The EMMRC,Inc. was formed in April of 1976.  Our first layout was in the basement of  a church in Brewer Maine.  That one lasted less than a year, then we existed as a "round robin" group for a couple of years.  Even though we enjoyed the games of RailBaron and viewing slides we really wanted a layout!  We were offered a temporary home in the basement of a Convent serving St. Joseph's hospital in Bangor.  That space was not permanent, so when local Dentist Aaron Greenwald offered us space in the basement of one of his apartment houses, we jumped on it.

    Our home in Bangor was better than nothing, but it was wet when it rained, cold in the winter, with a low ceiling and plenty of head knockers, asbestos covered pipes, and at times it just smelled bad.  When Dr. Greenwald was the owner, the rent was ok.  However once he sold the building each succeeding owner raised the rent.  It was obvious that we had to find a new home.

    In 1983 we started selling custom decorated HO scale freight cars.  From the beginning we pledged to strive for accuracy in paint jobs, lettering, and colors.  Although we did not have a lot to choose from  for commercially available car bodies, we did well with our prototype offerings.  A surprise to us was that freelance and industrial cars sold equally well.

    Today we are commencing our 55th project (see our project page).  We have a much greater selection of commercial car bodies to choose from, painting and printing technology is at its peak, and we have our largest customer base ever.  As always we pledge to not re-run any project to protect its collector value.

    In 1991 after several years of looking in the Bangor area for suitable buildings, we finally gave up.  We purchased a lot from the father of club member Scott Whitney.  That summer we cleared it, had a septic system installed along with parking area and gravel pad for the building.  Spring of 1992 brought fine weather and lots of concrete for the foundation.  The only labor we had to pay for during the entire construction process was $200.00 for the man to run the floor finisher  As the members of the club pitched in the building rose quickly.  All outside work was complete by late August, we had the heat and utilities installed by October. Then we spent the next several months on the hardest part, sheet rocking and interior painting.  The building was substantially finished by the summer of 1993.

    We now have a 2100 sq.ft. building with a 30 X 40 layout room, large work shop, rest room, storage room for Car Projects, and a 20 X 20 lounge (meeting room and library).  The work shop features paint booth and compressor for members that can't paint at home, plus many other tools.  The lounge features slide screen, TV/VCR, comfortable seating, and our extensive library.  The library features many video tapes, hard cover reference books, and complete sets of various magazines.  Some members prefer the social aspect of the club, so the lounge and its facilities are very important to them. One other benefit of club membership is the ability to Join the BARCO (Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Company) federal credit union. (Changed to Maine Savings FCU as of 9/15/01)

    Membership in the EMMRC is open to all adults (18 years of age).  The annual dues are $75.00 for adults, plus an initiation fee. The junior dues are $25.00 but may be changed shortly.  Juniors need a sponsor that will agree to "mentor" them.  We also have an Associate Member status for $25.00 per year, this is a non voting category for persons or businesses that wish to support us.

    Our layout is in the trackwork stage but some scenery has been accomplished as well .  The club has chosen to model the fictional Katahdin Valley Railroad CO. but we have modeled real locations so it will be possible to have Maine Central, or Bangor & Aroostook operating sessions.  Some of the locations that we model are Bangor Yard, Bucksport (Still under construction) only trackwork at this time, Dexter which is also in track work stage.  Brownville Junction, Mosquito Mountain/Frankfort Village, Waterville (staging), Dover Foxcroft and Dexter Branch, and the long delayed Searsport container port.

    To expedite construction we decided to use code 100 flex track, this would allow us to use code 100 PIKO turnouts, the only items we salvaged from our previous layout. We also have decided to go with a DCC Control system, and are wiring the layout accordingly.  We have not decided which system to buy yet, we are putting that off until the last possible minute.  To help guide construction, and keep our original concept from loosing direction, we developed a short history of the Katahdin Valley Railroad.