"Chattanooga Choo Choo" could mean one of three things:(1) The General, a locomotive we had on display at the L&N Station, now ensconced in Kennesaw, Georgia. See more photos here. This engine was on display at the L&N Station across from the Read House in Chattanooga until the 1960s, when it was taken back to the factory for an overhaul. We didn't get it back. "The General" was the one captured by Andrews Raiders during the Civil War, an event made into a movie a few decades ago.
ADDED, just for June: The train you probably remember, one now "parked" on the track behind the hotel (see #2), is not The General. Here's a photo of the one at the hotel, taken by someone tracking down the Chattanooga choo choo:
(2) A hotel named the Chattanooga Choo Choo on the site of what was Chattanooga's "other" train station. This one, called the Terminal Station, was where my dad unloaded mail from a train into a semi-trailer truck in the wee hours of a May morning. What happened next can be read here.(3) The song "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" made famous by Glenn Miller, which I recently posted.
Here's another version of the song, music only. I like it! The lyrics are printed on that page, in case you are interested. "Chattanooga choo choo, won't you choo-choo me home?" Yep, Chattanooga is my hometown. Click to enlarge the photo.
How did Georgia get away with that?! Hmmm. Despite your fine effort, I still can't get a clear picture of where I was exactly, but given the time of my visit, I have to conclude it was the "other" Terminal Station that I saw. Is the L&N station (sans the General)still in use? Love the song, by the way...I was brought up on Glenn Miller.
ReplyDeleteJune, I googled "Chattanooga Kennesaw choo choo" to find some of my sources from earlier today so I could explain for you how Georgia got away with "stealing" OUR Chattanooga choo choo. Guess what turned up at the top of the queue? LOL, it was this:
ReplyDeleteBonnie's Books: Chattanooga Choo Choo ~ "The General""Chattanooga Choo Choo" could mean one of three things: (1) "The General," a locomotive we had on display at the Terminal Station, now ensconced in Kennesaw ...
bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/chattanooga-choo-choo-general.html - 3 hours ago -
Oh me, oh my, I have now become the top source of information about this subject!
Bonnie, you’re so good to have pursued this for me. That's it. Finally, the mystery…or should I say memory…is solved! Thanks much! Keep this up and pretty soon the city will have you employed as an official tour guide :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, June, I do this all the time! Look at my blogs:
ReplyDeleteBonnie's Books (scroll to the bottom)
http://greeningtheblueplanet.blogspot.com/
(scroll to the bottom)
http://continuingthequest.blogspot.com/
(the header behind the blog title)
http://wordsfromawordsmith.blogspot.com/
(at the bottom, again)
http://plumcrazyredhatmamas.blogspot.com/
(on the left sidebar, beside the first post)
Actually, it's the LAST post ... we have disbanded our red hat chapter.
Can you believe that I lived most of my life in Georgia and yet never visited the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?
ReplyDeleteI love the song version of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo - wonderful, foot-tapping music!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" song. You just can't help but smile when you hear it.
ReplyDeleteOn a more somber note, I'm really sorry about your dad, Bonnie. Such a tragedy. I have known of so many innocent lives lost and ruined because someone made the selfish decision to get in their vehicle and drive after drinking.