The hotel has started to scrap a few cars per posts on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AOTTORC ... 580671749/

When I visited in 1980 and rode the New Orleans trolley, there was also a Rio de Janeiro Brazil double truck open trolley and another New Orleans trolley, both not yet restored. The combination operator and tour guide said that the other New Orleans trolley had been damaged in a collision with a Cadilac at a traffic circle. There were enough parts left from the auto to make 2 Buicks!
I wonder if the damaged trolley is now the bar car.

Comparing the video to the photos at this excellent website: https://hawkinsrails.net/preservation/ccc/ccc.htm

It appears that the car being demolished with an excavator is Wabash 1510 (mentioned earlier in this thread). Corrections welcome.

The operational New Orleans trolley (NORTA 959) is the one that was turned into a pool bar.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5555647

It appears car 2665 (ex-NYC 2665) is the car in the video being scrapped:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5564612

I visited the Choo Choo Hotel in March 2021, and I took a photo of every single piece of equipment on property. Thanks to VinylRailfan and others here I was able to identify every existing car on property.

See my RR Pictures Archives album below:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archiv ... 648&Page=1

If there is an upside, there are many cars from this series on site. But there were still lots of mechanical and interior parts that were lost in demolishing the car with an excavator. Reaching out to the developer to strip the cars prior to and during demolition would allow for the recovery of many parts that could be applied to other cars. Pullman was careful to standardize parts across many series of its cars, and there is much here that could help to make other cars complete or to maintain operating spares. 

Wabash 1510 is a mysterious car, as it has been disused from retail service for many years. Based on the condition of the other dining cars it is parked with, I believe it has the potential to have many of its railroad fixtures intact. Are there any museums that are interested in preserving Wabash passenger equipment?

A diagram for NYC dining car 696 may be viewed here: https://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/lot-2179.jpg

Note that this car was built with a vestibule! A rare feature for dining cars.

A diagram for NYC grill-diner 456 may be viewed here:
https://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/lot-2178.jpg

Additional roster information for both cars may be found here: https://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/NYC-MODELS-PASS-LIGHT.htm

Photos from TripAdvisor show the last retail use configuration of the car - retaining the layout of the grill-diner table placement. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g54946-d105142-r479341964-Chattanooga_Choo_Choo-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html#photos;aggregationId=&albumid=&filter=2&ff=253342442

What to do with these cars is a sticky problem. Making the cars ADA accessible and compliant with modern building codes is extremely difficult. Working with a museum would provide a "win-win" freeing space that can be allocated to more productive purposes with the good news of helping non-profit organizations in their educational mission. 

I assumed the steam locomotive (ex. Smoky Mountain 206) is staying put?

When I was there about 8 or 9 years ago we opted to pay the premium to stay in one of the cars. Big mistake. The smell of mildew hit you like a brick wall. Obvious signs of water leakage and general disrepair. Despite A/C it seemed hotter inside than outside. We had them move us to a different car but it wasn't much better. I'm sure it was a neat attraction whenever they were gutted and converted in the 70's but they are long past their prime. I have no doubt that the future success of the hotel is going to require the disposition of most of those cars.

We stayed last year in the hotel because none of the cars were available. We won't be going back.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/crowne-plaza-indianapolis-train-car-room
When going to gencon, I noticed there were enclosed passenger cars one could stay in.
They difference is they are enclosed from the elements, so not much degradation.

There is some additional information about the current reorganization effort on this thread: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26690&p=332674

If someone/some organization has serious interest in acquiring Smoky Mountain 206, I think now is a good time to act. The locomotive had an interesting career on that shortline and others in Eastern Tennessee. It also served the Genesee & Wyoming from its delivery in 1910 to its sale in 1918 and it is among a small handful of steam locomotives to survive from New York railroads. 

Additional background on this locomotive may be found here: https://hawkinsrails.net/shortlines/smn/smn.htm

Does ex-PRR 5706 still survive in Ironton, AL? This thread has further background on that locomotive: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33480&start=15  It would do well as a prop locomotive, and it has already been modified for ADA-accessible retail/restaurant use.

Ironically, this crossed my feed tonight from the Facebook page of Britain's Heritage Railway Magazine:

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/his ... ion-effort



"The REST of the story......"

Correct. The property owners have specified that the steam engine and the ex-PRR P70 behind it are to remain in place.

- Alan Maples

PRESS CONTACT:
Penelope Soule Gault, Marketing Director
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
Phone: 423-595-2396
Email: pgault@tvrail.com

November 2, 2022

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Preserving History Continues

With over sixty years of participation in the life of Chattanooga’s Terminal Station, first with Southern Railway and later with the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, the Tennessee Valley railroad is pleased to continue that relationship supporting the efforts of Northpond Partners and Trestle Design. Their efforts to bring positive changes to the property will once again make the Choo-Choo a center of activity in Chattanooga.

TVRM has worked with the developers to make the necessary changes in the railcar locations so as to enhance their activities while preserving surplus cars for future use either by the railroad museum or other organizations. Four cars will be relocated to TVRM’s Cromwell Road campus and two cars will be leaving Chattanooga for other organization’s rehabilitation and use. Only one car was in insufficient condition to be reused, however significant parts were removed and retained for future restoration projects at TVRM.

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is an educational, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve railroading history for future generations. The museum is the largest not-for-profit operating railroad museum in the United States. For more information, visit online at tvrail.com or call 423-894-8028.

###

From Western Maryland Scenic's Facebook page:

"Christmas is coming…and we are proud to be getting a present early.
Western Maryland Scenic would like to share an early gift with our fans. Our scenic railroad has existed for over 35 years and served thousands of meals, but without a proper dining car. Our cafe lounge overwhelmed by the increased volume of events and passengers, we required a proper rolling kitchen.
We extend our gratitude to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum for helping make our acquisition of former New York Central Grill Dining Car No. 456 a reality. WMSR is truly touched that the leadership and shop forces of TVRM have done so much legwork to make this happen.
NYC Grill Diner No. 456 has served Chattanooga for over 50 years from her stationary location at the former Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel.
WMSR will be relocating the diner to Cumberland as soon as possible. The target date to roll out the diner is Memorial Day 2023. The car has a capacity to seat 42 at 6-2 tops, 2-3 tops, and 6-4 tops. No. 456 will be a much needed addition to our fleet.
Special thanks to Ryan Miller and his shop team for their incredible dedication to preservation by helping with the Choo Choo relocation project."

Yahoo!