Hello Doctor G
I am new to this forum & have enjoyed your logging layout. I am a self employed finish carpenter & cut my own scaled lumber from scrap poplar & cedar. My family & I camp at Elkmont camp grounds every fall. We were fortunate to see the WL hotel a few years back before they demoed it,what a shame. I have been surfing the web for info for this spectacular hotel to model myself. We have prevously dismanteled our HO layout for a much larger one. I have been scratch building a logging area myself & would like to incorporate this hotel. Any info you might have on the WL hotel would be appreciated.Thanks for the spectacular photos.
Hi Sawdust,
Yes, it is That WONDERLAND Hotel that I am currently modeling. Neat to see their are others with that obsession!!!
I have been to Elkmont many times myself. My wife and I stayed at the Wonderland Hotel after hiking to Mt LeConte lodge in years past. It was a neat old wooden structure wih a huge porch and great food in an old wooden dining room.
My first information site was the great museum of the Little River RR in Townsend Tennessee. You may have already seen their website at
www.littleriverrailroad.org .
I am posting a couple of pictures of the lineside baggage station,including the Little River 2-4-4-2, that is literally at the present day access to the Elkmont camp ground.
In years past I have printed pictures of the hotel from the Blount County website and from Google searches for the Wonderland Hotel.
Now for the lazy part. After building a foam core mock up of the Wonderland I decided to look for a kit that closely resembled the actual Hotel. I found the Bar Mills Craftsman kit to be a close representation of the hotel and bought it. I love these kits as they are a lot of fun and have many jokes and humor in their instruction papers. So that's the route I am taking on constructing the Wonderland. Good luck on your endeavors!!!!
Doc Tom