Since a community group first began converting the No. 8 Streetcar Path from an old railroad line to a community trail in 1996, vandalism has been a problem.

But according to Maureen Sweeney-Smith, a member of Catonsville Rails to Trails, this year has been worse than ever.

Sweeney-Smith said the community group, which was formed in September, 1998, has always had problems with trash and graffiti inside the small cobblestone waiting station near the trail's Edmondson Avenue entrance.

"That we could control," she said. "We could paint over it and we could pick up the trash."

But this year, the roof shingles were ripped off of the historic station – which was built in 1939 – and its benches kicked out, Sweeney-Smith said.

Two small fires have also been set inside the stone interior of the station, she said.

"It's just senseless destruction and I don't understand that," said Joseph Chilcoat, owner of the 7-Eleven convenience store adjacent to the trail at 1611 Edmondson Avenue.

"I really don't understand why people do that," he said.

Chilcoat described the trail as a "neighborhood asset" where he and his wife, Pamela, like to walk – picking up trash as they go.

He said he regularly paints over graffiti at the waiting station.

"It comes in spurts," he said. "Sometimes it might be twice a week, I have to go and do that. And then it might be weeks before I have to do it again."

As the vandalism has intensified in recent months, Sweeney-Smith said she feared for the first time that the community would lose the station.

"We didn't have that kind of money to make repairs again, and again, and again, " she said.

She contacted the Maryland Mass Transit Administration, which owns both the trail and the shelter and about a month ago, the transportation department restored the shelter. The work involved replacing the rotten and torn out wood and putting a new roof on, she said.

But the community group has remained vigilant in its efforts to stop problems along the route, which stretches from Edmondson Avenue to the 1600 block of Frederick Road in downtown Catonsville.

Volunteers cut up the "party logs" along the trail where groups of teenagers used to sit and drink beer, Sweeney-Smith said.

"And that's when we started seeing them stripping the trees," said Sweeney-Smith, who said the bark has been stripped from four trees along the trail.

"I think it was the only way they could think of, to retaliate against losing their party spot," she said.

"We don't want to look at them," she said about the trees. "It breaks our heart that we've lost four trees, so we just cut them down and I've done four trips to the dump."

"The root of the problem is there's no social outlet that teens can go to," Sweeney-Smith said. "There's no teen centers. There's very little for teens to do in Catonsville if they're not involved in sports or church."

She said she understands attractions such as the 7-Eleven bring teenagers to the area.

But the recent events have angered her and neighborhood residents.

"We want everybody to use the trail, including the teens, but they've really got to step up and use it correctly," she said.

Lt. Robert McCullough, a spokesman for Baltimore County police, said the department has been aware of problems along the trail off and on over the years and worked with the community to address them.

In the past few weeks, members of the Wilkens Station have increased bike patrols and their presence around the trail, McCullough said.

Police have also been communicating with concerned community members and working with local elected officials to address the problem, he said.

Mural restoration along trail

In other trail news, Sweeney-Smith said those attending the Kaleidoscope Arts Camp at Christian Temple, at 5820 Edmondson Ave., will be restoring a mural along the route during the last week of June.

She said volunteers are needed Sunday, June 26, from noon to 3 p.m. to help wash and sand the mural before it is repainted.

The mural was originally painted in 1996 as an Eagle Scout project by Clark LeCompte and depicts a little boy running away from a streetcar, she said.

Catonsville Rails to Trails and the camp have the paint needed for the project, Sweeney-Smith said.

But they are in need of painting supplies such as rollers, brushes, drop cloths, pans, sandpaper and gift cards toHome Depot.

Catonsville Rails to Trails also recently completed a resurfacing project along a half-mile stretch of the nearby Short Line trail from Maiden Choice Lane to the wall of Charlestown retirement community, Sweeney-Smith said.

The $29,300 project included adding a "CR6" surface made of a fine gravel or stone with a limestone powder on top, she said.

The new surface will make it easier for community members to walk and bike along that stretch of the trail, she said.