

I would recommend that your conjectural organization conduct a project feasibility study. They need to figure out the goals of their organization and balance them against the estimated costs before they can settle on a solution that tries to put them in balance. It is wise to plan ahead. Such a plan should also consider future growth and the possibility that some needs will be unanticipated.

Good luck.

If this is a first building I think the common mistake is to design a storage building that could be used to do car work. Never an effective solution to a shop, but that may be dictated by economics and the condition of equipment.

Track space is probably the least important. I would consider what work is to be done and maybe provide for a single car inside. As time and money permit, track space can be added relatively cheaply as long as the initial plan allows for expansion.

You may need a woodworking shop, air brake shop, truck shop, metal shop, machine shop, welding shop, and in the car bay, a concrete floor and room for scaffolding, car jacks, maybe even a pit and overhead crane.

A forklift, storage, and maintenance area would be nice, along with tool crib, and racked parts and supplies storage.

Do not forget an electric shop with tools and supplies, and pipe fitting capability. Will you need hvac and the ability to service and repair air conditioning?

All of these service areas are best done somewhat separated in concept of work area, and will take up far more space than the car space. A well equipped facility may need these facilities and their scope about the same for one car or six cars.

Painting is another issue, beyond doing small parts on a bench. Glass cutting and glazing, and a finishing room (dust free) might be called for. Today's regulations and coating systems make the possibility of painting a car almost prohibitively expensive, but certainly nice to have.

Are you envisioning a small full time paid staff, or will you need LOTS of empty workbench space to support a moderate to large volunteer workforce?

Bob Kutella

Things I would consider:

An attached, but separate, "clean room" for tools, small parts, air brake work, etc. Shops can become unbelievably dirty over time.

If you plan on jacking heavy equipment, allow for jacking pads. And sufficient overhead space for raising equipment or for working on top of engines/cars.

Sufficient side clearance for scaffolding/ladders.

Overhead crane if you can afford it. If not, consider allowing for one in the future when designing the building. Leave enough open floor space for a forklift to get around. Train stuff is heavy.

We put a shop office across the end of the building, with a "knock-out" section in the concrete floor in case we ever wanted to move the office and extend the track.

If you go with a metal building and think you might want a larger structure someday, talk to your builder about an expandable end wall, which may save you money down the road.

Inspection pit for getting under equipment.

If you plan on repairing more than one piece of equipment at a time, either multiple tracks or a design that allows long term projects to stay out of the way routine maintenance/running repairs.

As noted by Bob Kutella, a shop and a storage barn are two different things. Compromise designs tend to create expensive storage space or inefficient shops.

Visit as many railroads and museums as you can to see for yourself how the other guy did it. Reread the story Howard Pincus wrote about the new RMNE shop.

As much side lighting as possible; overhead lights do you no good when you are under the hood of a locomotive or inside a car.

Give thought to proper ventilation and exhaust fans if you plan to crank engines inside.

Check with your state or local utility to see if there are any grants available for added insulation, "green" building techniques, solar heating systems, etc. Don't overlook basic elements of passive solar design to make the building more comfortable to work in or reduce long term utility expense.

Over time, you will need more and more storage space. Give thought to shelving, racking, etc. Shop people are notorious pack rats. I am constantly terrorizing my shop foreman by threatening to bring in a dumpster. If you don't have an easy way to keep track of inventory, you might as well not have it. I'm amazed how often my guys spend $50 trying to find the $20 part they saved.

I'm thinking one of the rail industry organizations (A.R.E.A.?) had some standard design recommendations for shop buildings, but I don't have my books with me. The state of New York once had the idea of coming up with a "standard" enginehouse for short line railroads and they actually built one, for the Middletown & New Jersey Railroad. It included a 'cold storage' track and an inspection/servicing track with a full width pit. They forgot to include an elevated platform alongside the locomotive, so there was no place to step off an engine except into the pit. The ever parsimonious M&NJ thanked the state for the new shop, decided it was too big to heat, and thereafter used it for storage while keeping the locomotive in a tiny shed by the office.

