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Chattanooga Choo Choo

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Christian
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Editor Pick

Chattanooga Choo Choo

  • July 28, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by ufgator1830 from Gainesville, Florida
Chattanooga Choo Choo

The Chattanooga Choo Choo was the nickname given to an 1880 steam locomotive running between Chattanooga and Cincinnati and was made famous by a Glenn Miller Orchestra song in the 1940s (if you’d like to hear the song or see the words and music, click here). Today the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex is owned by Holiday Inn and functions as a hotel, gardens, and more. The Terminal Station, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is now the main lobby of the hotel, and the rail concourse is filled with gardens, historic train cars, and a working New Orleans trolley. This area is bordered by shops, restaurants, and a model railroad museum.

I have stayed at this hotel before (in a restored Victorian train car), which was a unique experience, but it’s a fun place to visit even if you’re not staying at the hotel. There’s no fee to get in (although you do have to pay for parking), so it’s a nice place to spend a couple hours wandering through the shops or getting something to eat from one of the restaurants. Be sure to allow some extra time if you want to visit the Model Railroad Museum, ride on the trolley, or go for a horse drawn carriage ride.

Visit www.choochoo.com for more information about the hotel, a list of shops and restaurants, and to learn about the history of the Choo Choo.

From journal Rock City, Ruby Falls, and More

Editor Pick

Chatanooga Choo Choo

  • July 27, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by J. Stephen from Cincinnati, Ohio
Chatanooga Choo Choo

The Chattanooga Choo Choo is the name of an actual train which ran from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, beginning in 1880, offering the first through passenger service to the South. This little steam engine was dubbed the Chattanooga Choo Choo by a newspaper reporter and later made famous by a 1941 Glenn Miller song, which became the music industry's first ever gold record. Alas, the last passenger train pulled out of the magnificant old Chattanooga Terminal Station on August 11, 1970. Today the Chattanooga Choo Choo is a 24-acre vacation complex with restaurants, shops, gardens, a Model Railroad Museum, trolley rides, and more. The entrance to the old Terminal Station, with its impressive free-standing 85-foot dome, is now the lobby of a Holiday Inn.

Every time I visit the Chattanooga Choo Choo, and I have done so dozens of times, I find myself remembering the wide-eyed excitement of coming here as a little boy. It was a bustling terminal then, with up to 68 trains arriving and departing daily. I came with my parents to pick up Grandmother Minor, who often traveled by train from Decatur, Alabama, to visit us. It was a noisy beehive of activity then, with hissing steam engines and clamoring crowds of people coming and going.

The Choo Choo is quieter now, but it can still be a lively place and one that every visitor to Chattanooga should experience.

Contact Information:
Telephone: 1-423-266-5000
Website: http://www.choochoo.com

From journal Chattanooga, Tennessee: A City Reborn

Editor Pick

Chatanooga Choo Choo Complex

  • May 31, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MCJ graduate from German Valley, Illinois
Have you heard the catch-phrase known in the South? If not, here it is: "It’s a train; it’s a song; it’s a hotel!" This pretty much describes what the Chattanooga Choo Choo is if you claim the imposter engine (the one with the name Chattanooga scrawled on it) as the Chattanooga Choo-Choo train. According to historian Alan Walker, "There has never been a train with this name." He added that Glenn Miller’s famous jazz song was referring to an imaginative train journey from New York to Tennessee, and there are no original steam engines preserved that ever traveled such a route. Therefore, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, now on display is instead the same type of engine that ran on the rail stretch from Cincinnati to Chicago for the first time on March 5, 1886.

Along with this train at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo complex, there are railroad cars remodeled as Holiday Inn’s hotel suites. In addition, the old ticket office now is the hotel’s reception area and it claims to have the world’s largest free standing dome. And the railroad carriage suites are supposed to be spacious if you compare them to Amtrak’s sleepers.

When Sharon and I toured this complex, we really thought it was a nice attraction with the hotel, gardens and fountains, the shops, the restaurants, and of course, the vintage engine. But what we ended up doing besides window shopping was going to the Arcade and playing air hockey and dining at the restaurant called the Silver Diner. This is a '50s-look place that serves you pizza in a diner car. It is really cute for kids to see. We even had our waiter take a picture of us there.

This complex has a lot to offer a visitor. It is a 30-acre vacation and convention complex. And as mentioned before, you can sleep aboard an antique train car. In addition, you can view the gardens and fountains. You can shop at the numerous stores. There are also trolley and horse-drawn carriage rides available. Along with this, there is a photo shop (you can get your picture taken, dressed in vintage clothing) and an arcade to enjoy. Lastly, you can dine in an old train car. Therefore, there is something for everyone here.

The Chattanooga Choo-Choo Complex is open 8am to 10pm daily.

From journal Chattanooga and Surrounding Attractions

Chattanooga Choo Choo Trolley

  • September 14, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Tideone from Huntsville, Alabama
The Chattanooga Choo Choo offers a ride aboard an authentic New Orleans street car for guests and visitors. The trolley winds its way around the Choo Choo complex.

From journal Chattanooga - More than just a choo choo

Chatanooga Choo Choo

  • July 11, 2000
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Christian from West Palm Beach, Florida
I first visited the Chatanooga Choo Choo when I was a young girl with my grandfather. He has always been fascinated with trains. Visiting this larger than life and famously known, 'Chatanooga Choo Choo' seemed so thrilling to me as a child. I had to share this same excitement with my own children and returned to the train station for another visit as an adult. To my surprise (perhaps my age)not only did I enjoy the trains, but now I enjoyed the beautiful gardens on the property as well. I was looking over the numerous species of roses while my children were climbing all over the trains. They were tugging at my pant leg, begging to eat at one of the restaurants now located on the train cars. But I could not take my eyes away from the beautiful gardens. There are over 800 species of roses, a water garden, butterfly garden and a herb garden all located on the premises. But being the mom that I am, I gave into the children.

From journal 1 Mile High in Chatanooga

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