September MT Releases:

[martin station]

  Good to know the MTL people are ok. After looking at some of the photos of the distruction left by the fire it will probably take years for these people and their communities to recover. The wife and I donated to a disaster relief fund through our church to help with peoples immediate needs because a lot of these people have lost just about everything they had. And if dealing with the virus was not enough already.
Ralph

[Smike]

MT posted this on their Facebook page:

“ Micro-Trains is grateful to the First Responders who worked to save as much as possible during the recent sweeping fire to our region.. We are thankful that the factory and contents survived. Our hearts go out to our community, neighbors and our employees who have suffered devastating loss including homes and all the contents. Due to no power or water in Talent we are temporarily closed. We will keep you updated.”


Given what appears to be heavy damage to basic infrastructure it maybe a while before they get going, and when they do it maybe hard to staff if folks have unfortunately lost their homes who work there.  One of the harder aspects of a widespread fire in these small communities is there typically isn’t any available temp housing, so folks are forced to relocate. Hopefully folks can get to help they need fast to get back on their feet.

[nkalanaga]

"One of the harder aspects of a widespread fire in these small communities is there typically isn’t any available temp housing"

I wonder if anyone has studied building temporary housing in shipping containers?  I grew up in a 36x8 trailer, which today would be an RV, but was enough for two adults and two pre-teen children.  The same thing could be put in a container, with sewage holding tanks in the extra four feet if needed.  Stockpile a few thousand of these, and when a disaster hits, load a trainfull and ship them out.  Being a standard container, they could go by train, truck, ship, or almost any other means, anywhere in the country, or the world.

Mass-produce the interiors, and it would be cheaper than providing tents, and all of the heating/cooking/food storage/etc needed to make them livable.

[Maletrain]

I would think that ventilation and or air conditioning would be a real issue for stock containers.

Why wouldn't it be just as inexpensive to provide house "trailers"?  I think that is what FEMA actually does in hurricane recovery areas.  I remember some being defective due to cheap insulation out-gassing toxic chemicals. 

But, the real problems are often infrastructure to support residences: electricity, water, sanitation.  Generators and portapotties can help, but water can be hard to come by in some areas.  Bottled works for drinking, but washing dishes, taking baths, etc., can be a real problem if all you can get is bottled water or polluted water. 

Having spent weeks away from shore on sailboats and weeks backpacking off-trail, I know what little I can get by with, personally .  But, add a few small children and the needs go up dramatically.

[nkalanaga]

Ventilation wouldn't be a problem.  One doesn't have to stack the containers when in use, only for storage.  Any flat ground can hold them, just like a trailer or RV park.  The NP (BN) had, and NS has, similar modular housing on flatcars for track gangs.  Theirs are 10 feet wide, to fit the flatcar, but the width is optional. 

Trailers would work, but with permanent wheels, they'd require more room to store, and be more expensive to build, besides requiring that the tires be checked regularly.   Containers are designed to be transported by almost any means, and lifted and set down, so are also more durable.

[thomasjmdavis]

Gentlemen,
What you are talking about already exists (at least in the form of mobile homes), I think the issue is that the number available are not sufficient for a summer where "named" hurricanes/storms on the east and gulf coasts are up to "Sally", there was major flooding in the upper Midwest that burst dams and substantially destroyed several Michigan towns, and what may prove to be the worst fire season on record in the West.

It also takes a while- water mains, gas lines, sewers, electric service etc, need to be restored, even for temporary housing.  But here is what they've done in some areas devastated over the past few years.

https://www.mluservices.com/fema-temporary-housing-communities

[cfritschle]

While most of these shipping containers that have been converted to homes are a lot fancier than what would be needed for emergency housing, they do demonstrate that the concept is practical.  https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk03kjzM7cql0hsMXyHu5CmlaiDfyxg:1600094671252&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=shipping+container+homes&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHpvKT8ejrAhWRqZ4KHQMjDJMQ7Al6BAgJEHA

The ones where a window is installed in the door opening, but the doors remain attached and could be closed, would probably work best for emergency housing.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Well I have a bit of experience in Emergency Management and can tell you for a fact that FEMA does have portable housing units (both  trailers and tent-like buildings) that can be deployed to disaster areas.

