Aberdeen station (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) explained

Aberdeen
Type:Former B&O station
Address:408 West Bel Air Avenue (MD 132)
Aberdeen, Maryland
Coordinates:39.5112°N -76.1698°W
Line:Philadelphia Branch
Structure:at-grade
Tracks:1 (formerly 2)
Parking:yes
Opened:1885
Closed:1955 or 1958
Owned:Track: CSX Transportation
Other Services Header:Former services

Aberdeen station is a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) station in Aberdeen, Maryland. The station was designed by architect Frank Furness, who designed some 40 stations for the B&O in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.[1] The station has deteriorated in condition mightily since B&O ended service in 1955, and was almost torn down in 2003. An eleventh hour agreement was made by CSX and the Historical Society of Harford County to save the building. The station was transferred from the Historical Society of Harford County to the Aberdeen Historical Museum in 2016. [2]

Station house

Aberdeen station was built in a Queen Anne style of architecture.[2] It is located on the west side of the single tracked (formerly double tracked) CSX Philadelphia Subdivision, and south of Bel Air Avenue (Maryland Route 132). The building is one-and-a-half stories tall, and was described as the type of station where the agent would live above the waiting room.[1] The building is also the last wooden station remaining on the Baltimore–Philadelphia line,[1] and one of the few stations Frank Furness designed that is still standing.[3] The same plan was used to build the B&O's Cowenton station, which was demolished.

History

The first B&O service to Aberdeen used the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) between Baltimore and New York City, now a part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Rival Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) began using the PW&B after opening its line between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. This caused a power struggle between the B&O and the PRR.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Determination of Eligibility Form. Maryland Historical Trust. September 9, 2002. Tim Tamburino, Anne Bruder. November 27, 2011.
  2. News: New life for old Aberdeen train station. Frederick N. Rasmussen. March 7, 2010. November 28, 2011. The Baltimore Sun. https://web.archive.org/web/20151215120159/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-03-07/news/bal-md.backstory07mar07_1_aberdeen-room-archives-pennsylvania-station-aberdeen-train-station. dead. December 15, 2015.
  3. http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/ABE Aberdeen, MD