Page 16 - January February 2000

REGISTRAR NEWS FEBRUARY 2000 “Welcome to the following new members...”
NAME ADDRESS
Swift, J M (Mark) 13 Pennine Cl., Upperthong, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, W. Yorks HD7 2YY Nettleship, D (David) 15 Churchlands, New Romney, Kent TN28 8JT
Roberts, A W (Tony)Ridgeway Racing, 12 The Ridgeway, Caversham, Reading RG4 8NX
TELEPHONE
01484 681008 01797 364797 01189 477794 01935 477379 01745 591622
01553 675 840 01245 223434 01745 852241 07867 836635 -
01952 40597 0113 275 6900 0115 974 3552 01902 765526 -
01934 621 892 -
-
01494 674114
01753 549336 -
SCALE/S RAILROAD(S) Y/N*
HO Western short lines Y
Smith, A T (Tony) Rodwell, D (Del) Metcalfe, I (Ian)
Baker, P (Paul)
Airey, A (Arthur)
Blake, P (Pete)
Lamb, G (George) Doody, J (John)
Easton, N (Nick)
Tindle, M (Mark) Waddington, P G (Peter) Davidson, A M (Michelle) Schofield, H (Harry) Lock, C (Chris)
N - N/G -
N D&RGW
N Logging HO LV
HO UP HO -
HO East Coast
N -
- Logging
HO - HO CSX HO B&M HO CN OO -
N -
N - HO -
HO - HO SP/RI
Y Y Y Y Y Y - Y Y Y - Y Y Y Y Y - N
Y N
Pugh, D W Stratton, D (David)
17 Perton Brook Vale, Wightwick, Wolverhampton, WV6 8DS 72 Western Avenue, Lincoln LN6 7SZ
51 Ewart Road, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset BS22 8NY
Patrice, The Green, Dauntsey, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 4HY 14 Springfield Lane, Irlam, Manchester M44 6NB
Glentworth, 39 Ledborough Lane, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DB
Oakbury, 3 New Road, Stoford, Somerset, BA22 9UB
Porth Farm, Borth Cross Roads, Abergele, Conwy, LL22 9SB
30 Bevis Way, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 3 AG
Green Pastures, The Ridge, Little Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 4RT 208 Victoria Road, Prestatyn, Denbighshire LL19 7TL
11 Masefield Road, Bewbush, Crawley, RH11 6AP
56 Upper Way, Upper Longdon, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 1QA
31 Chepstow Drive, Leegomery, Telford, Staffordshire TF1 4UP
62 Stonegate Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS6 4JG
10 Willoughby Road, West Bridgeford, Nottingham NG2 6GZ
Change of Address
Beare, L A April Rise, 146A Lent Rise Road, Burnham, Bucks SL1 7BH
Marshall, P F (Peter) 5 Northampton Road, Orlingbury, Northamptonshire NN14 1JF
ALL MEMBERS: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU NOTIFY THE REGISTRAR OF ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER CHANGES, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALSO ADVISED THE EDITOR. THE EDITOR DOES NOT SEND ADVICE OF CHANGES BACK TO THE REGISTRAR.
Send any changes to the REGION REGISTRAR:
Vernon Stone, Capilano, Moneyrow Green, Holyport, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 2NA.
(The full Region Directory is issued once a year, we suggest that members pencil in such changes as are announced periodically, to keep their current Directory up to date.
THE NEW DIRECTORY is issued with the December edition of Roundhouse.)
A Happy New Century to you all
Staying at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Colin Duff
There is only one place we could stay in Chattanooga - The “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. For those of you not in on the secret, the Chattanooga Choo Choo in this instance is the former Chattanooga Terminal Station restored and sympathetically converted into a railroad themed hotel - a Holiday Inn franchisee.
A serious attempt at preservation it isn’t, but an enormously fun place to stay it is. At this hotel you can stay, at a premium rate, in railroad cars converted into hotel rooms (these appear to my inexpert eye to be coach cars, not former sleepers of any description) or in one of three low-rise satellite hotel blocks built across what was formerly the station throat. These blocks provide generously sized standard Holiday Inn fayre rooms, and each block also has its own swimming pool. Most of the former layout and structure of the station has been retained with only two sets of platform awnings removed. Former service buildings have been converted into restaurants, shops (including a railroad themed gift shop) games rooms and even a large model railroad display (which is in poor condition - a disgrace in the city which hosts the HQ of the NMRA). The outer parts of the platform area contain platform roads with the sleeping cars, plus several dining cars (one called “Dinner in the Diner”) providing even more catering facilities, and a Mogul loco (garishly painted Cincinnati Southern #29) purporting to be THE
Chattanooga Choo Choo. The central platform area has been filled in to form formal gardens with gazebos, fountains, benches, etc, and at weekend evenings there is live music and an outside bar. Very pleasant indeed for a downtown location. Strolling back to our room after dinner along a platform with the gas-light flickering off the sides of the passenger cars was a most evocative experience. You can guess what tune we hummed most of the time we were there! Oh, and you can also ride around the hotel grounds in a preserved streetcar which passes a caboose and a wig-wag signal situated in the parking lot. From pictures I have seen of the station of its last years of railroad use it is clearly now in better condition and sees far more activity. It is worth pointing out that although Chattanooga does not figure highly on the average Brit’s itinerary it is a small friendly town with plenty to see and do. We could not fit in everything we wanted to do during the two days we were there and needed at least another full day.
There’s something else from my American holiday that I have been wanting to pass on to NMRA members: Any NMRA member visiting the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer NC (definitely worth a visit for any rail fan), or indeed if in the Charlotte/Winston-Salem area, will be missing out on an experience if they do not also visit the Little Choo Choo Shop in Spencer.
It is situated in the town of Spencer directly opposite the museum’s administration building and gift shop (leave your car parked in the museum’s car park - you need to leave the site anyway if you want decent refreshment while you are there as the museum itself only has a few vending machines). This shop with an unassuming exterior is the nearest I have come to model railroad heaven yet. If I were ever the winner of a model railroad Supermarket Sweep Competition this is where I would want to take my sweep! They stock from G through to Z, plus Thomas items and Brio, books, magazines, plans, etc, in incredible depth. I was not only able to catch up with items I had missed in the UK because I had failed to order them in advance or I happened not to be in the right place at the time they came into stock, but also buy directly off their shelves some items I had given up hope of ever getting - the sort of cottage industry produced things you see in small display adverts in Model Railroader and Bulletin that British stockists tend not to import and are difficult to buy by mail order without a dollar cheque account because the small concerns do not take credit cards. The shop is also staffed by friendly and knowledgeable clerks. Definitely a highlight of my holiday.
The Little Choo Choo Shop Inc, 500 S Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC. tel in the USA 800 334 2466. fax (+1) 704 637 8717
16 ROUNDHOUSE