What is a Team Track. I see that name on layouts plans all the time. What is it used for. Looks to me just like a spur. Thanks
Team track is a spur designated for use by customers with less than car load shipping and receiving.
There is usally a dock of some sort, and/or at least a road, and parking area, right next to the track for esay access by customers.
More heavily used team tracks might even have a ramp, and/or an overhead crane.
Today’s modern version of a team track is the transloading tracks, where everyhting from tank cars, hoppers, flat cars, etc., are loaded/unloaded on to, or from, trucks.
Mike.
It is usually a stub ended spur track where a freight car can be unloaded onto a truck for local delivery.
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Model railroaders love them, because almost any type of freight car can go there. This is sometimes called a “universal industry” because it can accept any load.
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The term “Team Track” supposedly originated in a day when these freight cars were unloaded into wagons pulled by “teams” of horses. I have also heard the term had something to do with the “Teamsters” union which had contract rights over the labor of unloading at some of the tracks.
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-Kevin
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This is interesting. I like the idea of a team track and I can see the value of one on the layout. Cool to have a “catch-all” track to park a car. Thanks all!
Yes, team tracks are especially useful. They are a universal industry that requires nothing more than a gravel lot in terms of scenery. They provide a great opertunity to run that oddball freight car that doesn’t match any of your railroad’s industries. And there exist in pretty much every era, albeit less and less in the modern day, but they’re still around!
You can be 99% certain that every layout I build will have a team track, it just provides so many option. It’s no surprise they are immensely popular amoung us modelers!
When I worked for the Federal Government in logistics I was asked to attend the movement of a rather large item for NASA from an aerospace contractor to a teamtrack just outside of Vancouver. The move was in the middle of the night as traffic would be slightly disrupted and they wanted to keep a low profile as it was a NASA move. I was there strictly as a trouble shooter so I just mostly watched.
There were a couple of modified flatcars involved and a couple of boxcars for the smaller bits. I always thought if I ever modeled more modern day stuff it would make for an interesting scene.
A teamtrack scene allows for endless possibilities.
More discussion here:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/182657.aspx
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/157844.aspx
Good Luck, Ed
A team track is a “public track”. It is owned by the railroad, not an industry and can be used by any customer (shipper or reciever), particularly those that do not have direct rail service. It was called a “team” track because the customers do not have any storage facilities on the track so the cars had to be unloaded onto wagons (teams) and carried away.
Any industry can use it. Its not uncommon to have a hundred or more industries use a team track in a major city. Most of them are customers that ship or recieve only a few cars a month or year. Theoretically it can have a wide variety of cars spotted there.
A team track may have access to both sides of the track and might have a loading dock or ramp. Some might have a small hand operated crane or an overhead crane.
Transload facilities are similar, but not quite the same, some involve leasing track and some are commodity restricted (lumber, pellets, etc).
another example of a spur without a specific industry is a trans-load facility
This might be an urban legend…
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I have heard of people ordering in a small load of appliances to a small town by boxcar, then sell them directly from the boxcar on the team track at a deep discount.
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That might make an interesting scene if it is true.
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-Kevin
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In larger or busier locations, there were entire yards of these public delivery tracks. They would usually be stub ended with the tracks arranged in pairs flanked by paved drive ways for vehicles. Many larger cities had such yards devoted to produce that was often sold directly from the cars. Another seasonal commodity handled in the same way would be Christmas trees.
https://www.shorpy.com/node/7941
https://www.shorpy.com/node/16007
Pittsburgh, lower right in this view:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/11412
and a team track pressed into service as a temporary lodging space for a Masonic Convention! Note the “panel track” laid right on the pavers. (track 11½ for instance)
https://www.shorpy.com/node/17482
Be sure to click photo(s) for a larger view.
Good Luck, Ed
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Great picture, and thank you for the link.
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But… those sure look a lot more like Shriners than Masons!
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[:)]
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-Kevin
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According to a former next door neighbour," All Shriners are Masons, but not all Masons choose to become Shriners."
He was active in the Shriners.
Dave
From one of the replies at Shorpy:
Just some clarification from one who has traveled east, and also travelled over the hot sands.
Masons belong to Lodges. Shriners belong to Temples. All Shriners are Masons, but all Masons are not Shriners. These cars and locomotives hauled Shriners to a convention of some sort.
No, we do not and never have secretly or openly ruled the world.
PS: Imagine trying to find decals for this B&O EL-1? (note the cylinder faces)
https://www.shorpy.com/node/17486?size=_original#caption
Cheers, Ed
A team track is used to serve nonrail customers. In short Beattle Home & Lumber Supply can now recieve lumber,kitchen cabinets,roofing,siding etc by rail.
Today these former team tracks is known as “Transload” track just like the bigger Transload tracks in Cities.
The small city transload track may be a former team track or perhaps a former house track that may still have evidence of steam era cinders.
Around three years ago I was out and about railfaning Northern Ohio area when I spotted three tank cars and one tank car was being unloaded into a tank truck… This siding had been weed covered for years and I notice the weeds was cut and had a improved gravel lot on both side of the track…
https://www.shorpy.com/node/11412
Several things in this picture. Note the mix of car types. There are two cranes for unloading open cars.
Also of note is the car being unloaded into the wagon at the center of the picture. It shows a common arrangement for a good teamster and team. The teamster has backed the wagon against the door of the car and then moved the team to right angles with the wagon in order to not block the thoroughfare for other wagons. I saw this manuever at the Omaha River City Rodeo and a good teamster could also shift his team to the other side of the wagon, without moving the wagon.
Interesting stuff everyone!
Another piece of equipment that could be seen at a team track is a portable conveyor for moving gravel, coal or whatever that is being dumped from a hopper car up into a dump truck.
Here are a couple of examples (unfortunately out of stock):
https://www.walthers.com/coal-conveyor-unpainted
https://www.walthers.com/two-wheel-belt-conveyor
Here is a discontinued Walthers coal conveyor on eBay, but who says it can only handle coal?:
There are more on eBay.
Dave
Just a note of little importance; The side stepping of the team has little to do with the teamster. Just bout anyone could do it, Useing the correct comands and a well broke team. ‘‘come gee’’ ‘‘come haw’’
Over by Oshkosh, they have a spot where they load cover hoppers from trucks. A convayer that moves along the cars.
One more use for team tracks in many cities was to provide a place for the circus train when it came to town. There was easy access getting feed and water to the cars for the livestock and not too many neighbors to complain about the noise and “stuff”.