Laurel station (MARC)

Laurel is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Camden Line in Laurel, Maryland, between the District of Columbia's Washington Union Station and Baltimore's Camden Station.[4]

Laurel
MARC Commuter rail station
Laurel railroad station in December 2008
General information
Location22 Main Street, Laurel, Maryland[1]
Line(s)Capital Subdivision
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport RTA 409
Construction
Parking396 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilitiesYes; 10 lockers
AccessibleYes
History
Opened1884
Passengers
2018680 daily[2] Increase 2.7% (MARC)
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station
Muirkirk
towards Union Station
 Camden Line Laurel Race Track
towards Camden Station
Former services
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station
Muirkirk
toward Chicago
 Main Line Laurel Park
toward Jersey City
Oak Crest
toward Chicago
Laurel Railroad Station
Laurel station (MARC) is located in Maryland
Laurel station (MARC)
Laurel station (MARC) is located in the United States
Laurel station (MARC)
LocationEast Main Street
Laurel, Maryland
Coordinates39°6′9″N 76°50′30″W
Built1884
ArchitectEphraim Francis Baldwin
Architectural styleQueen Anne
NRHP reference No.73002165
Added to NRHPMarch 30, 1973[3]

Station

The Laurel railroad station was originally constructed in 1884 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad along the railroad's Washington Branch, about halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The architect was E. Francis Baldwin. The structure is constructed of brick, and is one and a half stories, modified rectangle in form with overhanging gabled and hipped roof sections with brackets and terra cotta cresting, and an interior chimney. There is a louvered lunette in one gable, stick work in another, and fish-scale shingling under truncated hipped section; shed shelter, segmental arched openings. It is Queen Anne in style.[5] It is nearly identical in plan and dimensions to the Gaithersburg, Maryland station Baldwin designed, also built in 1884, although the rooflines and settings are quite different.[6]

Laurel station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973,[3] (although one source claims it was 1972) and was reopened as a MARC station when the Camden Line was established.

A fire gutted the interior of the station, and damaged its roof and brick walls, in January 1992.[7]

In February 2009, Vice President Joe Biden, Governor Martin O'Malley, and Senator Ben Cardin gave a speech at Laurel station to gain support for an economic stimulus package in Congress that would provide funding to rebuild the station platform, among many other Maryland infrastructure projects.[8][9] The funding bill passed and by mid-March, construction fencing went up for an anticipated six months of work on a new platform and other station improvement.[10]

Station layout

The station has two side platforms and a station house adjacent to the southbound platform. The station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

  • Laurel Railroad Station Historic Marker in December 2008
    Laurel Railroad Station Historic Marker in December 2008
  • Downtown-side view of Laurel station in December 2008
    Downtown-side view of Laurel station in December 2008
  • A freight train passes through Laurel station.
    A freight train passes through Laurel station.

References
  1. "MARC Station Information". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. "December 2018 MARC performance (for Nov 18) – Ridership" (PDF). Maryland Transportation Authority. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. "MARC System Map (includes Laurel)". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  5. Arthur C. Townsend (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Laurel Railroad Station" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  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. "Laurel Rail Depot Burns". highbeam.com. The Washington Post. January 15, 1992. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  8. Bartlett, Anne; Wan, William (February 5, 2009). "Biden Visits Laurel to Stump for Stimulus". The Washington Post.
  9. Sparks, Leonard (February 5, 2009). "Biden Visits Laurel to Praise Stimulus". Southern Maryland Online. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  10. Thomson, Robert (March 13, 2009). "The Weekend and Beyond". Get There. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
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