Alan Maples
Everett Railroad

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And a loading dock....you can't believe the number of shops without a decent loading dock.

Put in air, water and power connections everywhere to eliminate the spaghetti on the floor surrounding every project.

dave

First, identify your financial goal. Can you obtain a loan or will you rely on donations? Will this be long-term project or do you want to get inside as soon as possible? A good budget makes the project go easier. If you can and do borrow money, make sure the "group" realizes that payment of the loan is first and foremost on the books. Some "nice" projects will have to wait.

Second, identify what exactly you wish to do. Does it need to function for all projects, both rail and non-rail, or is just limited to on-track equipment? If it is going to be full-functional, then look at the area you have to work in. If the area is tight, consider a wider building rather than longer. Plan for the future. Jack pads are much easier and cheaper to put in before you pour the floor. Do you need a concrete floor or will stone work, even in the short-term? Will you need "utility posts" in the middle or will extension cords and air hoses work? How about a crane, overhead or jib? What about storage? Heavy items need to be stored for ease of movement. Don't skimp on lighting. Also, remember height. If you jack up equipment, leave enough room. Also, do you need to insulate the ceiling? That matters during the design.

Third, look carefully at what you want to sub-contract out and what your group can do themselves. If you're all volunteer, you may have some fully-qualified people who can, at a minimum, oversee and plan the work. At best, they can do the work, and teach others how do perform these tasks. This construction project can be used as a skills-building project, ultimately to benefit the organization.

Fourth, go out and ask what costs what. At the moment, steel is very, very expensive. Wood, however, is getting cheaper as the housing industries takes a break. Concrete varies in price depending on the time of year and volume.

Fifth, set a timetable. Identify dates you'd like to meet. Say 6-10 months building construction, 3 months track construction, at least a month to "set-up" the shop. Be sure to allow time to get adjusted to the place. And, remind people to treat the building like they own it. Splashed paint on a brand new building isn't something that goes away. Old habits are very, very hard to break with volunteers.

Sixth, use professional people when appropriate. Some people think of barn construction when building a shop. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. And, keep in mind the costs. A professional might not fully understand your goals or fiscal position. Clipped-down rail may be great but standard rail-on-ties may work just as well.

Seventh, don't forget permits. This item can make or break a project. Some areas have very tough codes, both for the building and for the site work. You'll learn about such items as stormwater management, erosion and sedimentation control, grease/oil separation, NPDES permitting, site plan approvals. The building may have to be approved by the state as well as local code reviewers. You are in commercial construction, not residential.

Eighth, be able to adapt as problems crop up. If your excavator hits rock, be prepared to absorb additional costs. If electric service is miles away, be prepared to absorb the cost to run the service. Plan for field changes during construction. Keep a close working relationship with all of your contractors.

My group worked outside for a number of years. When we finally decided to build a shop, we had been thinking for years what we'd like. We also set a goal of what we could afford. We kept as much of the work "in-house" with the site preparation being done by a volunteer who is a heavy equipment operator and a rented machine. We hired a contractor to build the shell of the structure and pour a section for the shop floor. We then built a shop inside the shop, with a general purpose area, a wood shop, and a machine shop. We allowed enough room and supplied enough structure for a second floor. We can store anything and everything on the second floor due to the structural rating we specified. We moved in without the track in place and paid off the loan to actually construct the building. Once that was paid, we took out another loan for the track construction. We purchased enough materials for the work well ahead of time and phased the track construction to allow for realistic time goals. We got lucky and were able to obtain some equipment for bargain-basement prices that really helped push to project forward (a Burro crane, air track tools and compressor, a rail bender). During the project, we made long over-due improvements with regards to drainage and poorly-built trackage. Over the course of 2 years, we built the track and now are working inside. We all now benefit from the hard work.

