I just got back from a week's vacation in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of America's true train towns. Just about everywhere there are crossings, tracks, some type of rr structure, rolling stock, or active trains, not to even mention the historical trains. We stayed in the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn and there was passenger varnish all over, some of them were converted into hotel rooms. The highlight of my vacation was the trip to the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum just north of town. They offer daily short excursions on historical passenger cars, usually pulled by a restored steamer. Last week, out in the yard they displayed the 4501 Southern Mikado, a ten wheeler, an Atlantic from the Georgia Southern and at their maintenance facility, volunteers were hard at work restoring an USRA Pacific. The steamer they used for my trip was a Balwin Consolidation, and looked incredibly like the N scale Spectrum Consolidation and the HO counterpart. The ride was ten bucks. To me it was worth twice that or more. Additinally they offered during the holiday a downtown excursion from the museum to the Choo Choo for $15, which was pulled by a restored GP7. A great experience for an affordable price and given the chance, I'm going back!!!! Steam excursions forever! Ken "Steamguy" Willaman
Yes sir, the TVRM is a great place to visit. Which end of the run is the 4501 displayed on, the Museum end or the Maintenance yard (with the turntable)? Do they still have the large scale model New York Central Hudson at the museum ticket office? I haven't been there since 1993.
I was there in '87, and they had an Awesome HO layout on the 2nd floor of the old Union Station. Hope it's still there today. That same day I watched them turn the Consolidation on an arm-strong table next to the Ticket Office.
