Design for the new shed takes shape

With our focus firmly on establishing Oldminster Sidings as our operational base, attention is primarily on how to ensure the new shed design will work best for the railway.

Several key decisions about the new shed were taken at the board meeting on 19th August, following a presentation by Rob Gerrard on the findings of the Oldminster Steering Group (OSG). After investigating a range of options for size, construction method and cost, the OSG reached the following conclusions:

The shed will be of steel frame and clad or block and steel construction, with a fibre cement roof. Although a steel clad roof might be affordable, it can pose potential problems with condensation. Doors, walls and concrete floors will be provided. The design baseline includes a 24m x 6m Machine Shop with reinforced concrete floor. If the detailed design shows not all this space is needed, the additional space might be available for an office/ meeting room. Otherwise, the baseline is for office/meeting room/ amenities to be housed in separate structures: containers, portacabin or possibly converted rolling stock.

In support of the work of the OSG, Graham Sturgess, in conjunction with a separate working group, has produced a report with detailed requirements for the new Shed. These cover the Machine shop, Woodworking, Erecting Shop, storage, scrap processing, welfare and administration facilities. The objective is to provide a similar level of capability to the current Shed.

The Board unanimously approved the OSG’s report recommendations, so now detail designs will be drawn up for the planning application. The overall cost of the shed is estimated to be around £150k and an extensive fundraising campaign is now required.