Lanham | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Lanham Station Road Lanham, Maryland | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°57′34″N76°51′47″W / 38.9594°N 76.8630°W /38.9594; -76.8630 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Line | Northeast Corridor | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1873 (1873) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | August 1982 (1982-08) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Lanham station was aregional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located just outside theCapital Beltway offRoute 450 inLanham, Maryland. It was served by the predecessor of today'sMARCPenn Line, until August 1982.
TheBaltimore and Potomac Railroad opened its Washington Branch – soon after its main line – in 1872.[1] The Lanham family deeded land in 1873 to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad for a station.[2] The B&P was formally acquired by thePennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1902.[3] The PRR began its first electric service betweenWilmington and Washington, D.C., on February 10, 1935, with all trains converted to electric power by April 7.[4][5]
The PRR folded intoPenn Central in 1968.[6] By this time, Lanham station was served only by a limited number of Baltimore-Washington commuter trips; intercity trains generally did not stop. The station then consisted of just a small wooden shelter and an asphalt platform on the northwest side of the tracks; the station building was long gone.[7] The grade crossing at Lanham Station Road was likely closed in 1970 when Penn Central eliminated several such grade crossings in Prince George's County as part of the construction ofCapital Beltway station for theMetroliner service.[8]
Conrail took over the ex-PRR Baltimore-Washington service from Penn Central at its creation on April 1, 1976.[9] Conrail added an asphalt platform on the southeast side of the tracks and three-sided iron shelters on both sides. However, the company was displeased with the station; it was in the middle of a sharpreverse curve with poor sightlines from trains, which resulted in several pedestrians being struck by high-speed trains.[7]
In August 1982, Conrail commuter trains began stopping at Capital Beltway station, which had been used by intercity trains since 1970. This allowed Conrail to close the nearby Lanham andLandover stations.[10] Amtrak and AMDOT (the ex-Conrail service, soon thereafter thePenn Line) abandoned Capital Beltway on October 30, 1983, in favor of nearbyNew Carrollton, which had been aWashington Metro stop since 1978.[7] The grade crossing was closed to pedestrians at some point after the station was abandoned.
