A Southern Railway double header featuring 2-8-0 #630 and 2-8-2 #4501 blasts through the exit of the 986-foot long Missionary Ridge Tunnel. The tunnel was built in 1858 by the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad which later became a part of the Southern Railway system. Due to clearance issues, and the fact that the tunnel was single track, the Southern abandoned it. The Tennessee Valley Railway Museum restored rails through the tunnel in 1971 and continues to use the pre-Civil War Tunnel. As part of a photo charter, Lerro Productions performed several runbys here - each run had unique photo opportunities. With this one, though the light was not as nice as it was later in the afternoon, it offered a cooperative plume allowing a view of the both locomotives, and the freight cars, as well as a view from the south side of the tracks.
