Pine Woman Turns Historic Train Station Into Gingerbread House

PINE TOWNSHIP, PA — Lori Colella went all out for her entry in Patch's first gingerbread house contest. She intricately designed and baked her house based on a historic train depot in New England.

"The gingerbread train station and train are entirely made from scratch. The inspiration came from a real station located in North Bennington, Vermont," Colella stated in her entry submission.

"From a picture of the building I created a model out of poster board and then used the pieces as a pattern. Royal icing held everything together and one support was needed to hold the top dome in place."

The North Bennington Depot was built in 1880 as a passenger station, according to its Facebook page. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

This station was built by the Rutland Railroad in 1880 to replace an older wood frame structure. Ridership, and the railroad's solvency, declined in the 1930s, and the station was eventually abandoned. It was rescued from threatened demolition and restored in the 1970s, initially used to house municipal offices.

Colella baked her gingerbread house when Patch launched a nationwide search for the most creative gingerbread house. Dec. 8 was the deadline for submitting entries. The winning entry will be announced Dec. 14; entrants will be able to see their gingerbread house featured on Patch and one winner will be selected to take home a Patch swag package and a $50 gift card.