QueenBee’s Birthday Extravaganza:
Summerville Double Steam Special

 

I had one of the best birthday celebrations ever, and I want to share what we did. We went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad in Chattanooga, TN to board the Summerville Double Steam Special. We had an absolute blast.

The Trip

We began the day trip around 8:30 a.m., where we went into the Station and exchanged our receipts for train tickets. When we were waiting in line for the conductor to punch our tickets, we found out that steam engine train enthusiasts from all over the country traveled to Chattanooga just to take the Double Steam Engine trip.

 

A double steam train is two steam engines hooked up to the same train. The engines are authentic, restored vintage engines. In fact, we were thrilled to find out that the engines had been made by our friend, W.B. Baldwin’s grandfather.

 

 

 

We walked to our Pullman Car and spent the first half of the trip to Summerville GA marveling at the scenery, watching the amateur photographers who lined the road along the trip to photograph the double steam train, and eating a wonderful breakfast and lunch in the Dining Car. The food was delicious, and the service was excellent. This really reminded me of the luxury of taking my first cross country train trip with my family.

 

The highlight of the trip was arriving in Summerville GA where they used a turntable to position the train so that we could return to Chattanooga. Summerville had a wonderful ice cream contest running, a historical cabin in the park to visit, and the photo opportunity to video the train turning. It was a very quaint town with lots of historical interest. Here is the train being turned:

The return trip was relaxing. About half way back to Chattanooga, everyone was invited to get off the train. Then, the engineers and stokers on the train build up the steam, so the train goes “full steam ahead.” What fun!

I highly recommend the vintage train trips at Tennessee Valley Railroad. Remember a bygone era; visit local towns and sites; and share nature, history and a love of trains. Truly, this was a birthday celebration to remember!