Chattanooga Choo Choo Visitor Guide: Things to Do, Eat and Play (2026)

Quick answer: The Chattanooga Choo Choo is the 1909 Terminal Station at 1400 Market Street on the Southside, now a free-to-wander campus of gardens, restaurants, a distillery, a comedy club, a concert hall and a boutique hotel. Plan on two to four hours. The one thing you can't do anywhere else is play Runaway Train, a 60-minute escape room built inside an actual vintage train car on the property. See live Runaway Train times.

Almost every visitor to Chattanooga ends up at the Choo Choo at some point. Some come for the song, some come for dinner on Station Street, and plenty just want a photo with the old locomotive. Then they get there and aren't sure what else there is to do.

We run Runaway Train out of the Choo Choo every day, so we field that question constantly. Our staff walk the campus with guests before and after games, and we know which spots are worth your time and which ones have changed. This guide is the version we'd give a friend visiting for the weekend.

The Choo Choo at a Glance

• Address: 1400 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402, in the Southside district, about 1.5 miles south of the Tennessee Aquarium.
• Cost to visit: Free. You only pay for food, drinks, shows, tours and games.
• Time needed: 1 to 2 hours to explore and take photos, 3 to 4 hours if you add dinner, a show or an escape room.
• Best for: First-time visitors, rail and history fans, date nights, families with kids 10 and up, and groups who want dinner and an activity in one place.
• Getting there: The free CARTA Downtown Electric Shuttle starts right beside the Choo Choo and runs up Market Street to the Aquarium.

A Quick History Worth Knowing

The building started life as Terminal Station, which opened on December 9, 1909. The Beaux-Arts design by architect Donn Barber gives it a huge arched entrance and a central dome that rises about 82 feet over the old waiting room. At its peak the station handled dozens of passenger trains a day, and it greeted three U.S. presidents.

Then there's the song. Glenn Miller's 1941 hit "Chattanooga Choo Choo" tells the story of a train trip from New York's Pennsylvania Station down to this terminal. In February 1942 it became the first record ever awarded a gold record, and the name stuck. When the last passenger train left in 1970, developers saved the station from demolition and reopened it as a hotel in 1973. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today the station dome houses restaurants and the lobby, and the original hotel building was renovated in 2023 as The Hotel Chalet. Out front you'll still find the restored steam locomotive painted as Cincinnati Southern No. 29. It's the most photographed thing on the property.

Things to Do at the Chattanooga Choo Choo

1. Play Runaway Train, the escape room inside a real train car

This is our room, so we're biased, but it's also the only escape room we know of anywhere built inside an actual vintage rail car. Your team plays protected witnesses being moved to court in an armored cargo car. Somebody leaked the route, the doors are locked, and you have 60 minutes to get off the train.

• Players: 2 to 8 per room, ages 10 and up
• Price: $34.99 per person for 60 minutes
• Difficulty: 7 out of 10, with about a 40% escape rate
• Scare level: Not a horror room. No jump scares, just a ticking clock.
• Check-in: At our kiosk inside Terminal Station (1400 Market Street), where restrooms are available. Your game guide walks you over to the train car.

Every in-person game comes with a private Watch LIVE link, so friends and family who skipped the game can watch you sweat it out. Want to know how the room was built? Read Building a Runaway Train, or get the full story in Runaway Train: The Only Escape Room Inside a Real Train Car.

2. Tour Gate 11 Distillery

Gate 11 is a working micro-distillery inside Terminal Station. Tours of the hand-built stills run $18 per person and include a tasting of their vodka, gin, whiskey, rum and absinthe. Walk-ins are welcome, but regular tours are capped at 10 people, so book ahead on weekends. Tour guests get a discount on bottles. It's 21 and up for the tasting, and it pairs well with a late-afternoon game.

3. Catch a show at The Comedy Catch or The Signal

The Comedy Catch has been Chattanooga's comedy club since 1985 and now sits on Station Street at the Choo Choo. It books touring headliners most weekends, plus open mic and improv nights midweek. On the same campus, The Signal is one of the city's best mid-size concert venues. Buy tickets for both ahead of time, because popular nights sell out.

4. Eat and drink on campus

You can make a full day of it without leaving the property:

• Frothy Monkey serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner inside the terminal. It's a good meeting spot before a morning game.
• STIR is the dressier pick, with scratch-made dishes, a raw bar and serious cocktails.
• Nic and Norman's does burgers and Southern comfort food and is easy with kids.
• Elsie's Daughter at The Hotel Chalet is the date-night dinner.
• Wanderlinger and Tailgate Brewery, steps from the terminal, cover craft beer and pizza for groups.

Restaurant hours change by season, so check before you go. For a group of 6 or more, book dinner for after your game: you'll have plenty to talk about.

5. Walk the gardens and Station Street

The gardens between the hotel and the terminal are free, flat and mostly wheelchair-friendly, and leashed dogs are welcome outside. Station Street, the pedestrian strip behind the terminal, is where the nightlife is: comedy, live music and patios within a block of each other.

