The model choo-choos at the Marley Station train garden are moving out after the mall’s new owner instituted a steep rent hike, leaving a 32-year-old Anne Arundel County holiday tradition with an uncertain future.

For the last 12 years, the Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Pasadena has rented space in Marley Station Mall for $65 a month, but in October the church was told the rent would increase to $2,500 a month starting in January. After negotiations, the price was dropped to $2,000 a month.

“We are a completely donation-based operation,” said Jon Ward, director of the train garden, adding that the money raised at the mall would not cover the cost of the rent increase.

Monday was the last day the trains were on display.

The donations pay for upkeep and rent, and are also used to fund the church’s food pantry and an emergency fund to help families in need, Ward said.

Ward said the low rent allowed organizers to expand the train display, which was free to mallgoers and attracted more than 1,800 guests this season.

“It’s equally disheartening and dismaying,” said Erin Quack, a Pasadena native. “When you look around here this is nothing but pure holiday joy.”

This train garden started as a display at the Glen Burnie Mall in 1991. Since moving to Marley Station, the church had set up the trains every holiday season and for the remainder of the year used the space to store the model locomotives, railcars and landscapes.

“We tried to negotiate with mall ownership, but they haven’t shown much interest in even talking to us other than through email,” he said.

The Marley Station Mall was taken over by new ownership, Namdar Realty Group of Great Neck, New York, more than a year ago. Ward said he doesn’t want to get the mall’s new owner confused with mall management, which has been nothing but supportive. Namdar representatives did not respond to a request to comment.

The move will come right after the holiday season, just as many volunteers are set to spend time with their families, making it more difficult to pack up the intricate sets, Ward said.

“We asked if we could have an extension to give us the time to get all of our equipment out that’s been collecting over the years and they responded saying we would have to pay $2,200 for the month of January,” he said.

So right after Christmas, they must move 15 separate layouts and trains along with all the small pieces that make up the crafted townships and landscapes. This needs to be done carefully because of the many fragile parts, Ward said.

The church will sell off some equipment and use a few storage units to house the rest until a new space becomes available. It originally wanted to try to stay at the mall but now would prefer to simply take its business elsewhere, Ward said.

“We are still holding out hope that a new home becomes available soon,” Ward said. “We hope the story of our closing will pull at enough heartstrings to save this gem.”