Beginning in 1828 the B&O Railroad began expanding from east to west. By 1861 it reached 13 states, but was missing a spur to Washington, D.C.
In 1865 the B&O purchased the bankrupted Metropolitan Railroad to gain its charter to build a Washington spur. The section from Dickerson to the main line at Point of Rocks was finished in 1871. The Metropolitan Branch from Silver Spring to Brunswick, MD was opened to the public on May 25, 1873.
Some of the 26 stations had only basic shelters, but the stations at Dickerson, Boyds, Gaithersburg, Rockville and Silver Spring were grand structures designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin, an architect well known for his train station designs. He also designed the more austere stations at Kensington and Germantown.
Gaithersburg was a small farming village of no real importance. Rockville was a sleepy town with a population of less than 650. Silver Spring was the name of a summer home, and Kensington did not exist except for the Knowles Station.
It was true then as now, if you build it, they will come. The railroad did bring more people, higher land prices, and commercial and residential development. Farm markets expanded to include the city of Washington, D.C. Along with the arrival of a new fertilizer and new farming practices, the railroad brought an economic boom to Montgomery County. Steam powered mills and factories sprang up near train stations and businesses multiplied.
In the western county dairy farms multiplied and shipped their milk and butter to Washington markets. Orchards proliferated with the demands of new markets for fresh produce.
The population of Rockville tripled in the next 25 years, expanding with suburban subdivisions, hotels for summer vacationers, and Washington commuters. The Knowles Station was renamed after its first housing development, Kensington.
The Metropolitan Branch, which still exists as the Brunswick Line commuter train, had a profound and immediate effect on Montgomery County. This year the 150th anniversary is being celebrated throughout the county. On May 29th you can join the Met 150th Celebration Train Excursion which will take riders from Silver Spring to Brunswick, MD, past historic stations and railroad communities. Ticketed passengers may board at Silver Spring, Kensington, Garrett Park, Rockville, Gaithersburg, or Germantown. 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tickets will be required and are available now at Home – Montgomery Preservation
Photo is the Sellman Station, now the Barnesville MARC Station, on the Met Branch in 1912.