This was one of the most interesting places I have ever worked in. I have got to find some of the other pictures. The place had hundreds of panels, this was just one of many. Average sized, I guess. This panel had been mostly re-wired to feed most of a basement stockroom. It was my understanding that the fuses without switches fed outlets and the switched fuses fed lighting circuits, or other hard wired items (PA system cabinet) that would need to be switched off and on daily. The switches are tied to the buss, with the fuse after it. This way, you can change the fuse without a load on it.
Considering the age of the building, and the size of the operation, the wiring was actually pretty impressive. All fuses were sized right, and the wiring was done right. the only thing that made me cringe a little was some really long runs of flexible conduit. all of the systems that I stripped out were wired with 10 awg. wire, and fuses/breakers 20 amps or smaller. IMO, the store must have employed a really good electrician. I ended up also buying the contents of his office, but thats another thing entirely. This was a great project to work on.
-Ben
