Chattanooga Choo Choo

All aboard...

Travel back to the 1880s (in your mind) and think about how exciting it must have been to be at Chattanooga Union Station. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad had a small wood burning steam locomotive that journeyed from Chattanooga, TN to Cincinnati, Ohio. 

The wood-burning "Choo Choo" was the first to provide non-stop service. How cool is that?!?

Today, you can see a train engine displayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It is the same kind of wood-burner used on that first run from Cincinnati to Chattanooga in the 1880s. Amazingly almost all trains traveling South passed right through my hometown, Chattanooga.

Cool Fact: The one on display was built by Baldwin and last used in service on the Smoky Mountain Railroad in the 1940's. It is completely refurbished & only engine of its kind now in the city!

 

Of course I cannot visit here without singing in my head... "Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?"

Thanks Glenn Miller Orchestra... now I will be singing it all day! In 1941 the song was performed by Glenn Miller Orchestra and Tex Beneke and the Modernaires in the movie "Sun Valley Serenade". Watch it here. The Chattanooga Choo Choo song traveled fast during World War II and has a catchy ring to it.

 

As most of us know there was a decline in railroad passenger traffic in the 1950s & 1960s. And unlike many stations built before the Civil War, Chattanooga's Union Station was saved from demolition by local businessmen and renamed Chattanooga Terminal Station. Inspired by the theme of the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" they revitalized it and it opened on April 11, 1973.  

You may think it is only about visiting the train while here, but make sure to go inside the actual station. It will give you a glimpse at some of the elegance that purchasing a ticket, having a drink or meal, and riding the train must have been like. 

Personal Fact: My mother departed on a train here for her high school trip to Washington, DC. She boarded the train with a packed sandwich to eat along the way. That is pretty cool!

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, Chattanooga Choo Choo Historic Hotel is considered one of the city's first historic preservation projects. So, make sure to look around the station and read some of the historical plaques about military and local history...