Good luck and enjoy the project. Your group will benefit from a well-planned structure.

Rob

The Western Railway Museum has a thee track shop with an inspection pit under one of the tracks.

One is used for long tern restoration projects such as our SN 1005.

The center track and pit is used for running repairs and normally kept clear.

The third track is for short term projects of weeks or months currently we have a PCC on it.

There is a wood working bay of machinery on one side and a metal working bay of machinery across the way.

I believe that they waited too long to install a set of hydraulic lifting jacks which are worth their weight in gold. Get a set that can lift any car in the collection.

An electric not gasoline fork lift is a good idea. The Shop crew is hoping to insulate the roof as it gets way too hot in there in the summer.

We have a crane that lifts motors out of trucks etc.
We send out major motor work such as re-winding etc.

You can't have too many 110 outlets and do not forget some 220s for welding machimes. Make a good amount of power available for the building. A new service will cost a whopper if you have to bring in a whole new service.

The WRM is on both the Federal and State serplus lists. Much of our heavy shop tools lathes, milling tools, a steel sheer, table saw etc came from those sources.

Do not by Craftsman shop tools at your local Sears; they do not have the power neede for railroad projects. DeWalt is a better choice.

Some museums are starting to think of paint booths so they can spray paint indoors.

Good Luck with your project. i am sure there will be plenty to d once you get a building up!

Ted Miles

I'd definately start with an ideal set up that will suit your needs then pare down from there as cirumstances warrant.

Key thing is land. If you already have the land, then you just eliminated a major hurdle. If you are starting from scratch and need some land with rail access, then good luck cause you might have a long search ahead of you.

While I'm on the land subject, certainly finding a friendly railroad to connect to is a challenge. Finding land at a decent price next to that carrier is a challenge as well. Also, because there is a rail next door, don't assume you have access to that rail. Before you sign on the dotted line, get that railroad involved to ensure they are willing to serve your location. This makes me wondering how many industries bought land only to find the railroad didn't want to serve it.

Also, talk to the municipality or controlling government to see if there's any restrictions and what their requirements would be. Take a look at the geography...is the land in a flood plain? Do you want to deal with the potential for floods? Even though it might be in a 500 year flood plain, who knows when your time is up. Also, even if you aren't in a flood plain, anticipate issues such as adequate drainage, overall site access, soil condition, zoning, etc.

Also, doing forget about utilities. Are you needing single or three phase? Is that available? What about water and sewers?

I can't stress getting the controlling government is from the very beginning cause they can make things miserable if you aren't prepared for it.

As far as the building goes, unless you are initmately familiar with buidling construction, I'd recommend hiring someone to throw at least the shell up. It is so much easier, safer, and quicker even though it'll cost you more.

Be careful with building suppliers....not all buildings are produced equally. Talk to building owners. Tour existing buildings. Run your hands across as much materials as possible until you develop a comfort.

Also, just plan for the future. The more flexbility you have the better.

I almost forgot a very important issue: Security. Keep in mind that burglars do hack through the sides of buildings....whether it is steel or concrete block, anticipate the worst. Having a building inside a building....or a steel shipping container for your tools might be worth it. Go with a security system if necessary.

Hope this helps,
Gerald

Interesting that this discussion should come up at this time. The upcoming article notices in Railroad Model Craftsman magazine say that they will be publishing a feature on the various types of shops and shop equipment that EMD designed for the railroads, it will be in their April issue.

MX

Having worked in several museums shops over the years, I would suggest two key points for any shop used for railway work. The first is heating the shop is an important issue. If you are in a climate where heat is needed, you will either heat the shop or close down and limit work during the colder parts of your season. The second is to have enough room to be able to do everything you are planning on doing. Be realistic as to how many projects you can afford to have going on at one time, have enough room around each project to work safely without jerry rigging scaffolding and such.

This may sound counter intuitive, but don't have too much track in the shop. Limiting the track limits the number of projects, and focuses energy on a few locos or cars. Divide the space into short term running repairs and longer term project areas.

