The year is 1963 somewhere in Victoria, Australia

Thank you for your nice comments, Peter and Michael 😊

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 9





The photo on this update may not show much progress compared to the previous one, but there are a few additions to the Bank. First of all the floor is in place. The floor pattern  is - like the facade - modelled from Flinders Street Station, Melbourne.  Whilst the original has a full octagon pattern the bank only received 'a half octagon'. Instead an internal wall will separate the entrance hall from the offices and the vault. The staircase down to the vault is in place. Quite some work went into the stairs, but unfortunately they are not visible from the outside. As a result I have decided only to model the visible interior. It will be a compromise which will save a lot of time and the building may be finished not too long into 2021! The columns above the entrance are made from chicken skewers (after I have eaten the chicken!) and foil from cake cups (again I ate the cake first).
The pavers in front of the building are made from Scalescene prints. The uneven surface resembles the original surface. It will be a challenge to do the steps leading into the Bank. The grey base of the bank is too dark and will be repainted.
The roof is loosely placed on top of the building, which explains the gaps. The base of the roof is bending a bit, but should be flattened with the balustrades in place. The domes will be clad in green copper sheets from Scalescene.

That's looking brilliant Claus - a real work of art.

It already looks good but with those copper domes, it will become the centrepiece of the layout.  Not the sort of building one would expect to find in a town called "Wombat Creek" - more like in some capital city …………. :shock:

Is it built to fit a specific area or did you have some kind of plans of Flinders Street ?

That is coming in leaps and bounds and will look great once complete. 
Is the very English country church behind in keeping with the creek!? 

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

That is coming in leaps and bounds and will look great once complete. 
Is the very English country church behind d fitting the creek!? 

 I guess there could be a few 'Poms' among the founding fathers of Wombat Creek!
 I will try to alter the walls into bluestone walls more appropriate for an Australian church.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

That's looking brilliant Claus - a real work of art.

It already looks good but with those copper domes, it will become the centrepiece of the layout.  Not the sort of building one would expect to find in a town called "Wombat Creek" - more like in some capital city …………. :shock:

Is it built to fit a specific area or did you have some kind of plans of Flinders Street ?

Wombat Creek has some very lucrative gold mines. Among them are 'The Big Nugget Mine' and 'The Small Nugget Mine'. The mines will be part of the third extension of the layout which will include a small narrow gauge railway servicing the mines and local industries like a sawmill (supplying timber props) and an explosives factory.


 All the wealth from the mines has to go somewhere and surely Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange will gain from this. Most of the gold will at some stage end up in the Vault but some has been sold and the money spend on the impressive building. The town's mayor Alfred Campbell happens to be the CEO of the Bank and wants to leave a lasting legacy. Thanks to him we also have Wombat Tramways.


 Right from the very start of Wombat Creek Tramways I have wanted to recreate the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street, Melbourne, with the iconic facade of the station and the tram tracks crossing at a 90 degree angle. Another landmark will be 'City Hatters' next to the steps and 'Young and Jackson' hotel at the other corner.

A great update Claus….. i know how long small details can take but it is really turning out to be a super model of the highest quality.
Michael

New tram for Wombat Creek

A body of a double-decker tram has arrived at Wombat Creek Tramways. It is an old (?) Keil Kraft model with some minor defects.



The only Australian tramways with double-decker trams were the tramways in Hobart, which closed in 1960. It is possible one of the trams found its way to the mainland and Wombat Creek. Most of the Hobart trams had an open upper-deck, but a few were enclosed. He model is un-powered, which is handy since the tram has to be re-gauged from 1067 mm! The trolley pole will also need to be replaced with a bow collector.

So a few 'issues' to deal with, but I didn't expect to win the auction. How much did I pay? $2.00 + postage! A bit of a bargain, I reckon.

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 10





The domes are clad in copper sheets. I still need to add details such as capping along the ridges and decorative features.

The clocks at the entrances are in place. Not quite as the original building in Melbourne. The first attempt was too big and didn't allow enough room for the well-dressed banker to enter without his hat been knocked off. Handrails will be added to the steps aiding the elderly costumers.

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 11
 
 


 Lately I have been working on the interior of the Bank. I have decided only to do the entrance hall and the central banking room. The remaining rooms will not be visible once the building is in place.
Well, the same could be said about the central banking room, as seen in the first photo.






If the roof is removed more details are visible. Of course the bank needs its roof, so the long term solution will be installing a few lights in the ceiling above the tellers. Long time ago I bought a string of 100 micro LEDs from Bunnings. It is a matter of digging them out from storage, cut a few from the string, calculate the need of resistors and install them above the tellers and in the entrance hall. Perhaps a project for the approaching holidays.


