Gaithersburg station

Gaithersburg station is a commuter rail station located on the Metropolitan Subdivision in downtown Gaithersburg, Maryland. It is served by the MARC Brunswick Line service; it was also served by Amtrak from 1971 to 1986. The former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station building and freight shed, designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin and built in 1884, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed. They are used as the Gaithersburg Community Museum.

Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg MARC (formerly B&O) Railroad station, January 2007
Location	5 South Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland[1]
Coordinates	39°08′29.5″N 77°11′35″W
Line(s)	CSX Metropolitan Subdivision
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MTA Maryland: 201 and 202
Construction
Parking	Garage
Disabled access	Yes[2]
History
Opened	1884
Passengers
2018	525 daily[3]  14.3% (MARC)
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station Metropolitan Grove towards Martinsburg or Frederick Brunswick Line Washington Grove towards Union Station
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Brunswick toward Martinsburg Blue Ridge Discontinued 1986 Rockville toward Washington, D.C. Brunswick toward Cincinnati (River Road) Shenandoah Discontinued 1981 Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Germantown toward Chicago Main Line Washington Grove toward Jersey City Ward toward Chicago
Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built	1884
Architect	Ephraim Francis Baldwin
Architectural style	Queen Anne attributed
NRHP reference No.	78001473
Added to NRHP	October 5, 1978[4]

History

Passenger station and freight house, November 2010

The station was originally built in 1884 for the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). The station was designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin,[5] and consists of two historic buildings. The passenger station is a one-story common-bond brick structure with a gable roof. It is nearly identical in plan and dimensions to the Laurel, Maryland station Baldwin designed, also built in 1884, although the rooflines and settings are quite different.[6] 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.[7] From 1976 to 1981 it also served another Amtrak train called the Shenandoah.[8] During that time, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed,[4] 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. The garage was completed in 2000, with the pedestrian bridge finished the next year.[9]

Gaithersburg Community Museum

A former B&O Budd RDC car on display near the station

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.

The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad steam locomotive Consolidation #14,[10] along with a caboose and a Budd RDC are on display in front of the freight shed.[11]

References

1. "MARC Station Information". MTA Maryland. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
2. "MARC Station Information". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
3. "December 2018 MARC performance (for Nov 18) - Ridership" (PDF). Maryland Transportation Authority. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
5. Jennifer Russel and Pamela James (August 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
6. Avery, Carlos P. (2003). E. Francis Baldwin, Architect: The B&O, Baltimore, and Beyond. Baltimore, Maryland: Baltimore Architecture Foundation. pp. 33, 128. ISBN 0-9729743-0-X.
7. Amtrak Timetables; October 25, 1981; Capitol Limited (Museum of Railway Timetables)
8. 1979 Shenandoah & Blue Ridge Timetables
9. "City of Gaithersburg Community Facilities: A Master Plan Element" (PDF). City of Gaithersburg. April 1, 2008. p. 14.
10. jpmueller99 (February 25, 2012). Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 at Gaithersburg (photograph). Retrieved April 12, 2013.
11. jpmueller99 (January 31, 2013). File:Budd RDC's - Gaithersburg, MD 1991.jpg (photograph). Retrieved September 2, 2013.

External links

• Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed, Montgomery County, Inventory No.: M: 21-151, M: 21-157, including photo in 1974, at Maryland Historical Trust website
• Station from Summit Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Gaithersburg Community Museum