Volunteer S&P Railway club reports steady visitors but falling donations

Representatives of the volunteer S&P Railway club told the Town of Sykesville council the organization continues to draw visitors and new members but has seen a drop in donations.

"We had last year... between 2024 and '25, we had 2,983 visitors. Our donations was $1,269.50, which is down 23% from the year before," said James Meesmer (speaker 2), a long-time club member. He and fellow volunteers described roughly 16 open houses a year, intergenerational membership and recent publicity including a mention in Classic Toy Trains magazine.

Wally Thompson (speaker 4) emphasized the club's family focus and regular openings, noting younger members who joined after childhood exposure to the layouts. Tom Hay (speaker 5), the club's vice president, told council the club has completed projects such as repainting a Pullman roof and had received some funding from another hobby organization.

Council members asked whether the club's drop in donations jeopardized its solvency. Meesmer and Tom Hay said the club remained solvent but felt donations had dwindled over the years, with the Santa/caboose event historically their busiest fundraiser. "That event is our busiest event... it was, like, 500 people, something like that come through," Tom Hay said when asked about turnout.

Suggestions from council and the mayor included improving visibility, using a library display case in November to promote the club and exploring a live stream or staffed donation station to reach visitors who cannot access parts of the layout because of crowd-flow or ADA limitations. The mayor suggested a remote video feed and a staffed collection point as a possible compromise to preserve donations and access.

Club leaders thanked the town for prior grant support and for sidewalk improvements and said they would follow up with staff after the meeting about outreach and accessibility options.