From October 10 through November 8, almost every public event in Walkersville happens on Pennsylvania Avenue or close to it. The Walkersville Southern Railroad runs trains from its station at 34 West Pennsylvania Avenue on three straight weekends. The Town's Fall Pop-Up on Penn takes over the same address on October 17. On November 8, the Veterans Day Ceremony is held at Memorial Park, at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street.
The railroad's schedule is the one everything else lines up with. Once you know when the trains leave, the rest of the month is easy to plan.
The Departure Board Sets the Clock
Walkersville Southern Railroad posts its fall runs on its own event calendar. Here is what it shows for October 2026:
| Date | Run | Departures |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Autumn Excursion | 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 11 | Autumn Excursion | 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Pumpkin Patch Express | 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | Pumpkin Patch Express | 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Pumpkin Patch Express Zombie Wild West | 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Costumes & Cocktails | 6:00 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Pumpkin Patch Express | 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. |
The Pumpkin Patch Express follows the old Pennsylvania Railroad line out into farm country. Plan on about 45 minutes of riding plus a 20-minute stop at the patch, where every rider gets to pick a pumpkin. Coach tickets are $25 for adults 13 and up, $23 for children 2 to 12 and $24 for seniors 55 and up. A family with two adults and two kids pays $96 in coach.
The railroad also rents out the caboose for $500, and it holds up to 20 people. With all 20 seats filled, that comes to $25 a person, the same as an adult coach ticket. For a group of mostly kids, it costs a little more than coach. For a group of mostly adults, it costs the same. What you're really paying for is a private car, so the caboose is the better deal for a full birthday party or a big family group, not a small one.
The calendar is a live booking page, so departures can sell out. Check before you count on a time slot.
The Firehouse Chose an Excursion Weekend for Its First Festival
The Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company is holding its first Fall Festival on Sunday, October 11, from noon to 5 p.m. at the station at 79 West Frederick Street. Assistant Chief Kristi Staley announced it on September 11. The festival will have food trucks, vendors, family activities and live music from Memories of Pluto. Sponsors are Event1Rentals, The Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac, JJ&P Services: Plumbing & Heating, and Cotton & Co: Vintage Boutique and Marketplace.
The same Sunday, the railroad runs Autumn Excursions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Take the morning train and you're back in time for the festival's noon start. The 2 p.m. train works too if you'd rather go to the festival first. Either way, both events fit into one afternoon in town.
A Market That Added a Second Season
Pop Up on Penn is the clearest example of an event built around the station. The Town's Economic Development Commission held the first one on May 4, 2024, at Walkersville Southern Railroad, as a local-business market. The May 3, 2025 market was billed as the second annual. After that spring, the EDC said it planned a fall edition for October 2025, according to Emmitsburg.net. The Town's October 2025 calendar doesn't list one, though, so it's unclear whether it happened.
In 2026, the market is officially twice a year. The spring market ran May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fall market is Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That's an hour longer, and it's the same day as the first Pumpkin Patch Express weekend. The EDC is the host, and vendors can take part for free. Visit Frederick lists the combined day as Pumpkin Patch Trains & Pop Up on Penn: train rides, then an open-air market of local vendors, makers, artists and food trucks, all at the station. The market is free to attend.
The market is also getting bigger. EDC minutes from February 23, 2026 counted 24 registered vendors and three food trucks for the spring market. Those counts didn't include the EDC's own table, the business association's table or Whistle Stop. The fall vendor list hasn't been posted yet. Earlier markets give you an idea of who usually comes:
- Whistle Stop Coffee, whose coffee trailer has been parked at the station before.
- Rachel's Cakery and Brick Block Cakes, which returned in 2025, plus Snowball Waterfalls, a returning local favorite that year.
- Savage Eatery and Acai For Me, food trucks that joined in 2025.
- Pizza Pretzel Creations, listed as a food truck in the April 2026 minutes.
These are past participants. None of them are confirmed for October 17.
Bonus Bites shows how the market can help a local business get started. The April 2026 EDC minutes planned a ribbon cutting for the food truck at the spring Pop Up. By August, the Parks Commission had approved Bonus Bites to serve at events in Town parks and at GVAA events. Street vending would need separate permission. So a truck that held its ribbon cutting at the train station can now serve at local parks and GVAA events too.
Planning October 17 Around the Trains
On market day, the train times decide how your day goes. Each Pumpkin Patch Express trip takes about an hour and five minutes from departure to return, counting the patch stop. Here's roughly how each departure fits with the market:
- 11:00 a.m. train. You're back around noon, and the market is open until 4. This gives you the most time to shop afterward.
- 1:30 p.m. train. You get back mid-afternoon with about an hour of market left. Get food before you board.
- 4:00 p.m. train. The market closes as you leave, so shop and eat first. Then load the pumpkins into the car once you're back.
Sunday, October 18 has the same three departures without the market. If you just want the train, Sunday is the quieter choice.
Zombies on the 24th, Then Memorial Park on the 8th
On Saturday, October 24, all three pumpkin trains run under the name Zombie Wild West. There's also a separate 6 p.m. listing called Costumes & Cocktails. The calendar doesn't say more about either one, so check the railroad's booking page for details before you choose a costume. Sunday, October 25 goes back to the regular Pumpkin Patch Express at 11, 1:30 and 4.
As of early October, the railroad's online calendar doesn't show any November or December 2026 dates. The Santa Train pages you'll find online are for December 2025, so check back with the railroad before you plan a holiday ride.
After the trains finish for October, the next event is still on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Town's Veterans Day Ceremony is Sunday, November 8, at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park, at Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street. From 12:30 to 3 p.m., the Town closes streets at five intersections nearby. If you plan to drive through downtown that afternoon, look at the closure list on the Town's calendar first. The Veterans Committee also lists Wreaths Across America on December 19.
For the Weekends Without a Train
On days without a train, two Town parks have new playground equipment. The Spring 2026 Talk of the Town newsletter reported a new inclusive playground at Heritage Farm Park. According to Town minutes, the rebuilt tot lot at Community Park was finished by April 22. The only work left then was painting the relocated train that's part of it. Even Walkersville's newest playground has a train.
If you're thinking about how the town's calendar and its spot along the old rail line affect life on your street, or what that means for your home's value down the road, Melissa L Lambert is glad to talk it through over coffee, maybe at Whistle Stop's trailer on a Pop Up morning. Let's Connect.
