By 1852, railroaders, local merchants, and mineral speculators recognized Natural Tunnel as the most economical rail route to the coal fields of Lee County and the western part of present-day Wise County because it bypassed the barrier of Purchase Ridge. Between 1852 and 1890, several companies tried but failed to complete a line through the tunnel. In 1890, the South Atlantic & Ohio Railroad finally pushed a line almost 900 feet through Natural Tunnel, connecting Big Stone Gap and Bristol and saving an estimated half a million dollars. In 1906, the Southern Railway purchased a controlling interest in the line. In the 1920s and 1930s, the railroad promoted itself as The Natural Tunnel Route, and the Lonesome Pine Special passed through daily until passenger service ended in 1939. In 1982, the Southern merged with Norfolk and Western to form Norfolk Southern. Natural Tunnel also became a tourist attraction in 1899 when excursion trains began running through it, and dances were often held on a pavilion there. The Natural Tunnel and Caverns Corporation began operating the tunnel for tourists in 1928. The Commonwealth of Virginia bought the property in 1967 and opened Natural Tunnel State Park in 1971. The park includes a chairlift to the tunnel and offers hiking, camping, swimming, picnicking, caving, canoeing, a visitor center, a meeting center, an outdoor entertainment amphitheater, and a replica of the Wilderness Road Blockhouse, but the tunnel and its coal trains remain its primary draw.