At a meet on single track, one train holds the main and the other takes the siding; the train holding the main often keeps rolling or stops only briefly while the other clears. Dispatchers give the main to the hotter or longer train, and a train too long for the siding has to hold it. A crew told to hold the main still obeys every signal and stops if the other train has not cleared.
UP 5520 west, you'll hold the main at Big Spring and meet the coal train, he's heading in now.
Also heard as
- on the main
- hold the main line
Related terms
In the hole
In the siding, waiting for another train to pass on the main line.
Siding
A track alongside the main line, connected at both ends, where trains meet or let others pass.
Saw-by
A meet at a siding too short for the train that has to take it, so the two trains work past each other in stages.
Main line
The principal track or tracks of a railroad between terminals, where trains need authority to run.