Residents, vendors reflect on cancellation of Brunswick's Railroad Days

Oct. 3—A lonely model train chugged along the track in the Brunswick Heritage Museum; there was no one to watch it as it passed a miniature 1960s Gaithersburg, went through mini Point of Rocks and then into the tiny Brunswick rail yard.

Mayor Nathan Brown canceled Brunswick's Railroad Days festival this year due to inclement weather from the leftovers of Hurricane Ian, which devastated parts of Florida last week. The festival will not be rescheduled, according to a post on the Brunswick website.

"Given the fact we were looking at some tropical storm-type weather, we couldn't continue on..." Brown said. "The rain, wind and that kind of thing."

The two-day festival is usually lined up along West Potomac Street, full of vendors, food and activities for families.

Despite the outdoor closure, there were some aspects of the festival that were still open for the public. Brown said they encouraged everyone to still go to the local businesses.

"It's not near the traditional festival, but we still encouraged people to support local," he said.

At the Brunswick Volunteer Fire Company, a handful of vendors had set up shop. It was quiet, with little foot traffic early Sunday afternoon.

Stephen Dill was selling his work from Monocacy Forge. There were wine racks, coat hangers and decorative pieces, all of which he made as a seasoned blacksmith. He was set up Sunday and Saturday, and said there was a big difference in turnout.

"We've had probably less than 10% of the foot traffic," he said.

Lisa Brill, of Lovettsville, Virginia, had a stand set up for the Lovettsville Lions Club together with the Brunswick Lions Club on Saturday. They were selling White House Historical Association Ornaments, which have been coming out every year since the 1980s.

But they didn't set up on Sunday, Brill said. The ornaments are collectibles, and because it was rainy Sunday, she said didn't want to risk ruining them.

"The collectors will not buy the ornaments unless the box, the paperwork and everything is pristine, brand new," she said.

And for these Railroad Days, she had ordered extra ornaments fitting the theme: the White House Historical Association's official ornament from 2014 honored President Warren G. Harding with — what else? — a train. She said she'll just have to try and sell them next year.

At the Brunswick Heritage Museum, Julie Kloetzli, 47, was counting cash for the register. The festival brings a lot of foot traffic for the museum, she said, usually around 2,000 individuals during the two days. On Saturday, they only had 150 people come in.

Additionally, the museum is currently offering free admission, so they heavily rely on donations. With that, 150 people instead of 1,000 coming in on a given day really makes a difference, she said. The money would have helped to pay for fixing and renovating their front façade, she said.

"Our goal is about $400,000. And we've raised about $350,000," she said. "So we were really hoping that Railroad Days would boost us over the top." she said.

Since the Railroad Days won't be rescheduled, she said she hopes they can make it up during the Veterans Day parade that Brunswick hosts, which is also a "big deal," she said.

When it came to rescheduling, Brown said that the logistics would have been too difficult. Bands are booked, and the train rides are equally difficult to reschedule. And like the bands, vendors are likely scheduled to go to other festivals.

The city is, however, looking into a potential train ride during the winter months, Brown said. Vendors will also be getting refunded for the fee they paid for a space. Since the city didn't sell any train ride tickets, there won't have to be refunds, he said.

As the afternoon wore on, though, the little model train chugging away didn't go completely unappreciated, as some folks started to filter into the museum. Michael Marcoux, 34, of Jefferson, and Iryna Dudko, 33, of Kiev, Ukraine, gleefully looked at the train and detailed scenery. Marcoux is a longtime train lover, and used to come to the museum when he was a kid.

They pushed the buttons on the model that made the burning house smoke and sirens go off for the man who was pulled over.

"This place has a very sentimental value for me," Marcoux said.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel