"In the Hole"

"In the Hole". . , When two trains met on the single track Milwaukee mainline one train would have to “go in the hole”. One train moved onto a side track or siding, letting the other train pass by., Timing a “meet” was extremely important. An off schedule train could not only delay other trains, but might cause a major accident., “Train Orders” specified which trains had priority and which ones must stop and hold on a siding. Passenger trains usually had priority over all other trains but, during war-time, special, priority munitions trains would send them ‘into the hole’. Passenger trains and big freights alike would hold for the Milwaukee’s speedy, refrigerated “Silk Trains”>, The Milwaukee Road’s single track mainline through the Loop Creek Valley presented the railroad with a traffic problem. To safely and efficiently move trains over the mountains the railroad built strategic sidings at Roland, Adair and Falcon. Falcon, by far the longest of the three, measured 6,552 feet and could handle trains almost 100 cars long., (sidebar) , Both the east and west turnouts leading from the mainline onto the siding were what the railroad designated as spring switches. Spring switches must be manually moved so that a train can be shunted to the siding from the mainline, but once the holding train is on the siding and the switch has been returned to the mainline-clear position, the holding train may move back onto the mainline without further moving the switch-points by hand., …I acquired all this trivia about spring switches because I actually helped my father (operate the switches sat Falcon).., Stan Johnson , The Milwaukee Road Revisited