Earl... Don't forget that the steam powered Delta Queen river boat, recently retired from Mississippi River tourist service is moored in Chattanooga. They had one boiler operating to provide power to the ship the last time I was there.
Atlanta is only a two hour drive away where you can see the General and Texas (in 2 different but very neat museums) of "The Great Locomotive Chase" fame. Bob Hogan Madison, GA --- In [email protected], tennsgauge@... wrote: > > There are so many S-related functions that are fun at NASG conventions, and > these have been mentioned. Let me list some other attractions specific to > the upcoming convention in Chattanooga. > - > CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO, former Southern station with motel rooms within > railroad cars in the yard, huge Ho gauge model layout. > - > CHATTANOOGA, A GREAT TOURIST DESTINATION. This is a city that has > transformed itself from a dirty industrialized city to one with great > tourist > attractions. In addition to Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain and the Incline > Railway, the city itself has lots of artsy events, nice restaurants, two > world-class aqariums, including the largest fresh-water aqarium in the > world, > dinner cruises on a beautiful river, IMAX Theatre, and lots of other > attractions, and I have listed these just off the top of my head. > - > TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD AND MUSUEM. This is an actual switching > railroad and tourist railroad with 3 miles of its own track that go through > a > tunnel under Missionary Ridge. Trains are turned on a wye at the main > station and riders get to see the locomotive turned on a turntable at the > other > end. The shops always have restorations taking place, both steam and diesel > and passenger cars. The famous 4501 is currently being restored and may > or may not be finished by convention time. I read that an excursion from > the museum into north Georgia is planned just for our convention-goers. > Whether steam is available is somewhat dependent on what Norfolk Southern's > renewed steam excursion program has scheduled. Steam locomotive 630 has > been > put back into service earlier this year. There is a heavyweight dining car > and observation car normally on the excursions. > - > HIWASSEE LOOP TRAIN EXCURSION - Trains are boarded about an hour's drive > away from Chattanooga. Its extremely scenic and includes a ride over the > famous loop built by the L&N. Usually this train is pulled by a former > NC&StL GP7 that has been restored in its original paint scheme. One of the > coaches usually in this train is an ex-L&N coach restored to its original > scheme on The Hummingbird. > - > NMRA HEADQUARTERS - I have never visited it but it is located next to > the TVRM main station. I think there are plans to move this to the > California State Railroad Museum sometime in the future. Maybe someone else > can > tell us more about this. > - > GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK - This may be the perfect time to > visit our nation's most visited National Park. Attendance has been way down > due to the economy which should make driving easier. Gatlinburg and Pigeon > Forge are terribly commercialized and I do not encourage long stays there. > But the drive from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North > Carolina border is one of the most breath-taking drives in North America. > And > you can drive 7 miles further to Clingman's Dome, highest point in the > park. The 3/4 mile trail to the observation tower is an easy walk. > Visiting > the park is only a short detour for those of you driving from the East. And > its only about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Chattanooga to the park entrance in > Gatlinburg. A leisurely drive through Cades Cove is another favorite > destination in the park and is easily reached by taking the park entrance > from > Maryville, TN. The North Carolina side of the park is less commercialized > and is the location of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. > - > GRANDE OLE OPRY - No this is not in Chattanooga. But for those driving > to the convention through Memphis, St. Louis, or Louisville, its a short > hop off of Interstate 40 or 65 in Nashville. Order your tickets early for > the Friday night or Saturday night shows. > - > OTHER RAILROAD ATTRACTIONS: Excursions on several Saturdays during the > summer on the Tennessee Central Museum trains from Nashville headed east; > Casey Jones Museum in Jackson, TN, just off I-40 between Memphis and > Nashville; NC&StL 4-8-4 on static display in beautiful Centennial Park in > Nashville > (tour the full size replica of The Parthenon while in the park); Cowan > Railroad Museum at the base of the Cumberland Mtn tunnel on former NC&StL > mainline (still a busy CSX line) about an hour's drive east of > Chattanooga;.Southern Appalachia Railroad Museum with its Secret City train > excursions and > lots of restored locos and pass cars, near Oak Ridge. Incidentally there > are two restored steam locomotive that operate an several Saturdays during > the year in Knoxville, TN. Also for those of you traveling through Atlanta, > there is the Southeastern Railroad Museum, and the Southern Museum of Civil > War & Locomotive History in nearby Kennesaw where the civil war locomotive > "The General" is preserved. I am sure I have missed some sites in the > area. > - > WHITE WATER RAFTING - There is great rafting several places including > the Ocoee River not far from Chattanooga. > - > - Earl Henry, Nashville > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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