Tar paper roofs with battens?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have seen photos of buildings with tar paper roofs that have battens on them running from top to bottom. What is their function? Is it to hold down the tar paper? If so, is the tar paper rolled out from top to bottom also, with the battens covering the seams? Or is the tar paper rolled out in the normal horizontal fashion and the battens are added only to help hold down the tar paper and not to cover the seams? I wish to model this so I would like to get it right. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

2

I had to research a station model I built for a museum, and what I learned was that the roof was originally covered in sheets of metal and battens were attached on the joints - running from the top to the edge. Once this was all assembled, the whole thing was covered in tar.

That being said, the same process could have been applied in later years when rolled tar paper became available.

Mark.

3

Generally, the battens run up and down from what I’ve seen on roofs. If you ran them horizontally, they would interfere with drainage.

On walls, I’ve seen them both ways, vertical and horizontal.

Main purpose was to keep wind from catching the edge of the roofing to keep it from tearing.