Gettysburg Train Station Renovation
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Follansbee TCS II Brings New Life to Restored Gettysburg Railroad Station
On November 18, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln arrived at the train station in Gettysburg, PA, where on the following morning, he was scheduled to deliver a short speech at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. On November 18, 2006, 143 years after Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, a newly restored version of the old train station gives tourists an idea of what the building looked like on that historic day.
The new beginning comes after years of planning and construction funded by federal and state sources, plus a quarter million dollars in private donations from foundations and individuals.
A red painted Follansbee TCS II roof, very similar to the original, tops the restored building. “This is one of the most high-profile historic buildings in the country,” says Dr. Walter Powell, historic preservations officer of the Borough of Gettysburg. “Follansbee comes very close to replicating the original roof. That’s why this product was selected.”
Originally built in 1858 and expanded in the 1880s, Gettysburg Railroad Station has seen presidents and passengers, and even served as a makeshift hospital during the Civil War in the summer of 1863. Although the last passenger train passed through in 1942, the Station has remained a landmark of the Civil War era, for both the Borough and the nation.
A team of architects from John Milner Architects, Inc. (JMI), led by Principal Mary W. DeNadai, FAIA, guided the restoration. When asked why they specified TCS II, JMI’s J. Drew, RA, said that Follansbee’s products and available color choices are “appropriate for historic projects such as this one.”
“Our standard coating colors are carefully formulated to replicate traditional and historic roofs,” explains Edward Thomas, vice president and general manager of Follansbee. “The traditional coating colors as well as the traditional terne metal make Follansbee an ideal roofing material for historic restorations. The corrosion resistance of the material also helps to protect these landmarks. For this project, TCS II was selected for its superior corrosion resistance and painted red to achieve the original appearance.”
To get a closer look at the remnants of the original roof, DeNadai and her team climbed atop the station with the help of the Borough Fire Department’s ladder truck. Tearing through layers of modern roofing material, the team exposed the original roofing substrate of the 1858 section, and found the roof of the 1880s addition to be mostly intact. They used the information they gathered to specify and detail the roof restoration.
“There was enough evidence remaining to confirm the original materials and color,” explained Drew. “There were only a few roofing materials available in the 1850s. The substrate we found on the original section was a shallow-sloped solid plank wood, which suggested that the original roof material was flat-seam metal roofing. This was further corroborated by some early photographs of the building.”
The restored Gettysburg Railroad Station, in development since 1998, is now open to the tens of thousands of tourists who come annually to Gettysburg to visit the Battlefield and National Cemetery on the outskirts of town. The Station will be an information and orientation center with museum-like exhibits that tell the Borough’s story.
For the publicly-bid project, John Milner Architects, Inc., Chadds Ford, Pa., served as architect, and Donald B. Smith Roofing, Inc., Hanover, Pa., as the installer, McCoy Brothers, Carlisle, Pa., as the general contractor and Bradco Supply, York, Pa., as the distributor. JMI’s Drew noted, “Follansbee’s representative was knowledgeable and responsive, and D.B. Smith’s work was well-crafted and historically correct; we’d be pleased to work with either again.”
In addition to the 5,500 square feet of TCS II roof on the station, Follansbee’s KlassicKolors, approximately 2,700 square feet, was selected for the site’s contemporary “train shed,” housing an outdoor exhibit space. TCS II was specified as flat seam and KlassicKolors as standing seam. Both materials were also formed into half-round gutters and leaders.
TCS II is an architectural stainless steel coated with Follansbee's patented ZT (zinc/tin) alloy. s a result of Follansbee’s extensive metallurgic research, TCS II does not require painting – although, as with this project, special paints are available. TCS II is designed to weather naturally to an attractive gray patina and can withstand severe corrosive conditions including industrial, coastal, and salt-water environments. Follansbee offers nine preformed profiles for metal roofing, including six standing seam profiles, but the highly versatile TCS II can be tailored into a variety of design forms, from the traditional standing seam roof to a vertical wall, barrel applications, shingles, and customized sections in flat or spherical shapes. TCS II is solderable and virtually maintenance-free.
KlassicKolors is a pre-painted Terne II zinc/tin coated roofing sheet offered in an extensive palette of designer colors. Its base sheet is coated with Follansbee’s patented ZT (zinc/tin) alloy and then painted with solar reflective coatings. The ZT alloy provides enhanced durability and extends the life of the metal for many years, even if the painted surface is breached. KlassicKolors is available in a selection of hues, ranging from deep, rich tones of red, blue, green, and gray to earth tones of beige, tans and browns. These colors were chosen to maintain the oxide hues that have characterized Terne roofs since colonial times. Custom formulated colors are also available. The low sheen of KlassicKolors coatings gives any building a traditional look, which makes them ideal for both new and existing construction, as well as restoration projects.
About Follansbee Steel
Follansbee® Steel offers a selection of highly corrosion-resistant architectural metals that meet the needs of new and retrofit commercial, institutional, residential and historic preservation projects. Follansbee materials include Terne II®, KlassicKolors®, TCS II® and TCS Satin™ that feature a proprietary ZT® (zinc/tin) alloy for performance and longevity. The company also fabricates materials with ZT alloy for architectural applications. For more information call (800) 624-6906 or visit www.follansbeeroofing.com.