Sentence deleted.  No politics, please -gfh

[nkalanaga]

Carter:  That's basically what I had in mind.  Not a "home", that someone would want to stay in permanently, but basically an RV in a package that could be stacked for storage, then quickly shipped wherever needed.  Power by extension cords for a central generator, water from hoses, sewage holding tank with a pumper truck.  Build a town in a big-box parking lot, even if the big-box has been blown away.

Daniel:  Yes, and they do a good job, this is just another idea for somewhat more durable housing.  Tents tend not to do well in rough weather, and most trailers aren't as solidly built as a sea container.

[cfritschle]

Carter:  That's basically what I had in mind.  Not a "home", that someone would want to stay in permanently, but basically an RV in a package that could be stacked for storage, then quickly shipped wherever needed.  Power by extension cords for a central generator, water from hoses, sewage holding tank with a pumper truck.  Build a town in a big-box parking lot, even if the big-box has been blown away.

Daniel:  Yes, and they do a good job, this is just another idea for somewhat more durable housing.  Tents tend not to do well in rough weather, and most trailers aren't as solidly built as a sea container.

This one even has a solar panel and wind turbine with batteries for power, and a 300 gallon potable water storage tank.  All that is needed is tank to collect the sewage so it could be hauled away.  https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/2020/01/27/farmington-chiropractor-shipping-container-house-prototype-kirtland/4558694002/

I might have to convert one of my "obsolete" N scale containers into one of these.   

[JoeD]

The damage here is unbelievable and the estimates of how many people will just abandon their property his very high.  Fema just got us categorized so we will get some federal aid to get the infrastructure here and possibly some temporary housing.  It will have to be staged...I don't know where frankly, not much flat land here and most everything is so f-d up I doubt anyone can live on it till all the debris is moved and new top soil to bury it all.  We had a lot of older housing and I suspect Asbestos will be a concern...well it is right now as we are being warned to wear breathing protection when out and about.  We are expecting Rain on Friday and Saturday but lightning storms on Thursday.  That's generally how we burn down every year so keep your fingers crossed.  We are more likely to get the lighting than the rain if history is any measure.  It's been cool because the smoke is so thick no sun is getting thru.  We are ok, folks are starting to trickle back and a number of us have been coming in when the plant was shut to pack orders and drive them out to a receiving area that will take our mail...so please be patient.  6 folks lost everything, only clothes on their backs everything as this was a fast moving fire storm.   What ever schedule we had will be altered I suspect.   I've been through war, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and a flood or two but this is a whole new level of ******** hurt. 

Thanks for all the kind emails and concerns directed our way.

Joe

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks for the update, Joe. Anything that I might want to say to try to ease the pain just seems silly and inadequate.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your colleagues...
Otto

[nkalanaga]

Joe:  Seriously, I wouldn't expect to see any decorated cars for several months.  If the plant is in good shape, keeping the truck and coupler pipeline full will probably be a full-time job, especially with possibly limited staffing at times.

If you can get back to full production sooner, great, but I wouldn't count on it. 

Our plant (auto parts) is still recovering from an April/May COVID-19 shutdown, and we didn't lose anything or anybody.  what we did lose was people who couldn't, or didn't come back, and had to be replaced, as well as a lot of suppliers that are still not back to full production.  We may be able to run, but without raw materials, or components, the line sits idle.  In your case, I suspect that your incoming deliveries will be disrupted for a while.

[JoeD]

Joe:  Seriously, I wouldn't expect to see any decorated cars for several months.  If the plant is in good shape, keeping the truck and coupler pipeline full will probably be a full-time job, especially with possibly limited staffing at times.

If you can get back to full production sooner, great, but I wouldn't count on it. 

Our plant (auto parts) is still recovering from an April/May COVID-19 shutdown, and we didn't lose anything or anybody.  what we did lose was people who couldn't, or didn't come back, and had to be replaced, as well as a lot of suppliers that are still not back to full production.  We may be able to run, but without raw materials, or components, the line sits idle.  In your case, I suspect that your incoming deliveries will be disrupted for a while.

Thank you very much.