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Gaithersburg station

MARC rail station in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg MARC (formerly B&O) Railroad station, January 2007
General information
Location	5 South Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland[1]
Coordinates	39°08′29.5″N 77°11′35″W / 39.141528°N 77.19306°W / 39.141528; -77.19306
Line(s)	CSX Metropolitan Subdivision
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MTA Maryland: 201 and 202
Construction
Parking	Garage
Accessible	Yes[2]
History
Opened	May 1, 1873 (ceremonial opening)[3] May 25, 1873 (regular passenger service)[3][4][5]
Rebuilt	1884
Passengers
November 2022	121 (daily)[6] (MARC)
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station Metropolitan Grove towards MartinsburgorFrederick 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
Passenger station and freight house, November 2010
Built	1884
Architect	Ephraim Francis Baldwin
Architectural style	Queen Anne attributed
NRHP reference No.	78001473
Added to NRHP	October 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 PlacesasGaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed. They are used as the Gaithersburg Community Museum.

History[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

^ ^{a b} "Metropolitan Branch Railroad". The Baltimore Sun. May 1, 1873. p. 1. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

^ "Metropolitan Branch Railroad". The Baltimore Sun. November 18, 1873. p. 1. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gaithersburg (MARC station).

• 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