BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Gettysburg Times Staff Writer

The preliminary legislation, OK’d by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, now goes to the House floor for further debate and vote.

U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, whose congressional district includes Gettysburg, proposed the bill in December.

Gettysburg Borough Council owns the station, and it is trying to sell the Carlisle Street depot to the National Park Service. But the sale cannot occur until the station is included within the boundaries of the 6,000-acre Gettysburg Battlefield.

“This is really great news for Gettysburg,” said Borough Council President John Butterfield.

“It’s the first of several steps that will need to be taken to make the sale of the train station to the National Park Service a reality,” continued Butterfield. “I’m confident that Congressman Platts will continue to support it in the House and that (Pennsylvania) Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey will do likewise in the Senate.”

In addition to the train station, Platts’ bill would place 45 acres of farmland at the base of Big Round Top, near Plum Run in Cumberland Township, within the park’s boundaries. The land was donated to the park’s fundraising and management partner, the Gettysburg Foundation, in 2009, and the site abuts Park Service property.

“The two additions proposed by my legislation would add great value to the park’s already impressive resources,” Platts said in a statement.

“I commend the Resources Committee for its continued support of the National Park Service and in particular, Gettysburg National Military Park,” added Platts. “I look forward to the full House of Representatives considering the bill in the near future.”

There was no indication of when the full U.S. House plans to review the bill.

President Abraham Lincoln arrived and left town at the station when he gave the Gettysburg Address in Nov. 1863.

The Park Service is negotiating with the Borough of Gettysburg to obtain the station, in a deal believed to be valued at $722,000. Negotiations began late in 2007, when veteran Councilman Ted Streeter was the president of Borough Council. Since then, the nine-person board has seen two leadership changes.

Legal issues have stalled the sale, such as clearance from the CSX Corporation.

If the sale occurs, and officials are confident that it will, the station will be operated in accordance with the Gettysburg Interpretive Plan as a downtown visitor orientation center.

The station was donated to the borough in the late 1990s, and the borough launched a capital campaign to restore the derelict structure. Federal and state grants were obtained as part of a $2.5 million restoration project, and the station was re-dedicated in 2006-07. 

The station is now the official home of the Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.