Rather than patients finding a train under their tree this holiday season, The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum will present a train to Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. The museum announced it will loan one of its treasured and historic locomotives to be displayed at the new Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.
The public is welcome to attend a special “unwrapping” ceremony of the locomotive which will take place at The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Grand Junction on Saturday, at 11 a.m. Children’s Hospital Miracle Children will help with the unveiling and representatives from both the Museum and Children’s Hospital will be available to answer questions about the loan and the new Children’s Hospital.
Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Central of Georgia Railroad, Engine 349 was chosen for display at the new children’s outpatient center because it was built in 1891, the same year Erlanger was founded.
Engine 349, once a wood fired engine and later converted to coal-burning, is an important part of southern railroad history. The engine ran regular freight service throughout Georgia for much of its time on the Central of Georgia Railroad. Later, it ran on two short-lines, the Talbotton Railroad and the Bowdon Railway, before ending its operating years in the 1950s.
“The engine is currently non-operational but can serve the community by preserving the history of Chattanooga in a new location,” said Tim Andrews, president of TVRM. "The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is pleased to provide this loan in hopes it will brighten the day of thousands of children and their families who visit Children’s Hospital.”
“The new Children’s Hospital at Erlanger is designed to engage a child’s imagination and to improve and enhance the experience for the children visiting the hospital,” said Bruce Komiske, VP, New Hospital Design and Construction. “We are thrilled the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is playing an important role in the healing process by opening the imagination of both children and adults to the history of trains inChattanooga.”