Rail vehicle maintenance facilities: F or S?

[Not Norman]

So, repair shops are normally placed into Group F by the IBC (306.1) and considered industrial uses by the LSC (6.1.12.1); however, this is complicated by the fact the IBC puts automotive repair shops (311.2.2) and aircraft servicing hangars (311.2.1) into Group S-1 (even though the LSC considers them to be industrial uses as per 40.6 for aircraft and 42.8.1.2 for automobiles). However, neither the IBC nor the LSC have language for facilities where rail-related vehicles are maintained, whether they be dubbed roundhouses, diesel shops, car shops, car barns, or VMFs. Practically speaking, the two facilities I've been able to find use group info for (Sound Transit OMF East in Bellevue and the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland) were both permitted as S-1 by jurisdictions that exclusively use IBC-derived codes, but while a logical conclusion, I haven't been able to find any hard evidence that this is the _correct_ answer (vs. F-1). So, is there more solid justification out there for the reasoning-by-analogy that the AHJs and designers in question seem to be using, or is there some solid reason for the IBC to put a facility where rail vehicles are serviced and repaired (such as LRVs, locomotives, or coaching stock) into F-1 when the same size building with an airplane being worked on in it would be a S-1 use?


Furthermore, the ORHC is open to the public as a working museum, combining exhibition and maintenance. I know a building like the California State Rail Museum's main haill, full of stuffed and mounted equipment and other static displays would be an A-3 assembly (IBC 303.4, LSC 6.1.2.1) just like an art museum would, but how would being open to the public on a regular scheduled basis for exhibition and display change the use group calculus for a facility where rail vehicle maintenance is performed?

 

[Not Norman]

(P.S. NFPA 130 does not include yard and shop areas within its scope, just revenue service trainways and stations.)

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

My immediate thought was F-1.

I spent seven years as Special Inspections Coordinator on the construction of a major railroad repair shop, but I don't remember what the occupancy classification was for the shops, and I no longer have access to the construction documents.

There's a LOT more heavy equipment -- including massive overhead cranes -- in a railroad repair shop than you'll find in an aircraft hanger. IMHO, it would not be appropriate to classify a railroad repair shop as S-1.