25-10-08 PHOTOS: The Two Laurels

They say its easy to overlook the familiar. Despite living south of Baltimore for many years now I had never visited the MARC Camden Line station in Laurel, MD, except while riding the service in passing. Well in the fall of 2025 I set out to not only capture most of a rush hour at Laurel, but also walk west to the nearby signal location and then east to the famed Laurel Racetrack station, where the service consists entirely of three weekday afternoon flag stops, all in the DC bound direction. The photos from this adventure can all be found here.

The Laurel depot building was constructed in 1884 and was rebuilt after a serious fire in 1992. More recently the platforms were rebuilt with long duration plastic lumber. Today it is open during the morning and afternoon peak times for waiting passengers and also houses a ticket vending machine.  

A deadhead equipment move kicked off the afternoon rush with cab car #8047 and MP36PH-3C #22.

 

This was followed by eastbound MARC Train 848 with MP36PH-3C #29 and single level cab car #7762. This train turns at the Dorsey station to make more efficient use of crews and equipment. Ridership from DC was pretty robust in the post-COVID work-from-home era.

 

Next up was westbound Train #853 with cab car #8058 and MP36PH-3C #33.

Walking west from the station I caught the Dorsey turn returning as Train #855 at the Laurel detector.

 

The CSX Capitol Sub right of way through Laurel sees an extreme amount of local foot traffic due to the general lack of better alternatives to cross the tracks.  The right of way is strewn with litter and more than a few homeless encampments. Near the "Cherry Plain" intermediate signal caught this image of a school age kid walking seemingly oblivious in the 5 foot before clearing up for eastbound MARC Train #850 with MP36PH-3C #23 and cab car #8055.

I made it back to the Laurel Station just in time to catch Train #852 with MP36PH-3C #22 and #8047.

The former B&O Washington Branch, now known as the CSX Capitol Sub, is a surprisingly fast line with very few restrictions on its 70mph line speed between Elkridge and Washington, DC. This allows dispatchers to slot road freight trains between commuter runs. This typically takes the form of Carolina to New Jersey train with long strings of 1 TEU waste cubes bound for New York City with the example seen here being lead by CSX ES44AC #773, ES44AC #3102 and SD70MAC #4805.

Located about 2500 feet north of the downtown Laurel station, Laurel Racetrack is a fading horse racing facility from the halcyon days when the sport enjoyed a monopoly on gambling. Despite hosting the 2026 Preakness Stakes due to renovations at Pimlico, the history venue is likely to be developed into housing as the land is worth well into 9 figures. It is the current headquarters of the Maryland Jockey Club (est 1743) and was provided with its own B&O railroad station that opened with the park in 1911.  

 

The station features one of the most baffling service patterns in North America with three afternoon weekday flag stops in the DC-bound (ie reverse peak) direction only. In other words it is impossible to make a round trip to/from the station (which is at least possible from Jessup, the other poorly served Camden Line stop).. What's extra strange is that this isn't some bare minimum service needed to keep the station open for regulatory purposes as three trains make the flag stop every weekday, instead of just one train perhaps only on Friday. 

The "active" track #1 platform even features from vintage B&O era signage. Possible reasons for the strange service pattern include something about the historic race schedule (ie races take place in the early afternoon and most gamblers would arrive from DC via other modes or discontinued trains) or perhaps because the county line runs right down the middle of the railroad right of way and Anne Arundel County cut some sort of funding while Howard County did not.  The station did manage to see some weekend use for the 2026 Preakness where special race day trains helped compensate for the limited parking and hold down local instances of drunk driving after the race.

I had made it to Laurel Racetrack in time to catch MARC Train #857 with single level cab car #7759 and MP36PH-3C #16.

Shockingly, the train stopped and a single passenger got off. Seeing as how this single traveler would represent fully half of the station's average daily ridership of 2, I took the opportunity to ask the person how they were making use of the service. In this guy's case he had a evening part time job at Laurel Racetrack 1 or 2 days a week and the train was preferable to driving. He would return to Baltimore City via a late night bus service or a friend picking them up. Note both tracks 1 and 2 platforms were active and maintained as Camden Line trains can wrong rail even if track #1 was the default for westbound trains.

 

MARC Train #854 is scheduled to pass through Laurel Racetrack about 5 minutes after Train #857's stop and it did not disappoint with MP36PH-3C #33 and cab car #8058. If you think you're having some deja vu, this set was previously encountered traveling to Washington as Train #853.

Because most people now have a casino in their pocket, horse racing has lost most of its reason for existing. However one can still find evidence of the massive crowds that used to turn up with the 1911 station including both a vehicle and pedestrian underpass to connect the racetrack to an overflow parking area and the I-95 of its day, Washington Blvd / US Route 1.

Today a major transit oriented development is going up on what used to be racetrack parking. If both sides of the station are redeveloped there will be pressure to restore Laurel Racetrack to full service. Naturally both Laurel and Howard county are worried about undermining the historic downtown Laurel stop, however the Patuxent River runs between the two stations creating two distinct walksheds and creating the uncommon situation where a short stop spacing could be justified.

Well that's all for my coverage of one of North America's strangest passenger rail stations. I'll be back next time as I head yo Hoboken Terminal to meet NJT's fleet of rolling stock.