What's the Difference Between a Siding and Spur?

[richhotrain]

Well, now I'm nore confused than ever.   

Not sure which dead ends and which goes "through".

Rich

[carl425]

From the CSX "Railroad Dictionary"

Siding

An auxiliary track for meeting or passing trains. It is designated in special instructions.

Spur Track (Commonly Called Spur)

A stub track that diverges from main or other tracks which provides access to industrial or commercial areas. It usually dead ends within an industry area.

 

[ROBERT PETRICK]

I think SouthPenn is pretty close: a spur goes someplace, whereas a siding just gets traffic off the main.

I wouldn't take this as gospel, though. I could easily be ignoranter than OneWolf.

Robert

[Onewolf]

I was going to GUESS the same as CGW121: A spur has one connection to the mainline/branch and a siding has multiple. But I be rather ignorant.

[SouthPenn]

I think a spur is a track that goes some place, like another town or another rail road? 

A siding is a dead end?

[CGW121]

A spur has one switch connecting, a siding has two maybe more. I am sure someone will pontifacate more on this.

 

[richhotrain]

I cannot figure out when to refer to a track that branches off the main line as a spur or a siding.  Can someone help me here? 

Rich