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Trains are on permanent display at the Chattanooga station.

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a big-band/swing song which was featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred amongst others Sonja Henie, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle and Joan Davis. It was performed in the film as an extended production number, featuring vocals by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires followed by a production number showcasing Dorothy Dandridge and an acrobatic dance sequence by The Nicholas Brothers. Image File history File links Derived from public domain images featured at: http://commons. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1,011 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by me at the Chattanooga train station August 19, 2005. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1,011 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by me at the Chattanooga train station August 19, 2005. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s, although there are many big-bands around nowadays. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ... The year 1941 in film involved some significant events. ... Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne and Milton Berle. ... Sonja Henie (April 8, 1912 - October 12, 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and actress. ... This article is about the jazz musician. ... The Modernaires began as a trio of schoolmates from Buffalos Lafayette High School in 1935. ... Milton Berle (July 12, 1908 - March 27, 2002) was an Emmy-winning American comedian who was born Milton Berlinger. ... Joan Davis (b. ... Gordon Lee Tex Beneke (born February 12, 1914 in Fort Worth, Texas; died May 30, 2000) was an American bandleader, tenor saxophonist and singer. ... Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922–September 8, 1965) was an American actress. ... Categories: African Americans | Tap dancers | Art stubs ...

The 78-rpm commercial version of the song was recorded on May 7th, 1941 for RCA Victor's Bluebird label and became the first to be certified a gold disc on February 10, 1942, for sales of 1,200,000. The transcription of this award ceremony can be heard on the first of three volumes of RCA's "Legendary Performer" compilations on Glenn released by RCA in the 1970s. In the early 1990s a two-channel recording of a portion of the Sun Valley Serenade soundtrack was discovered, allowing reconstruction of a true-stereo version of the film performance. A 12-inch record (left), a 7-inch record (right), and a CD (above) Two 7 singles (left), two colored 7 singles (middle), and two 7 singles with large spindle holes (right). ... Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the result of a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (part of Sony) and BMG Entertainment (part of Bertelsmann AG) completed in August 2004. ... The description Gold Album is applied to recorded music albums that have sold a minimum number of copies (in the US, currently 500,000 sales). ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1941 in music, other events of 1942, 1943 in music and the list of years in music. // Events Bunk Johnson makes his first recordings Albums released Holiday Inn - Bing Crosby Top hit records Blues In the Night by Woody Herman Dont sit under the Apple Tree - Andrews... This article is about the jazz musician. ... RCA, formerly an acronym for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark owned by Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson. ... Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne and Milton Berle. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... This article is about the spacecraft and the mission. ...

The song was written by the team of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren while traveling on the Southern Railway's "Birmingham Special" train. The song tells the story of travelling from New York City to Chattanooga. However, the inspiration for the song was a small, wood-burning steam locomotive of the 2-6-0 type which belonged to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, which is now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system. That train is now a museum artifact (see below). From 1880, most trains bound for America's South passed through the southeastern Tennessee city of Chattanooga, often on to the super-hub of Atlanta. The Chattanooga Choo Choo did not refer to any particular train, though some have incorrectly asserted that it referred to Louisville and Nashville's Dixie Flyer or the Southern Railway's Crescent Limited. Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler, 21 June 1904 - 1 March 1959) was an American composer and lyricist of songs for the stage and film. ... Harry Warren (December 24, 1893 - September 22, 1981) was a music composer of many different styles. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Chattanooga is a city located in United States of America. ... One of the last mainline steam locomotives built in the UK: British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 no. ... SRC 89 working on the daily passenger train in 1993. ... The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (AAR reporting mark CNTP) is a railroad that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chattanooga, Tennessee. ... Norfolk Southern Corporation (AAR reporting mark NS) NYSE: NSC is a US publicly-traded stock corporation based in Norfolk, Virginia. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... Chattanooga is a city located in United States of America. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business. ... The Southern Railway (AAR reporting mark SOU) was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894. ... The Crescent is a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern part of the United States. ...

Legacy

Today, one of the original trains has pride of place in Chattanooga's former Terminal Station. Once owned and operated by the Southern Railway, the station was saved from demolition after the withdrawal of passenger railway service in the early 1970s, and it is now part of a 30 acre (12 hectare) resort complex, including the Choo-Choo Holiday Inn and numerous historical railway exhibits. For a premium, guests can stay in half of a restored passenger railway car (availability varies). Dining at the complex includes the Gardens restaurant in the Terminal Station itself, The Station House (which is housed in a former baggage storage) and the "Dinner in the Diner" which is the complexes fine dining venue, housed in a restored 1940's dining car. The city's other historic station, Union Station, was demolished in 1973 and the site is now a large office building, even though parts of that station predated the Civil War. In addition to the railroad exhibits at "the Choo Choo", there are further exhibits at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, which is in the suburb of East Chattanooga. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... This article is about the hotel chain. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum ( initialised TVRM) was founded in 1961 by a group of railfans that did not want to see the steam locomotives go to scrap. ...

The reputation given to the city by the song also lent itself to making Chattanooga the home of the National Model Railroad Association. In addition, the athletics mascot at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a rather menacing-looking anthropomorphized mockingbird named Scrappy, who is dressed as a railroad engineman and is sometimes depicted at the throttle of a steam locomotive. The National Model Railroad Association or NMRA is a non-profit organization for those involved in the hobby or business of model railroading. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Andrew Cecil Scrappy Moore (1903 - May 31, 1971) was head football coach of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1934 until his retirement in 1967. ...

The Dixie Flyer originally was a named train that did pass through and stop in Chattanooga on its run from Chicago to Miami. That railroad, until 1957 was the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad (NC&StL). The NC&StL was merged into L&N in 1957. Now it is part of CSX. This company began as Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company, chartered in Nashville in 1845 and one of the first railways to operate in the state. ... Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business. ... CSX Transportation (AAR reporting marks CSXT) is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the CSX Corporation. ...

The Southern Crescent did not go through Chattanooga, but there were at least three other Southern Railway trains that ran through Chattanooga direct to Washington and on to New York without changing trains. There was a change of locomotives between Bristol, Tennessee, and Lynchburg, Virginia; Norfolk and Western Railway operated the train on that portion, turning it back over to the Southern at Lynchburg. The named trains on this route were the Pelican, Birmingham Special and Tennessean. The Southern Railway (AAR reporting mark SOU) was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894. ... State Street separates Virginia (left) and Tennessee (right). ... Lynchburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... The Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) (AAR reporting marks NW), a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. ...

The song was parodied in the Mel Brooks Horror Comedy - Young Frankenstein.
"Gene Wilder - 'Pardon me boy, is this the Transylvania Station?'
Young Boy - 'Yah, Yah, Track 29... Do you want a shine?'
Gene Wilder - 'Oh... No thanks...'"
This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Young Frankenstein is a 1974 comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Gene Wilder as the title character. ... Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933) is an American comedic actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Willy Wonka and his collaborations with Mel Brooks, most notably Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein, and his many movies with Richard Pryor, including Silver Streak...

The Roy Rogers joke

There exists a short, but widely varied, joke that makes a play on the lyrics, "Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?" Rather than those words, the man walking with Roy Rogers says, "Pardon me Roy, is that the cat who chewed your new shoes?" Dale Evans and Roy Rogers at the 61st Academy Awards Leonard Franklin Slye (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), who became famous as Roy Rogers, was a singer and cowboy actor. ...

(The full context of one version of the joke can be found here)

External links

• Official Chattanooga Choo Choo Website
• Details of the song 'Chattanooga Choo Choo', written and recorded in 1941, performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Video of music and stage performance