posted
So, the Battleship Missouri veterans are having a reunion in Nashville, Tennessee (aka Possum Holler) Wed. August 29-Tues. September 4. I've never been to one yet; I'd like to make this one. I should have the vacation time and a little bit of spending money; so now, what can I do to add a little bit of railfan flavor to the trip?
If it was 1957 I would know exactly what to do: Board the Missouri Pacific's through sleeper to Memphis on the Texas Eagle departing Union Station in Houston at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. I would arrive Memphis bright and early the next morning at 7:00 a.m., grab a quick bite of breakfast at the station (no dining car east of Little Rock, unfortunately), board the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis train 105-5 departing Memphis at 7:35 a.m., and arrive Nashville in time for a late lunch at 12:40 p.m. Same route returning, leaving Nashville 1:35 p.m. Tuesday, arriving Memphis 7:00 p.m. and departing at 8:30, arriving Houston 10:40 Wednesday morning. If it were 1967 I would also know what to do; take the eastbound Sunset Limited departing the S.P. station in Houston at 11:55 a.m. and arriving New Orleans at 7:45 p.m., whence I would have two options. If the Sunset was on time (BIG IF) I could transfer directly to the L & N's Pan American departing New Orleans at 8:30 where I could choose between a roomette, a double bedroom, or an open section to relax in until arrival in Nashville early the next afternoon at 12:45 p.m. Should Southern Pacific be up to their reported 1960s tricks of deliberately delaying trains so that customers would miss connections and thereby be discouraged from returning (in that time frame, Southern Pacific would have issued shotguns to their station agents to drive away passengers if they thought they could have gotten away with it) then I would simply overnight in New Orleans (hardly a fate worse than death) and catch the next morning's L & N Humming Bird northbound at 8:15 a.m., arriving Nashville at 10:50 p.m.
Unfortunately it is neither 1957 nor 1967; it is 2007 and none of those civilized options are available to me. It appears that I will either have to crunch my 270 lbs into a Torquemada seat in an aluminum Spam can after being forced to remove my shoes and have my person and belongings probed, prodded, and x-rayed; or else I face 14-16 mind-numbing hours behind the wheel of my compact car on Interstate highways while proceeding from point A to point B. Neither option is appealing, although when ticket fares are factored into the equation the latter alternative appears somewhat less undesirable.
So. I face a trip for which no reasonable civilized alternative exists (Sorry, Amtrak fans, but I do not consider arriving 200 miles from my destination at 10:00 p.m. after having already spent one overnight in New Orleans as being reasonable). What can I do or visit along the way to lend at least a touch of classic railroad flavor to my otherwise unappealing journey? Comments and suggestions are welcome.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
Right in Nashville you might want to consider staying at the Wyndham Hotel. It's in the historic Union Station erected by the Louisville and Nashville in about 1895 or so.
You would probably want to visit the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville. They periodically offer excursions hauled by vintage E unit diesels over the old Tennessee Central (now Nashville and Eastern) Railway between Nashville and Watertown or even all the way to Cookeville.
The new Nashville Star Commuter train over the same Nashville and Eastern has three or four weekday trains between Lebanon, TN and Nashville....about a 30 mile ride.
If you have time to get a little further afield, 120 miles west of Nashville there is a tourist trap/museum celebrating the death of Casy Jones in Jackson, TN. There is even an old 4-6-0 made up to look like Casey's engine on display.
BUT......If you have time to get further afield, I would recommend a visit to the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum in Chattanooga. Live steam is probable plus one of two or three ride opportunities. In fact, if you are up for rare mileage I'd look at going all the way to Etowah in southeastern Tennessee to ride a diesel powered train on the 'Hiwassee Loop'. The 50 mile RT, 4 hour excursions are operated on a portion of the original L&N mainline by the TVRM. The highlight is the Hiwassee Loop where the train gains altitude by circling around the mountain and crossing over itself. Up on the mountain you can see the TVA Appalachia Dam which is in North Carolina even though the train you are riding has never left Tennessee.
This link TVRM will tell you more about the fine Tennessee Valley Railroad offerings.
Going north from Nashville about three hours you could see the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, KY or the nearby Old Kentucky Dinner Train in Bardstown, KY.
posted