Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Georgia excursions to return

830 at Tennessee Valley Railroad MuseumPhoto byAkron Railroad Museum

CHATTANOOGA, TN (RAILFAN JOURNAL) - For the first time in years Tennessee Valley steam will return to Georgia when the Summerville Steam Special crosses the state line at Rossville on September 16, 2023.

On hiatus for years, the Summerville Steam Special will return on September 16 with a doubleheader of Southern 4501 and Southern 630 leading the way. 4501 will handle the rest of the excursions on September 30, October 7, 14-15, 21-22, 28, and November 4-5.

The trip takes visitors from Grand Junction depot in Chattanooga through the foothills of Georgia to the small town of Summerville, Georgia. Along the way the train will pass through the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which commemorates two battles of the Civil War, the battle of Chickamauga and the siege of Chattanooga.

The train leaves Chattanooga at 9am and upon arrival in Summerville at 1:05pm, passengers will detrain and enjoy the town for an hour before returning to Chattanooga, arriving back at Grand Junction at 6pm.

Given the all day timetable for the trip, breakfast and lunch in the dining car will be available with certain ticket options. a boxed lunch will also be included with a lower priced ticket. There are also tickets available for those not wishing to partake in onboard meals.

Also returning is the Chickamauga Turn, a 6 hour trip from Chattanooga to the historic town of Chickamauga, Georgia. Departing Chattanooga at 10am, a scenic two hour ride will usher passengers to the town. Once in Chickamauga, passengers can enjoy a roughly hour and a half layover before boarding back to Chattanooga and arriving back at 4:30. The Chickamauga Turn will run September 23-24 as well as October 9th and 30th.

Tickets for both excursions are still available and can be purchased online at tvrail.com

It should be noted that, while steam is planned, we are dealing 100+ year old machines and thus it cannot be fully guaranteed that these trains will be steam powered.