Another hold up; this time no explanation. Tom Tom helped us take the detour which quickly led to our destination. I had felt that we hadn't taken our opportunities, yesterday and so this time we were determined to see the sights rather than the sites.
Chattanooga sits on the Chattanooga River and advertises several major attractions. Look Out Mountain, is what you would expect; a nearby mountain from which the native Chattanoogians could 'look out'. Ascent was by cable car. In order to travel or take part in any local attraction, one needs to be photographed and then into the carriage.
On November 16, 1895 the railroad known today simply as "The Incline" opened, rising up the steepest part of Lookout Mountain. Built by John Crass and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company this single gauge rail boasted an incline of 72.7% at one point, making it the steepest passenger Incline in the world. Originally the cars were made of wood and powered by huge coal-burning steam engines. Electric power was used after 1911, and it now uses two 100 horsepower motors. It was indeed steep at the end and the views were stunning. We could see no enemy approaching.
Then a quick scoot down and onto Ruby Falls. This geographical feature is located down unerground passages and tunnels. The history of this cave includes Native Americans, cave explorers, notorious outlaws, civil war soldiers, and even a president of the United States. There were many reports of explorers traveling deep into this cave, as far as 12 miles without reaching the end.
In 1905, due to geographical limitations, the Southern Railroad Company was forced to construct a tunnel along the face of Lookout Mountain and through some portions of the mountain for one of its lines. This tunnel intersected and sealed off the natural entrance to the Lookout Mountain Cave. In doing this the Lookout Mountain Cave was completely shut off to the public.
Leo Lambert, a local cave enthusiast knew of Lookout Mountain Cave and its rich history and had even explored the cave prior to it being sealed off. He longed to reopen it to the public and devised a plan from which to do so.
In 1923 Mr. Lambert along with a group of investors decided to enact his plan. His idea was to drill an elevator shaft from another point on the mountain to access the cave from the surface above. Work on this feat of engineering began in the fall of 1928.
On December 28, 1928, while excavating the elevator shaft a worker operating a jackhammer discovered a void in the rock and felt a gush of air. This void was located at the 260 foot level, still 160 feet above the Lookout Mountain Cave. Upon further inspection an opening, 18 inches high and five feet wide was discovered.
Lambert, along with a small crew, entered this opening to explore the new found cave. While exploring they discovered a number of unusual and beautiful rock formations, flowing passages and several stream beds. Pushing their way deeper and deeper into the cave, they finally reached its marvelous jewel, the waterfall. Mr. Lambert and his exploration party were awestruck by its magnificence and beauty, and quickly returned to the surface to share their new found discovery with the rest of the crew. The round trip journey took them about 17 hours.
On his next exploration into the cave, Lambert took several people including his wife Ruby to see the many wonders they had discovered. While gazing at the waterfall, Lambert told his wife that he would name it in her honor, “Ruby Falls". How sweet. Anyway, enough of cut and pasting from the website. We were placed in a party big enough to fill a local football stadium and crocodiled through the passages, and as we were near the end, we caught the tail end of the guide's explanation at each stop before moving off again. So we would hear 'goat on a skateboard' and played the game of creating questions to match the answer. It was in essence, a cattle drive and eventually we reached the falls, which were tall and lit by a succession of thatrical lights. It was disappointing to see the vandalism that had taken place and continues to be subjected to these million year old formations. Curious hands wiped their grease on each column and hanging formation.
As always, these excursions are not my favourite as I feel the weight of rocks pressed above me. It was interesting to learn that the caves were on a geological fault line and recent earthquakes had not moved any of the precariously balanced rocks overhead. However, torrential rainfalls were another matter - causing rapid flooding of the cave system.
Chattanooga sits on the Chattanooga River and advertises several major attractions. Look Out Mountain, is what you would expect; a nearby mountain from which the native Chattanoogians could 'look out'. Ascent was by cable car. In order to travel or take part in any local attraction, one needs to be photographed and then into the carriage.
On November 16, 1895 the railroad known today simply as "The Incline" opened, rising up the steepest part of Lookout Mountain. Built by John Crass and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company this single gauge rail boasted an incline of 72.7% at one point, making it the steepest passenger Incline in the world. Originally the cars were made of wood and powered by huge coal-burning steam engines. Electric power was used after 1911, and it now uses two 100 horsepower motors. It was indeed steep at the end and the views were stunning. We could see no enemy approaching.
Then a quick scoot down and onto Ruby Falls. This geographical feature is located down unerground passages and tunnels. The history of this cave includes Native Americans, cave explorers, notorious outlaws, civil war soldiers, and even a president of the United States. There were many reports of explorers traveling deep into this cave, as far as 12 miles without reaching the end.
In 1905, due to geographical limitations, the Southern Railroad Company was forced to construct a tunnel along the face of Lookout Mountain and through some portions of the mountain for one of its lines. This tunnel intersected and sealed off the natural entrance to the Lookout Mountain Cave. In doing this the Lookout Mountain Cave was completely shut off to the public.
Leo Lambert, a local cave enthusiast knew of Lookout Mountain Cave and its rich history and had even explored the cave prior to it being sealed off. He longed to reopen it to the public and devised a plan from which to do so.
In 1923 Mr. Lambert along with a group of investors decided to enact his plan. His idea was to drill an elevator shaft from another point on the mountain to access the cave from the surface above. Work on this feat of engineering began in the fall of 1928.
On December 28, 1928, while excavating the elevator shaft a worker operating a jackhammer discovered a void in the rock and felt a gush of air. This void was located at the 260 foot level, still 160 feet above the Lookout Mountain Cave. Upon further inspection an opening, 18 inches high and five feet wide was discovered.
Lambert, along with a small crew, entered this opening to explore the new found cave. While exploring they discovered a number of unusual and beautiful rock formations, flowing passages and several stream beds. Pushing their way deeper and deeper into the cave, they finally reached its marvelous jewel, the waterfall. Mr. Lambert and his exploration party were awestruck by its magnificence and beauty, and quickly returned to the surface to share their new found discovery with the rest of the crew. The round trip journey took them about 17 hours.
On his next exploration into the cave, Lambert took several people including his wife Ruby to see the many wonders they had discovered. While gazing at the waterfall, Lambert told his wife that he would name it in her honor, “Ruby Falls". How sweet. Anyway, enough of cut and pasting from the website. We were placed in a party big enough to fill a local football stadium and crocodiled through the passages, and as we were near the end, we caught the tail end of the guide's explanation at each stop before moving off again. So we would hear 'goat on a skateboard' and played the game of creating questions to match the answer. It was in essence, a cattle drive and eventually we reached the falls, which were tall and lit by a succession of thatrical lights. It was disappointing to see the vandalism that had taken place and continues to be subjected to these million year old formations. Curious hands wiped their grease on each column and hanging formation.
As always, these excursions are not my favourite as I feel the weight of rocks pressed above me. It was interesting to learn that the caves were on a geological fault line and recent earthquakes had not moved any of the precariously balanced rocks overhead. However, torrential rainfalls were another matter - causing rapid flooding of the cave system.
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