If you are working on wooden passenger cars a varnish room is helpful. In all cases a paint area is a frequently ignored need.

I notice no one has mentioned a viewing area.

This comes from not having it and now geting ready to do it. When pouring the concrete, Go the width of the building (or at least 20 feet wider than you track on both sides) and at least the length of your longest car car out from the doors.
This serves several benifits.
1. a soild work area for the work that pops up while longer term projects are tieing up the bays.
2. Makes unloading trucks much easier if you don't have a dock.
3. gives you fresh air shop space. A R.I.P. running repair area.
4. A towmotor doesn't get stuck.
5. Out door pallet shelving for things not weather sensitive.
6. Keeps the shop much cleaner by not tracking in stones and mud from the area.
7. At a future date you can put a roof over it then add walls if you want.
Nucor buildings have the provisions to do this.
8. prevents any spills from soaking into the ground and having the E.P.A. make you dig up your land to insane depths, and then pay to send it to a land fill.
And probally a few more things.

It's been about 10 months since we rolled the first locos and cars into the Thomaston shop and started using it. Some random thoughts and comments about the experience so far:

The translucent panels on the side walls turned out to be a good idea, supplying the shop with plenty of natural light. We've been painting the red structural steel a light gray-- this should have been done on the ground before the steel erecting took place, when it would have been much easier.

We forgot about laying electrical conduits in the subfloor before the concrete pour, so now all the conduit runs are along the perimeter of the building. Having in-floor runs to spots such as each end wall would have made wiring the door motors much easier.

The elevated outside area in the inspection pit has been one of the most useful things in the design. It's allowed us to do a number of tasks that would have been difficult on running gear, both loco and car.

An extra 5 feet between the west wall and the west track would have been nice-- we're not cramped, but a bit more elbow room is always useful. If you can, spread things out. If you can go to 25 foot track centers, do it. In our case, widening the building would have cut the number of yard tracks outside.

The insulation has been great. The building is comfortable during 90+ degree summer days, and has not been really cold this winter. The overhead heat equipment has not been installed yet (still in boxes and we're getting ready to hang the things), and we have had our U23B loco inside on the pit track all winter. It has a standby heating system which keeps the engine at 160 degrees, we keep the hood doors open and have a 132-ton radiator. When it's 25 outside, it's 45 in the shop.

Before you put ANYTHING inside along the walls, put up a "false wall" of steel studs and plywood to protect the insulation. Otherwise, the insulation will be ripped and punctured in short order. Don't use chipboard-- use real plywood, which has the strength to hang things on it. Go with 1/2 or better, best is 3/4 thick. Paint it white, then put the shelving units, work benches, etc up against it. And, put some fiberglass batt insulation behind the liner wall.

Storage shelving and racks are going in; remember that every part you have does not have to be stored in the building. A lot of stuff that gets used once every few years can go into boxcars and keep the clutter in the shop to a minimum (a large minimum!).

The overhead crane installation is about to commence this spring. That crane setup has been revised to be two separate 2000 lb. capacity bridges on one runway over one track, which can be twinned together for a 4000 lb lift if needed. If your budget and design allows for it, a full-width of building crane span would be most desirable (Kelly's comments are right on the mark).

The increase in volunteer productivity, morale and pride has been tremendous. While we still have plenty of interior fitting out to do, the shop building has been one of the best things we've ever done to move the organization along, and it has been paying "dividends" since last April.

It is great to see so many other groups building or about to build new shops; I think this speaks to some longevity and thought for the future of our endeavors.

Howard P.

MP 6, TSY

Jack makes a great point about an outdoor "pad" area. However, in some areas, a paved or concrete area like this triggers "stormwater run-off management" issues, which can rapidly become very expensive and extremely regulation-intensive. Check your local and state codes and EPA-DEP regs before you go and do this.

Howard P.