Gaithersburg station

39°08′29.5″N 77°11′35″W / 39.141528°N 77.19306°W / 39.141528; -77.19306Line(s)CSX Metropolitan SubdivisionPlatforms2 side platformsTracks2Connections MTA Maryland: 201 and 202ConstructionParkingGarageAccessibleYes^[2]HistoryOpenedMay 1, 1873 (ceremonial opening)^[3]
May 25, 1873 (regular passenger service)^[3][4][5]Rebuilt1884PassengersNovember 2022121 (daily)^[6] (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

Built1884ArchitectEphraim Francis BaldwinArchitectural styleQueen Anne attributedNRHP reference No.78001473Added to NRHPOctober 5, 1978^[7]

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.

History

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,^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] From 1976 to 1981 it also served another Amtrak train called the Shenandoah.^[11] During that time, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed,^[7] 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.^[12]

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.

The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad steam locomotive Consolidation #14,^[13] along with a caboose and a Budd RDC are on display in front of the freight shed.^[14]

References

External links