Both trains required the use of a single-track section approximately long in the western portion of Nashville. According to contemporary practices, the inbound train (No. 1) retained the right-of-way. Thus, the railroad dispatch informed the crew of the opposing (No. 4) train that they were to stop in the double-track section if they did not visually identify the passing No. 1 before they reached the interlocking tower known as "Shops Junction", where the single-track section began. The term "Shops" referred to the railroad's massive repair and refueling shops including its largest roundhouse. This was not a passenger stop but rather the junction where the railroad's mainline track to Memphis narrowed down to just one track.