"I think an AHJ would be well within his rights to reject using separate GFCIs and then trying to claim a single circuit" The NEC describes a multi wire circuit as being a line to neutral load only configuration - then giving exceptions as to what needs to be done to allow line to line loads. Since the NEC doesn't require GFCI protection on a 240 volt circuit, a 240 volt receptacle (or two) could be installed ahead of two 120 volt GFCI receptacles. Either way, the multi wire circuit is defined as one circuit whether the 120 volt loads are two single GFCI receptacles or a combination of other stuff. Once you get passed the disconnect in the building (needs to be a two pole switch) you can split things to your heart's content.

Thanks, brickeyee. I rarely see electrical service equipment indoors in New Orleans. I think it is highly unlikely that the house was ever divided. I suspect that the previous homeowner installed some panels that he had on hand and they might have been used. There are a lot of light fixtures around the property that are probably salvaged. Recall that he was an electrician. I have other indications that he was pretty tight with his money. That, and the fact that he moved towards an all-electric house might explain why he felt he needed two panels. I am sure the original cooking equipment was gas. That was changed to electric in the early 60s. Sometime after that, he replaced the gas water heater with an electric one, and did the same with the dryer. That left only the central heat furnace and decommissioned gas wall heaters. The panels, typically for this region, are pretty corroded. That is the North side of the house under a gable so they are often wet. Even though they are not in great shape, I wont look forward to replacing them soon because there are MANY other things that need doing around the house, roofs, floors, AC,. If I go to the trouble of replacing the panels, I might as well ask the power company to put me on a more conventional system as it would probably save some headache down the line. You cant tell from the low res picture that I put up, but I would rate the age of the components: mast = meter pan The history of power to this house might be interesting. I think I see one spot with some disconnected knob/tube. This house was built before central air, but three-phase might have been added to power an early adopter of that technology. The house next door has three-phase power with an ancient meter that looks like a cabinet with a glass window. At the same time the homeowner was frugal, he enjoyed convenience. So far, I have found 5 switches controlling one garage light. I thought there were 4, but I found the 5th one last week :-) There are 4 switches controlling a hall light. Not unheard of, but unusual in my experience are the split outlets in the living room. A photocell-controlled outdoor spot light is typical, but the same circuit controls a convenience outlet in the BR. All you have to do is remember to turn the lamp on in the morning and a light will come on to greet you if you are not home before dark.

"Consider a multi-gang switch box with multiple circuits feeding into it. It would be easy enough for somebody to pigtail all those neutrals together. It could be this way for a long time and nothing will seem wrong (other than current being carried on the 'wrong' neutral)." This is an issue that I see frequently, and there are still electricians out there that think it's okay to tie all the neutrals together in every box. For example a 3 way that is set up with the line in one box and the load in the other should have that neutral coming from the line side switch connected only to the load, even if the load side box is on the same circuit. If you bundle them all together you now have parallel paths for return current. I see 3 ways done with the line fed into one switch and only a two wire ran for travelers and the neutral picked up at the load side switch box.

I tend to attempt to find all the pitfalls possible in a project. This could, in fact, be pretty easy. There are just too many unknowns to say at this point. "Little town" means different things to different people. A city slicker might feel that a city of 20,000 is a little town. I grew up in a village of 2,000 embedded in a township of double that population so I feel differently. I envision your two buildings each having a residential-size, 200 amp 120/240 service. That would probably be good. If there is one service to both buildings, terrific. What are the real power needs? on line with a typical suburban residence, or is a well pump involved? How about microwave transmitters? Then there is the genset. Is it a portable model on a trailer or meant to be permanently installed? Can the output be switched to different voltages? If the latter, transformers are in place and might be useful for you. It may already have the capability built in to power two or more structures. The instigators of this project appear to be anxious to do it on a low budget. That's great unless they spent too much money on an unsuitable genset already. Maybe you are thinking that you'd be better off buying a couple of inexpensive residential type generators. That could be so. What I do know is this might involve more creativity or experience than a typical residential backup genset installation. If manual transfer is OK you can probably do it for a lot less money. Automatic is always more costly, but it might be just a little more or it could be a lot. That is especially true if you can train the people involved to shed loads manually if they exceed what is available from the genset. Are these buildings close together if on separate services (meters)? That would be positive. If separate services note that I am not a pro, but if the loads are significant, I'd be looking to move all essential circuits to one leg in one service and use one generator leg to power that building provided that only 120 is needed. The other two can be used to power the larger load building. One thing that has to be taken into consideration is exercising the genset. Unlike nat gas powered residential backup gensets, a diesel engine running on conventional liquid fuel needs to be brought up to operating temperature and run for some time to avoid sludge buildup. You probably need a signifiant load to do that. I can't say if you have those conditions with a 100 kVA genset and your buildings.