All Aboard Historic Tennessee Trains!

Train buffs, history fans, and adventurous visitors should find the time to take a trip on one of the many historic train lines in Tennessee. With careful planning you can find an excursion to fill a couple of hours or give you an entire day of fun and sightseeing. Since we're talking about Tennessee here, we have to start in Chattanooga, the train town forever emblazoned in American popular history with the song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo." The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum runs several trips from its Grand Junction Station at 4119 Cromwell Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The most frequent trip is its Missionary Ridge Local which will take you and your family on a six mile trip to the East Chattanooga Depot and back. You'll be pulled by either a steam engine or a vintage diesel locomotive. Along the way you'll be treated to a ride through one of Tennessee's oldest railroad tunnels.

After you arrive at the East Chattanooga Depot you will get to see how a locomotive is turned around and take a tour of the railroad's maintenance and restoration shop. The trip typically lasts about 55 minutes and costs $14 for adults and $8 for children ages three to eight. The trip is generally scheduled several times daily throughout spring and summer with less frequent outings during fall and winter.

The Chickamauga Turn trip runs a little over six hours taking riders to historic Chickamauga, Georgia with a short stopover at Wilder Tower in Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park.

Tickets are $32 for adults and $24 for children ages three to 12 years old. This excursion runs on Saturdays from mid April to mid September.

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has other special trips including Dinner on the Diner and the Hiwassee River Rail Adventure. For current schedules and additional information visit their website.

A little more than two hours up I-24 will bring you to Nashville, Tennessee where the Tennessee Central Railway Museum runs passenger excursions set around a variety of themes. Their trips always include something special: fall foliage, a train "robbery," civil war re-enactment, on-board murder mystery, or visits from Santa.

Round trip train routes range in length from five miles to a whopping 216 miles. The longest trip takes riders all the way from Nashville to Monterey to enjoy the striking fall colors.

Unlike the Chattanooga trips, the Nashville trains typically run only on weekends. But they don't run every weekend, so make sure you take a good look at their current schedule as you are making your plans. Advance ticket purchases are highly recommended.

About three hours east of Nashville is Knoxville where conductors for the Three Rivers Rambler give the "all aboard" for 90-minute trips that depart from the downtown area and run along the Tennessee River.

You'll pass by beautiful farmland, see the quarries that produced the stones to build our nation's capitol, and enjoy lovely farmlands.

The trains run mostly on Saturdays with occasional Friday and Sunday trips. As with the other historic trains, the Three Rivers Rambler has several themed runs throughout the year. Check their schedule before you go.

The Southern Appalachia Railway Museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee operates the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train on various weekends throughout the year. The 14-mile trips leave from the Heritage Center, where important work on the first atomic bomb was conducted, and wind through the beautiful hills and valleys of East Tennessee. Part of the route was seen in the movie, "October Sky."

Passengers are seated in restored-and air conditioned-1940s era passenger and dining cars. Pulling the trains are 1950s vintage Alco diesel locomotives.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. The schedule changes often throughout the year. Check out their website for more information and to purchase tickets.

If all these trains sound great, but your family is craving a theme park experience, you might consider a ride on the Dollywood Express, which is pulled by a 110-ton coal-fired steam engine. The historic train will take you on an unforgettable five-mile trip through the Great Smoky Mountain foothills. Note that the park closes down for a few months after the New Years holiday. Check their schedule before you go.

Sources:
http://tvrail.com/index.php
http://tcry.org/pass_ops.htm#schedule
http://www.threeriversrambler.com/
http://www.techscribes.com/sarm/sarm.htm
http://www.dollywood.com/