The phrase pictures two trains with conflicting authority meeting head-on on single track out among the cornfields. A cornfield meet is the defining catastrophe of single-track railroading, and preventing one drives signal systems, track warrant procedures and positive train control. Crews use the phrase grimly, often about a near miss where someone misread a warrant.
Had his warrant limits wrong by one station, would've been a cornfield meet if the DS hadn't caught it.
Also heard as
- head-on
- cornfield
Related terms
Track warrant
A written authority from the dispatcher, copied by radio, that lets a train occupy a set stretch of main track.
PTC
Positive train control: an onboard and wayside system that stops a train before it breaks a speed limit or authority.
Big hook
The wrecking crane sent to clear a derailment and lift cars back onto the track.
DS
Dispatcher, as said on the radio: the person who controls train movements over a territory.