Point of Rocks station (MARC)

Point of Rocks
MARC Commuter rail station
Amtrak's Capitol Limited passing through the Point of Rocks station.
Location	4000 Clay Street Point of Rocks, MD 21777
Coordinates	39°16′24.7″N 77°32′00″W / 39.273528°N 77.53333°W / 39.273528; -77.53333Coordinates: 39°16′24.7″N 77°32′00″W / 39.273528°N 77.53333°W / 39.273528; -77.53333
Line(s)	Brunswick Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	1873
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	465 (MARC)
Services
Preceding station   MARC   Following station Brunswick toward Martinsburg Brunswick Line Dickerson toward Union Station   Former services   Baltimore and Ohio Brunswick toward Chicago Grand Central Station Main Line Dickerson (Metropolitan Branch) toward Baltimore Mount Royal Station Terminus Old Main Line Adamstown toward Baltimore Camden Station
Point of Rocks Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Maryland Show map of the US
Location	Off of U.S. 15 Point of Rocks, Maryland
Area	4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built	1875 (1875)
Architect	Baldwin, E. Francis
Architectural style	Gothic
NRHP Reference #	73000918[1]
Added to NRHP	April 11, 1973

The Point of Rocks Railroad Station is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, WV located at Point of Rocks, Frederick County, Maryland, United States.^[2] The station was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, and designed by E. Francis Baldwin. It is situated at the junction of the B&O Old Main Line (running to Baltimore) and the Metropolitan Branch (running to Washington, D.C.). The Met Branch also opened in 1873 and became the principal route for passenger trains between Baltimore, Washington and points west.

The main station building is a  2 ¹⁄₂-story, triangular Gothic Revival with a four-story tower and a  1 ¹⁄₂-story wing at the base. The tower has a pyramidal roof containing a dormer on each side. On top is a square cupola supporting a pyramidal peaked roof.^[3]

The station building itself is not open to the public and is used by CSX as storage and offices for maintenance of way crews. In 2008, new platforms and platform shelters were built for MARC commuters traveling east towards Washington DC, replacing older bus shelter–style structures which were erected in the mid 90's.

During the blizzard of 2010, the south side awning on the main building collapsed under the weight of record snow fall, and was later removed leaving half the building missing cover. In January 2011, work to rebuild the destroyed part of the structure began.

The Point of Rocks Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973,^[1] and reopened for the Maryland Rail Commuter Service, now called MARC, which established the Brunswick Line.

References

External links

Media related to Point of Rocks (MARC station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Point of Rocks station official website
• Point of Rocks station image (Dynamic Depot Maps)
• Point of Rocks Railroad Station, Frederick County, including photo from 2006, at Maryland Historical Trust
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MD-14, "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Point of Rocks Station, Near State Route 28, Point of Rocks, Frederick County, MD", 14 photos, 8 measured drawings, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page
• B & O Railroad Station at Point of Rocks - Ghosts of DC blog post on historic first train arrival