Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
Chattanooga welcomed its first rail line with the arrival of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in 1850. The city quickly became a railroad hub with industries springing up in the area to take advantage of the new transportation corridors. During the Civil War, confederate and union leaders recognized Chattanooga’s strategic advantage because of its railroads, and in subsequent decades, the city’s railroad reputation gave rise to the iconic song “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
Today, TVRM preserves railroad equipment and our passenger trains run on the historic route, which includes Missionary Ridge Tunnel, completed in 1858 and on the National Register of Historic Places.