Gaithersburg (MARC station)

Gaithersburg
MARC Commuter rail station

Gaithersburg MARC (formerly B&O) Railroad Station, January 2007
Location 5 South Summit Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Coordinates 39°08′29.5″N 77°11′35″W / 39.141528°N 77.19306°WCoordinates: 39°08′29.5″N 77°11′35″W / 39.141528°N 77.19306°W
Line(s)
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections Inter-County Connector routes
201 and 202
Construction
Parking Garage
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened 1884
Services
Preceding station   MARC   Following station
Brunswick Line
  Former services  
Baltimore and Ohio
Main Line
Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed
Location Summit and East Diamond Avenues
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Built 1884
Architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin
Architectural style No Style Listed (Queen Anne attributed)
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 78001473
Added to NRHP October 5, 1978[1]

Gaithersburg is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, WV (with a branch to Frederick, MD).[2] It is located on 5 South Summit Avenue and East Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland.

History

The station was originally built as the Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed in 1884, for the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), The station was most likely designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin,[3] and consists of two historic buildings. The passenger station is a one-story common-bond brick structure with a gable roof. About 90 feet to the east of the station is the freight shed or loading dock, a brick structure about 45 ft × 20 ft. Its north and south facades are divided into six panels with a door in the second and fifth bays on both sides. The station was extended to the east in 1905. When Amtrak was established in 1971, B&O Passenger service was replaced by the Potomac Special, which itself was replaced by the Blue Ridge in 1973.[4] From 1976 to 1981 it also served another Amtrak train called the Shenandoah.[5] During that time, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978,[1] and continued to serve Amtrak until 1986, when it was converted into a MARC station with the establishment of the Brunswick Line. Now, instead of using the platform to unload passengers, they let off passengers on the road right next to the station, although sometimes when the train is long the conductor puts an additional exit next to the platform. A modern parking garage and pedestrian overpass can be found on the opposite side of South Summit Avenue.

Gaithersburg Community Museum

The Gaithersburg Community Museum is located in the restored 1884 B&O Railroad Station complex, and includes the freight house, a history park and a caboose. The museum features exhibits about the city's history, as well as historic railroad artifacts and equipment.

A steam locomotive, Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad 2-8-0 number 14,[6] along with a caboose and a Budd RDC are on display in front of the freight shed.[7]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ↑ MARC station list (includes Gaithersburg) MARC official website
  3. ↑ "Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed". Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  4. ↑ Amtrak Timetables; October 25, 1981; Capitol Limited (Museum of Railway Timetables)
  5. ↑ 1979 Shenandoah & Blue Ridge Timetables
  6. ↑ jpmueller99 (February 25, 2012). Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 at Gaithersburg (photograph). Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  7. ↑ jpmueller99 (January 31, 2013). File:Budd RDC's - Gaithersburg, MD 1991.jpg (photograph). Retrieved September 2, 2013.

External links

Media related to Gaithersburg (MARC station) at Wikimedia Commons