# A Weekend in Chattanooga



## MrFSS (Aug 13, 2006)

*A Weekend in Chattanooga*

I had an opportunity to be in Chattanooga, TN this weekend and was able to visit the *Chattanooga Choo Choo* which is at the old Chattanooga Terminal Station on Market Street and is now home to a Holiday Inn. They have some old passenger cars that have been converted into hotel rooms and also a diner in a real dining car. It doesn’t go anywhere, just gives you the feeling you’re back in the 40’s on a train.

As you walk out of the old waiting room (now the hotel lobby0 to the track area, you are greeted by a replica of that famous train.







Many associate the train with the famous song, but it actually received its name from the first train to run between Cincinnati and Chattanooga.






The hotel also is home to a large HO Gauge model railroad layout, one of the largest in the country. It is almost 200 feet long and about 35 feet wide. There are over 1000 engines and cars and five main lines that can be run all at the same time. It takes 4-5 minutes for a train to complete a loop.

One end of the layout has a replica of the Terminal Station as it was many years ago.






If you look closely in the next picture, you can see Amtrak equipment sitting at the far track. I was told Amtrak never serviced Chattanooga, but they wanted to have some there, anyway.






And, several Amtrak engines were scattered about the layout.






Lots of my favorite railroad, too, as I grew up in Louisville.






I spent a while at the layout and it was sometimes difficult to take quality pictures as they had plexi glass up to keep little hands away from the models.

To see all the pictures of the area and the layout, go *HERE*

It was a rainy day and some of the outside shots are also not as good as they could be, but I think you’ll get a feel for the place.

My wife and I enjoyed lunch at the station and there are also many little shops and stores. She visited those while I looked at trains. An enjoyable day for both of us. The next day we will ride the Tennessee Valley Railroad to Chickamauga, GA and back. Report follows in Part Two.


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