Point of Rocks is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Martinsburg, WV Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the ...

, located at Point of Rocks,

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...

, United States.MARC station list (includes Point of Rocks)
''MARC official website'' The station was built by the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

in 1873, and designed by

E. Francis Baldwin Ephraim Francis Baldwin (October 4, 1837 – January 20, 1916) was an American architect, best known for his work for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and for the Roman Catholic Church. Personal life Although born in Troy, New York, Baldwin live ...

. It is situated at the junction of the B&O Old Main Line (running to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

) and the

Metropolitan Branch Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

(running to

). 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 -story, triangular

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

with a four-story tower and a -story wing at the base. The tower has a pyramidal roof containing a

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

on each side. On top is a square

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

supporting a pyramidal peaked roof. The station building itself is not open to the public and is used by

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

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-1990s. 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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973, and reopened for the Maryland Rail Commuter Service, now called MARC, which established the Brunswick Line. The Duke Energy Holiday Trains display at the

Cincinnati Museum Center The Cincinnati Museum Center is a museum complex operating out of the Cincinnati Union Terminal in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It houses museums, theater, a library, and a symphonic pipe organ, as well as special traveling e ...

features a station modeled on Point of Rocks. In 2023, the station will be featured on a

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

Forever stamp Non-denominated postage is postage intended to meet a certain postage rate that retains full validity for that intended postage rate even after the rate is increased. It does not show a monetary value, or denomination, on the face. In many Engli ...

in a 5-stamp "Railroad Stations" series. The stamp illustrations were made by Down the Street Designs, and Derry Noyes served as the art director.

Station layout

The station is not compliant with the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

, lacking raised platforms for level boarding.

References

External links

Point of Rocks station official websitePoint of Rocks station image (Dynamic Depot Maps)
*, including photo from 2006, at Maryland Historical Trust *
B & O Railroad Station at Point of Rocks
- Ghosts of DC blog post on historic first train arrival {{National Register of Historic Places Brunswick Line Former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stations MARC Train stations Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Transportation buildings and structures in Frederick County, Maryland Railway stations in the United States opened in 1873 Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Maryland