The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
- Greg_Lewis
- Posts: 3021
- Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
- Location: Fresno, CA
The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
- LivingLegend
- Posts: 2149
- Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:55 pm
- Location: The Boonies of Alabama
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
Last time I visited the Chattanooga Choo-Choo hotel was the last time N&W 611 ran from Birmingham to Chattanooga back in the 90s. I would usually chase the steam excursions NS made out of Birmingham..... 611, 1218, 4501, A&WP 290, etc. NS used the hotel as the end of the first leg of the "steam train" trips running into Chattanooga. While the tender was refueled and filled with water, passengers ate lunch in the hotel and then had time to roam around the area until boarding for the return trip.
The hotel had a large model railroad layout inside. Last I heard it had been, or was about to be removed.
The hotel had a large model railroad layout inside. Last I heard it had been, or was about to be removed.
Do it right.... Or don't do it at all
I have no life. Therefore, I have a hobby
It's not that I'm apathetic, I just flat don't care
An Intellectual is nothing more than an Over-Educated IDIOT
Blogs: Where people with nothing to say..... Say it
I have no life. Therefore, I have a hobby
It's not that I'm apathetic, I just flat don't care
An Intellectual is nothing more than an Over-Educated IDIOT
Blogs: Where people with nothing to say..... Say it
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- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:15 am
- Location: Tennessee, USA
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
The huge model railroad display has been torn out. No longer there. I was over there back in December and was told it had been removed. First time ever to go to the Choo-Choo and not see that. From what I heard, they offered the model railroad club a smaller space right off of the main rotunda where you check in for building another model railroad. If I was them, I would refuse. What's to say they don't decide 2-3 years from now that they want something else in that space too? The whole thing about the display being torn out is, I heard that the owner of the hotel has let his son pretty much take over the business, and he's not into nostalgia and all that, and wanted that space upstairs to turn it into a comedy lounge. They've also cut the gift shop size in about half. Lots of changes over there, not all of them good.
RayeRoad's 3/4" scale Atlantic is still on display where you enter the gift shop.
They also told me that they are going to stop doing the trolley car ride too! At least that's what the plan was when I was there last. They were just going to park it and display it, not run it anymore.
RayeRoad's 3/4" scale Atlantic is still on display where you enter the gift shop.
They also told me that they are going to stop doing the trolley car ride too! At least that's what the plan was when I was there last. They were just going to park it and display it, not run it anymore.
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
When in the area I would highly recommend riding the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. The views are magnificent.
Keith
Keith
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
Anybody know what happened to the Atlantic that was on display at the Choo Choo hotel? I understand it has been removed.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga, TN
- Bill Shields
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Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
get FENDER to act as tour guide....giggle
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
-
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- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:15 am
- Location: Tennessee, USA
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
They used to have a 1/2" scale (Gauge 3) 4-6-4 steamer displayed upstairs right where you entered the model railroad display. It was Built by a Mr. Ribbeck back in the late 1940's. That ended up being removed and is now on display in the Tennessee Valley Railroad depot where you board their local. Last time I was at the Choo-Choo hotel, about 20 months ago, the Rayeroad 3/4" Atlantic was still there. If they have decided to get rid of it, it might end up over at TVR as well. I'm not surprised about its disappearance based on the other decisions that management seems to be making in the past couple of years.
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
The Atlantic wasn't at TVRM when I was there last weekend. The model RR guys were very upset about the disppearance of the Atlantic, and didn't know what happened to it.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga, TN
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- Location: Cambridge Ontario
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
A while back, when I posted about this engine, the original owner seemed to be interested in it. Maybe he bought it back?
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
All this aside, I will only speak to the quality of the service and the hotel. I have stayed there twice. The first time was to attend a conference in the area. At the time I was spending sixty to a hundred days on the road, so I get to see a lot of hotels, some good, some bad. The service was non existent and the room was dingy and had a smell. When I called down to the desk they sent up a made with a can of Lysol for me to spray.
Some years later my wife and two other families booked rooms. Once again we found the rooms dingy and found ants in the bathroom. When we called down to the desk to complain the sent us a can of spray raid and left it outside our door. The other two families moved out of the hotel during the night after finding ants in bed with them. This after the management said there were no other rooms to give them. They were not offered a refund by the way.
The next morning when I asked to speak with a manager, he would not even come out to the desk.
Needless to say we have not been back.
Some years later my wife and two other families booked rooms. Once again we found the rooms dingy and found ants in the bathroom. When we called down to the desk to complain the sent us a can of spray raid and left it outside our door. The other two families moved out of the hotel during the night after finding ants in bed with them. This after the management said there were no other rooms to give them. They were not offered a refund by the way.
The next morning when I asked to speak with a manager, he would not even come out to the desk.
Needless to say we have not been back.
Charlie Pipes
Mid-South Live Steamers
Current Projects:
Scratch Built 3 3/4 scale 0-4-4 Forney
Little Engines American
20 Ton Shay (Castings and Plans Purchased for future)
Mid-South Live Steamers
Current Projects:
Scratch Built 3 3/4 scale 0-4-4 Forney
Little Engines American
20 Ton Shay (Castings and Plans Purchased for future)
- Greg_Lewis
- Posts: 3021
- Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
- Location: Fresno, CA
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
You can look them up on TripAdvisor. The recent reviews are mixed.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
- johnpenn74
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 12:54 pm
- Location: Waiting for next assignment!
Re: The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel
It was there when I came up for the EP spring meet. Took a photo. It was in the dining room then.
John Pennington
Logging meets that actually move logs
Project
2 Mich-Cal Shays
Allen 4-4-0 Narrow Gauge Conversion
Two Reading A5a Camelback 0-4-0
USRA 0-6-0
Clishay
4 Western Wheeled Scraper NG Dump Cars
N&W 4-8-2
ICM 2-10-2
4 Modern Stake Cars
L&N Caboose
4 Big Four Conversion Gondolas
Like I'm actually gonna build all this stuff
Logging meets that actually move logs
Project
2 Mich-Cal Shays
Allen 4-4-0 Narrow Gauge Conversion
Two Reading A5a Camelback 0-4-0
USRA 0-6-0
Clishay
4 Western Wheeled Scraper NG Dump Cars
N&W 4-8-2
ICM 2-10-2
4 Modern Stake Cars
L&N Caboose
4 Big Four Conversion Gondolas
Like I'm actually gonna build all this stuff