Welcome!

Lamoiille Valley train MJ-2 from Morrisville to St. Johnsbury passes through the covered bridge at Hardwick Vermont

Thanks for visiting the on-line counterpart to my HO scale model railroad layout, the Northeast Kingdom Railroad. My name is Mike McNamara and this web site features pictures and information about the layout as well information about the prototype railroads that inspired it.


Maine Central train RY-2 (Rigby to St. Johnsbury) emerges from Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

My model railroading interest is in northern New England railroading, primarily in the late 1970s to early 1980s time period. I am particularly interested in the Maine Central Railroad and its Mountain Division, from Portland, Maine to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Through research and visits, I also have come to appreciate the Boston & Maine, Lamoille Valley and Canadian Pacific lines operating in Vermont, as well as the North Stratford RR in nearby northern New Hampshire.


North Stratford RR interchanges boxcars loaded with Ethan Allen furniture to the MEC and Grand Trunk at North Stratford NH

To incorporate all this, my layout is built to center operations around the yard in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where the MEC, CP/BM and the LVRC lines come together. I also feature operational branches of the B&M and NSRC to enhance operations.


CP Rail and MEC power in front of the ET&HK Ide and Caldbeck-Cosgrove buildings in St. Johnsbury VT

The layout is set in early October of 1980 when operations through Crawford Notch, in St. Johnsbury, and the recently rebuilt rail line across Vermont operated by the Lamoille Valley were in full swing.


A Boston & Maine local powered by an Alco RS2 passes through the small downtown of Whitefield New Hampshire

The layout hosts occasional operating sessions. The trains run off of a sequence list and generally follow the patterns of the railroads as they ran in 1980. Car card and waybills are used and the layout primarily features slower paced operations with an emphasis on switching local industries.


A recently painted Lamoiille Valley RS3 is spotting a home road boxcar at Johnson, Vermont

Use the links to the left to see more information about my layout and also about the prototype railroads that the layout draws inspiration from.

-add layout overview video link here-


This web site was started when the layout was originally being planned, in 2002, and has been updated over the years. The pictures on this page were taken in 2025 with the layout fully operational, with scenery at about 90% complete and most of the structures built. That being said, there is still plenty to do with details on the layout, a few more structures to build and a few scenery projects.

For more about the construction of the layout, I have posted updates through the years on my Blog and in the last few years I have started a Facebook group to post small updates with pictures and videos. See the links in the sidebar..

If you would like to contact me, to ask questions or provide information, click on the Contact Me page.

Enjoy!


Maine Central train RY-2 stops at the Crawford Notch depot to sign the train register before continuing the journey west to St. Johnsbury VT