A new Bank

Way back last century Model Railroader published an article on building a bank.


In that same century, I built a model based on that article, making some changes to make it easier to build.


Thanks to Richard Smith, I got a copy of that article and set about using it as a basis for a 1:20 model.
The prototype is in Hempstead, New York.


I decided that I liked the changes I had made last century when I made my original model.   I wanted something that looked like a bank, but the prototype was a little too fancy.   So, I ditched the fancy railing on the top, and the massive rectangular columns on either end.

I started thinking of how I might want to build this.   I really enjoyed building my textile mill with acrylic, so an acrylic based was a given.   I first thought about using acrylic columns, but Jean suggested I head over to Michaels and check the cake decoration section.   There I found some neat columns that were 7" high and would be just perfect.   Not only that, they were cheap - 4 for under $5!

I drew up a plan in TurboCAD and used the pictures of the columns to see how they might work.


Pleased with that look, I put in a call to Russ Miller at TAP Plastics.   We spent a short time talking about what I needed and spent more time discussing all sorts of issues with railroads outside.