The Choo Choo During the Holidays (2026)

Late November through December is a great time to visit. Here's what's on the calendar this year:

• Christmas at the Choo-Choo: A free holiday market at the Choo Choo on two weekends, December 5–6 and December 12–13, 2026, with artisan vendors, a holiday beer tent and live music. Saturdays run 10 AM to 6 PM, with shorter Sunday hours.
• North Pole Limited: The Christmas train ride runs November 13 to December 23, but note it departs from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (4119 Cromwell Road), not the Choo Choo. It's about a 15- to 20-minute drive away.
• Rock City's Enchanted Garden of Lights: Over a million lights on Lookout Mountain from November 13 through December 31.
• Ice skating: Ice on the Landing used to set up at the Choo Choo, but since 2023 it has run at the First Horizon Pavilion (1826 Reggie White Blvd). Lots of older guides still get this wrong.

If you're in town for Thanksgiving, our Thanksgiving weekend guide has more ideas. If the kids are home in late December, see the winter break and New Year's Eve guide. And if you're shopping for someone who loves trains, an escape room gift card covers Runaway Train and every other room we run.

Getting There: Parking and the Free Shuttle

• Drive: Put 1400 Market Street in your GPS. The CARTA Shuttle Park South garage next to the Choo Choo is one of several downtown garages with the first hour free, and there's paid lot and street parking around Station Street.
• Free shuttle: CARTA's Downtown Electric Shuttle runs about every 10 minutes between the Choo Choo and the Aquarium. It runs 6:30 AM to 11 PM on weekdays, 9:30 AM to 11 PM on Saturday and 9:30 AM to 8:30 PM on Sunday. It doesn't run on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year's Day.
• Walk: It's about a 30-minute walk from the Aquarium. The Walnut Street Bridge reopened in October 2026, so you can still cross to the North Shore on foot.

A Simple Choo Choo Itinerary

1. 4:00 PM: Arrive, get photos with Engine No. 29 and walk the gardens.
2. 4:45 PM: Check in at our Terminal Station kiosk and play Runaway Train.
3. 6:15 PM: Dinner at STIR, Nic and Norman's or Elsie's Daughter.
4. 8:00 PM: A comedy set at The Comedy Catch or a show at The Signal.

Got more time? Our second location, Downtown Riverfront at 224 Broad Street, is about 10 minutes away by car or shuttle. It's home to C-Block Prison Break, The Inheritance, Vaccine: Search for the Cure and The Bunker. Lots of groups play the train in the afternoon and a downtown room after dinner. For the rest of the city, see 7 Best Things to Do in Downtown Chattanooga for Groups or, if the weather turns, our rainy-day list.

Groups, Date Nights and Team Outings

Runaway Train holds up to 8 players, and a private room for 8 is about $280 before tax. Mornings and late evenings are cheaper: Monday through Thursday games before 11 AM or after 9 PM are 15% off with the EARLYBIRD or NIGHTOWL code. See current deals on our promotions page.

For bigger groups, we can run Runaway Train alongside the downtown rooms at the same time. That works well for holiday parties and offsites, and dinner on Station Street afterward is the easy part. Start with Chattanooga team building or the office holiday party guide. Couples should check out date night in Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Choo Choo FAQ

Can you ride the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Not as a moving train. The Choo Choo is the historic 1909 Terminal Station, and the trains on display there are parked. The closest thing to riding one is Runaway Train, an escape room inside an actual vintage train car on the property. For a real moving train ride, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum runs excursions from its own station on Cromwell Road.

Is it free to visit the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Yes. The grounds, gardens, terminal lobby and the No. 29 locomotive are free to see. You pay only for food, drinks, shows, distillery tours or games like Runaway Train.

What is there to do at the Chattanooga Choo Choo at night?

Plenty. You can see stand-up at The Comedy Catch, a concert at The Signal, cocktails at STIR or Gate 11, or play Runaway Train. Our Choo Choo games run into the evening most days, and Monday through Thursday games after 9 PM are 15% off with the NIGHTOWL code.

Is Runaway Train good for kids?

Yes, for ages 10 and up with an adult. It isn't a horror room and has no jump scares. The car has some narrow passages and steps, so call 423-551-2164 if anyone in your group has accessibility concerns.

Where do we check in for Runaway Train?

Check in at the Escape Experience kiosk inside Terminal Station at 1400 Market Street, about 15 minutes before your game. Restrooms are there too. Your game guide will walk you to the train car.

How long should I spend at the Choo Choo?

One to two hours covers photos, the gardens and a coffee. Plan three to four hours if you're adding a 60-minute escape room, dinner and a show, which is how most of our guests do it.

Book Your Choo Choo Visit

• Runaway Train at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, 16 Choo Choo Ave (check in at 1400 Market Street) · Book Runaway Train · 423-551-2164
• Chattanooga Downtown Riverfront, 224 Broad Street · Book Downtown Riverfront · 423-551-3306

Escape Experience is locally owned and Tennessee-made, and we've been Chattanooga's escape room since 2014. See you at the station.