Braswell Tunnel The 750-foot Braswell Tunnel was built by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad in 1882 when that company built its Rome-Atlanta line. Trains of the ETV&G and its successor Southern Railway rolled through here for almost a hundred years. A full century of service was denied the old tunnel, however, when Southern bypassed it with a 4,200-foot cutoff in 1979-80. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home