Tunnel Hill, Georgia (CSX)
Tunnel Hill is a small town that lies just west of CSX's only tunnel between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The tunnel is 1477 foot long and penetrates Chetoogeta Mountain, usually called Tunnel Hill Ridge (probably because it's easier to pronounce). The ridge at this point is not much more than a big hill, but it's over three miles long and going through was the best option.
Drilling was started in 1848 and the first train went through in 1851. The rock and brick lined tunnel somehow escaped damage during the civil war, despite it's obvious significance. In 1928 a second, larger tunnel just drilled east of the first. The old tunnel lay forgotten and was quickly covered with kudzu. The kudzu was cut back around 1990, revealing the tunnel once again. The "rediscovery" sparked quite a bit of interest for a generation that assumed it was no longer there. This amuses the town's old-timers who remember as kids traveling underneath the kudzu to reach the tunnel.
In 1994 the State deeded the old alignment and tunnel to the town. Local officials and historians have made the tunnel more accessible. The kudzu is kept at bay, the old alignment has been made into a pleasant walk way, and there is shady parking. What once required bushwhacking is now an easy stroll. Numerous visitors and Civil War buffs stop often. A fence separates the historic alignment from the CSX mainline, hampering the view. You can walk through the tunnel, but bring a flashlight and maybe some waders. It is common to find water and mud, sometimes a foot deep, through much of the tunnel's length.
There is a depot in the town, now part of a big grain mill. A talking defect detector is north of town at milepost 105.5. The long siding starting in Tunnel Hill is used for meets.
The photo looks south, toward Atlanta.