The Rathole Combo, The Rathole and Through the Rathole Cab Ride

SKU: DVD-PNX-RTH
(9 customer reviews)

$15.00

Named for the 23 tunnels that once embellished the line, the Rathole stretches between Danville, Kentucky and Oakdale Tennessee.

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Producer

Pentrex

Run Time

2 hours 25 minutes

Narration

Yes

Shrink Wrap

Yes, Brand New

Technical Details

No Region Code, NTSC

Named for the 23 tunnels that once embellished the line, the Rathole stretches between Danville, Kentucky and Oakdale Tennessee. High bridges, deep cuts, tunnels, and grades cover this vital link in Norfolk Southern’s system. Pentrex visited this rebuilt route in October 1995 when fall foliage and clear blue skies framed NS’s glossy black diesels in a dramatic show. Two different looks at railroading through the Rathole have been combined on this exciting DVD for your enjoyment. On one DVD you get:

The Rathole:
Norfolk Southern diesels put on amazing shows as they pull heavy tonnage across the Second District of the CNO&TP. Up to forty trains utilize the track each day! Our tour includes Kings Mountain, Burnside Bridge, the deep cuts south of Tateville, the tunnels at Nemo, and the famous high bridge across the New River. Informative narration identifies all the trains by number, and gives you the detailed story of this fascinating line.

Through the Rathole Cab Ride:
Ride at the head of Triple Crown #252 in the cab of GP60 number 7149 and experience the 138-mile line from the crew’s perspective. Traveling from Emory Gap, Tennessee to Danville, Kentucky, you’ll see the tunnels at Nemo, the high bridges across the New and Cumberland Rivers, and the deep cuts that gave the Rathole its name. The high priority Triple Crown passes 15 other trains during our ride. When our train starts back up after stopping to allow a hot piggyback to pass, the engineer struggles to get the train up the grade as the single engine slips its wheels and nearly stalls!

9 reviews for The Rathole Combo, The Rathole and Through the Rathole Cab Ride

  1. Ron Harber III

    While Norfolk Southern is not my favorite railroad to watch, it does have some interesting locations to see in person. The saddest part is that the year before this video was made, Norfolk Southern canceled their steam operations because a lack of complications. But overall, I thought they did a good job of filming it. The most interesting part to learn is the dispatcher’s office.

  2. Brian La Rosa

    In my opinion, Pentrex produced the best program covering the Norfolk Southern Railway’s Rathole in Kentucky and Tennessee. In terms of motive power, there were no wide-nose locomotives but classic high-hood and low-nose diesels from both Electro-Motive and General Electric. It is also interesting to see how helper units are remotely controlled from the leading unit in the early years of distributed power. The Southern Railway originally used a special radio control car coupled to a locomotive in the middle of a long freight train. You can see this unique car since NS inherited that equipment. The cab ride onboard a RoadRailer train is even a more fun way to explore through the Rathole. This train is led by an Electro-Motive GP60 diesel, which contains a typical control stand that is seen on many modern EMD locomotives as well as two computer screens built conveniently on the stand. The Rathole is one of these fascinating Pentrex videos capturing numerous trains during the early years of Norfolk Southern.

  3. devon

    A must have for Any Norfolk Southern fan. The 2 program set is worth it. The cabride is one of my favorites from Pentrex. A lot of older and newer power is found for the time period.

  4. David Holland

    Love this video. This is good Norfolk southern when they were using high hoods, sd60s ,b boats and so much more. You will also get to ride in the cab of ns 252 which is the triple crown train which Norfolk Southern has stopped doing. Definitely worth watching

  5. rickyfreni

    Filmed in October of 1994, this combo contains a great variety of diesels from SD40-2s to the standard cab C40-8s. Along the way, there are portions of the pre-1963 line that have since been abandoned, as well as a visit to the dispatcher’s office. The NS test train is shown, as well as a visit to the Kentucky & Tennessee interchange at stearns which includes a flashback clip to 4501 in November of 1991 from Chattanooga steam reunion. The northbound cab ride is also enjoyable to see.

  6. Lloyd

    The Rathole. The name itself grabs the interest. This is a very scenic region, with a vast combination of tunnels, bridges, grades and deep cuts. Part # 1 we watch as big, heavy Norfolk Southern trains work their way across this very unique region. The trains are put to the test as they have to work hard. The locations of many shots are something in itself as we watch bridge crossings and trains passing below in deep cuts. But it gets better. Part # 2, A cab ride. Wow. Exciting as we are treated to the view the crew gets riding the rails, with a long stream of road railers in tow. There are meets, and sidings. See the view from high bridges as the train passes over. Excellent. This is one of the best Pentrex videos made. You will love every bit of it. Even my children found it hard to walk away, as they were very intrigued by it. It is “a Must Have” for all video rail fans.

  7. John S.

    I like this video so well that when mine got damaged, after owning it for a few years, we bought another copy. This video is the best I’ve seen for showing the CNO&TP. It includes a interesting visit to the dispatchers office when it was located in Somerset Kentucky. The cab ride part is good too, showing a single GP60 struggling with a Triple Crown train.

  8. JKS

    I have had this DVD for a few years and I have watched it several times. Great views of trains from bridges, on the ground and a look at one of the old tunnels now deserted.

  9. Arthur

    Rat hole combo DVD 1 of my favorite tunnels bridges yard action and cab ride this video got it all.

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