He recalls powerful engines belching thick puffs of dense gray smoke as they chugged in and out of town. He recollects the echoes of wailing train whistles ricocheting throughout the Tennessee Valley. Mark Womack’s memory is filled with vivid images, spellbinding stories, and the intricate details of a lost era-the days when trains and rails ruled the Scenic City.
“When I was a young boy, my dad took my younger brother and me to the Murfreesboro depot to see the magnificent Dixie Flyer come in from Chicago, and from then on, I was hooked,” explains Womack, a retired railroader, a rail hobbyist, and a bona fide railroad historian. “When I was 17 years old, I landed a job with the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis line. That was way back in 1941, the same year that Glenn Miller and his orchestra released ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo.'”
Peyton Fountain, 2, and his brother Trenton, 5, peek out of the 630 steam locomotive window while their mother takes a photograph during a stop at the Tennessee Valley Railroad MuseumWomack’s illustrious career spanned 42 years as he worked for many rail lines and held many different positions such as freight agent, assistant trainmaster and rules examiner. He experienced the vibrant period when Chattanooga’s depots bustled daily with hundreds of travelers, and he witnessed the steady decline of train travel to a solemn day in 1971 when the last L&N passenger train-The Georgian-rolled slowly away from Union Station with Womack on board.
“Our city was the gateway to the South-a train city with rails radiating in all different directions,” notes the East Ridge railroad buff. “Those tracks represented connections to other communities. Our city owes so much of its success and prosperity to the railroads.”
Indeed, trains played a significant role in Chattanooga’s history, and as a result, our city boasts captivating attractions and hosts celebratory events commemorating the Golden Age of Railroading. The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, the largest operating historic railroad in the Southeast, offers guests the rare experience of riding-and dining aboard-a vintage passenger train. Rail fans young and old can enjoy interesting jaunts to historic Chickamauga, to Copperhill and through the breathtaking scenery of the lower Hiawassee River gorge. Missionary Ridge Local wows crowds with short daily excursions aboard cars pulled by a coalburning steam locomotive.