When the dispatcher puts a train in the hole, it heads into a siding and stops clear of the main so an opposing or faster train can go by. Crews generally hate it, because sitting in the hole for a meet or pass eats hours off a trip already capped by the hours of service law. The phrase spawns its own verbs: take the hole, head in, and sit in the hole.
DS says we're in the hole at Brule for two eastbounds and a hotshot, so plan on being here a while.
Also heard as
- take the hole
- head in
Do not mix it up with
- Hold the main: Holding the main is the other half of the same meet: the train that stays on the main line while the other heads in.
Related terms
Siding
A track alongside the main line, connected at both ends, where trains meet or let others pass.
Hold the main
To stay on the main track during a meet while the opposing train takes the siding.
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.
Hotshot
A high-priority train on a tight schedule that dispatchers move ahead of almost everything else.