 

 

 From now on the attention will be at the roof. The domes aren't finished and balustrades will be placed along the edge of the roof.

12 noon in London apparently! 
That looks fantastic, I really like the detail of the steps merging into the slope. Fantastic modelling.

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 12






I began the construction of the Bank during the lock-down here in Melbourne and have been relying on images I can source from the internet. One image showed some dimensions of the room above the entrance, which made it possible to calculate the width of the model. Another image showed an overall drawing enabling me to calculate the proportions of the building. Unfortunately the second drawing isn't quite true to the building as it stands in real life. To the right of the main entrances the drawing didn't show the extension of the booking office and the upper parts of 'City Hatters'. I have begun to rectify this 'mistake' as shown.






You may notice a screw in front of the new extension. It is set into an 'underground' beam. Unfortunately the entrance to 'City Hatters' is in the basement! The beam must be moved. Fortunately all the screws are still accessible. The run of the steps down to the shop entrance can't be found remotely, so I may visit central Melbourne for the first time in many months. At the same time I can do some photos of the window displays, which I can use for the model. Perhaps I will also purchase a new hat at the same time!

Merry Christmas from Wombat Creek Tramways




 

 I had hoped Myer (department store) would be ready for Boxing Day sales. Despite three days of intensive construction work on the site the extension of the original store front still lacks roofing and other features. Hopefully the store will be ready for a 'grand' opening in January 2021.
 

 I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Oh dear Claus - we use Myers to send gifts etc. to relatives in Brisbane - hope they're open soon !!!

 In passing, your bank looks absolutely fabulous.  As Chris said, I love the way you've merged the steps into the slope and a mightily impressive building all round.  No wonder they charge so much for overdrafts ………………

Superb modelling Sir !!!
 

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Oh dear Claus - we use Myers to send gifts etc. to relatives in Brisbane - hope they're open soon !!!

In passing, your bank looks absolutely fabulous.  As Chris said, I love the way you've merged the steps into the slope and a mightily impressive building all round.  No wonder they charge so much for overdrafts ………………

Superb modelling Sir !!!

Not a problem. Myer in Wombat Creek is still open for mail order. Time in the Creek hasn't moved on since 1963, so you need to mail your orders by post!  ;-)

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 13
 

 The Melbourne Tram Museum has been closed since late March 2020 due to COVID-19, but with the restrictions easing in Melbourne the museum may soon open to the public again. After being closed for such a long time the trams had become rather dusty, so some of the volunteers went back on the 2^nd of January to start cleaning.




 

 On my way to the museum I did a brief stop at Flinders Street Station. The facade is the inspiration for Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange. As can be seen from the photo I think, I have done a good job so far considering I have done all the modelling from pictures found on the internet. I also took the opportunity to photograph a few details of the roof along the concourse and the area in front of City Hatters.

Myer is open for business


As planned/hoped the Myer department store in Wombat Creek is now open for business. After a frantic few days of work the roof is finished and signs and railings are up. A taxi rank in front of the store is ready for use – unfortunately the town's only taxi is on route to Gum Nut Gully.






As can be seen on the photo entering the department store will be a bit of a challenge due to the lack of a footpath near the revolving door, but I am sure that will not deter the customers getting to the good bargains.






Deliveries to the department store are through the doors at the back. At the moment the sit high above the ground but that will be rectified at a later stage with an elevated back-road.

Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange – part 14






The tramway modelling has been on hold for a while due to holidays (In case you don't remember, holidays are days of leisure spent away from home. Yes, it is possible in Victoria!). Before we went on holidays I had time to work on the roof of the Bank. The copper roofing has been finished with capping along the ridges, windows and ornaments. I still need to finish the roof with small spires and a flagpole.
The top of the facade will be finished with balustrades. Trevor suggested earlier to use push pins for the balustrades. I duly went and bought a packed, but they turn out to be too big and chunky. Ordering pre-made balustrades from Britain is out of the question due to postage ($75+), so I need to come up with something else.


Chris (Teasel Bay) noticed earlier the English church in the background. Could it be out of place in Wombat Creek? Well, on holidays we had a stop in the old gold mining town of Beechworth. It was like being in a real life Wombat Creek – just missing the trams. The old bank had a vault for gold and the Anglican church looked like this:






I guess it could be somewhere in England. You do have blue sky over there?!  :hmm

That church could indeed be in England Claus - occasionally, there are blue skies but there's usually rain too.

I was also marvelling at your Gold Exchange building - there's been an impressive transformation from this :



To this :




And just to highlight what a brilliant model it is, I thought I'd include this shot of the finished model with people and trams in frame  :roll: :

Sensational buildings Claus,really impressive!!
Cheers,John.B.:pathead