A Visit to Lookout Mountain

Many UK visitors visit the southern state of Tennessee for its musical heritage.  The Grand ‘Ole Opry is located in the “Home of Country Music” Nashville.  Three hours to the west is Memphis, the home of Sun Studios and Elvis Presley’s home Graceland.

However Tennessee has so much more to offer and taking a short drive southeast along Interstate 24 from Nashville is another city immortalised in song, Chattanooga. 

Whilst Glenn Miller’s Choo Choo no longer runs, the historic station has been converted into a hotel.  Guests can even stay in Pullman train cars as an alternative to rooms in the station building.  Inside the hotel there is a restaurant and bars open to non-residents, at the centre of the lively downtown district.

But perhaps the most interesting attraction in this vibrant city is the remarkable Lookout Mountain.  It is no longer necessary to fight your way the summit in the style of General Grant, but rather take the Incline Railway, dubbed “America’s Amazing Mile.”

Accompanied by my intrepid son, we boarded the railway at the bottom station, the St. Elmo Terminal.  Here there is ample parking which has the bonus of being free for RV’s.  The St. Elmo district has a mixture of shops, restaurants and microbreweries, all within a few blocks of the station itself.  However, those were to explore later.  For now, we handed over our $21 for the round trip, ($15 for me, and $7 for children), and we were shown onto the platform.

The light and airy railcar is easily accessible, with dedicated space for two wheelchairs.  These are new cars, only introduced into service last year.  They have more glazing than the previous cars, and are now air conditioned.  The seating is tiered, and faces down the mountain giving passengers a clear view of where we’ve come from, helped by a glass roof.  My 8-year-old companion was apprehensive.

“Dad this train doesn’t look right.  It’s scary!”

I could see what he meant.  The railway ascends at a gradient of 72.7% making it one of the steepest in the world.  Compare that with the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway in North Devon that has “just” a 58% gradient.  The tiered seating meant we were leaning slightly backward here at the station, but that was soon to change.

I muttered fatherly words of reassurance, and with a jolt from the cable attached to the car we were off.  The car then travels at a gentle ten miles per hour, meaning the journey to the summit takes around ten minutes.  There is a passing loop halfway which allows an identical railcar to descend at the same time as our ascent.  Its sudden appearance alongside gave Tom a real fright.  As it vanished below us, the other car gave a real perspective of just how steep this railway is.

As we continued to climb my companion begins to relax and the railway travels through a wooded cutting directly up the side of the mountain.  The flora and fauna are varied and change with the seasons.  Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron are now in bloom as its mid-summer.  These are replaced by dramatic reds in Autumn, and clear views of Chattanooga far below in the winter months.  In Spring Dogwoods bloom.

On arrival at the summit, 2100 feet above sea level, the air is cool and clear.  The temperature is around 10°C lower than the valley floor.  We decide to stop at the small cafeteria to refresh ourselves, with plenty of sweets and handmade fudge as a reward for a younger traveller’s bravery.  On the roof of the terminal there are magnificent views of Chattanooga and beyond, into not just Tennessee but also Alabama and Georgia.  Further down in the station building is a large window into the machine room.  Here are the electric motors that drag the cars to the summit.  Originally these were steam engines but were replaced in 1911 by the Otis Elevator Company.

A railcar on the Incline.

There are a mixture of visitors from around the world here, enjoying the stunning view.  A young girls southern drawl was audible above the other conversations.

“What do you mean they couldn’t shoot them?” exclaimed Meghan.  Her father smiled as he replied.

“Just as it says honey, the mountain is so steep the soldiers on the top couldn’t shoot the attacking Yankees because their musket balls rolled out of their rifles when they aimed downhill!”

Standing on the roof of the Incline Railway terminal on the top of Lookout Mountain it was difficult to visualise Union soldiers attacking Confederate troops during the pivotal “Battle above the Clouds” in November 1863.  The bright clear day that allowed us majestic views of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River valley was not the day those soldiers found.  That day fog had descended to around halfway down the mountain slopes.  The attacking soldiers emerged into bright sunlight at the summit, and had the unusual advantage of being able to fire their rifles uphill at the enemy, who unable to fire back were forced to fight hand to hand.  The Union prevailed under the guidance of General Ulysses Grant, and the siege of Chattanooga was lifted.

A short walk from the railway station is Point Park, commemorating the Civil War battle that saw the Union take control of Chattanooga.  The centrepiece is the impressive New York State Peace Monument.  This is the only Civil War Monument commemorating both the Union and Confederate armies together, and was a gift from the State of New York.  On the mountains edge, lookout points provide even more spectacular views of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River in the valley below.  It was from here that the Confederate artillery fired onto the Union Army in the siege of Chattanooga.

The New York State Peace Monument.

Opposite the park is the Battles for Chattanooga Electric Map and Museum.  This tells the story of the extensive fighting in the area for the strategically important Chattanooga.  Described as the gateway to the south due to the large number of railways that converge here, heavy fighting took place for control of this important supply route.  The battle cost 34,000 lives and is described as one of the bloodiest of the war.  Tom, who has an interest in the First World War, is now in his element, comparing the memorabilia and stories from the battlefield of a different conflict.

Time for us to take the return journey back down the mountain and return to our hotel.  Boarding the railcar, we could see Chattanooga far below and the late afternoon sun glinting on the Tennessee River.