Finally I get to build the railroad layout to go with the stuff I've been gathering for years. Tryin' to make sure I get everything right, I'm eating every bit of info I can get my hands on. I see constant references, here in the forums and elsewhere, to the term 'team track' but I have not yet been able to find a good explanation of what a team track is, and any (all?) details related to team track function, design and use. Anything anyone can tell me will be deeply appreciated. Thanx!
The term "team track" dates back to the horse and wagon days. It usually consists of a simple platform to load and unload box or flat cars and transfer the cargo to a wagon (pulled by a "team" of horses) or a truck, or vice versa. Some more sophisticated platforms may have a simple crane setup for moving larger items, or unloading gondolas. The term has been expanded to any type track that allows transfer of cargo from or to rail to another form of transport.
Ever wonder why the big truck driver's union is named the "Teamsters?" And why their emblem has two horse heads in it? Before the union, a "teamster" was one who drove a "team" of horses.
That's what they ride on when the Mets play the Yankees in a subway series!!
navyman636 I see constant references, here in the forums and elsewhere, to the term 'team track' but I have not yet been able to find a good explanation of what a team track is, and any (all?) details related to team track function, design and use. Anything anyone can tell me will be deeply appreciated. Thanx!
A team track is a public delivery track. It is a track that belongs to the railroad that any customer chan load or unload a car on. Normally it will be a track with a paved or open area next to it that allows trucks (or wagons and TEAMS of horses) to pull up directly to the cars. It may have a loading dock, it may have a ramp, it may have a crane or it may not have any of that.
In modern parlance a "transload facility" or a "break bulk facility" may serve the same purpose, but there are still team tracks. Based on the Reading railroad's customers (they listed whether their customers used private or public tracks) about 1/3 to 1/2 of the customers used team tracks. That is not to say that 1/3 to 1/2 the shipments went to teams tracks, since the team track customers probably shipped less frequently than the private track customers. There may be 20 customers that use the team track and only ship one car a month vs. 1 industry with private tracks and they get 10 cars a day.
Since so many customers use team tracks, you can ship just about anything to or from them. So from a modeling standpoint it allows a the potential for a greater variety of cars/car types. If your area has vegetable or fruit growing, it was pretty common to load the team track up with reefers at harvest and all the fruit and vegetable farmers would bring their product from their farms to the team track and load them up.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
And just to close the loop, the word "teamster" that we associate with truckers and the trucking union is derived from this.
Chris
there is no duuuuhhh about your question. an knowledgeable person gets to be that way by asking questions.
ever notice how a blind man knows he can't see and a cripple man knows he can't run but a dummy always thinks he is a genius?
this post brings to mind where our hobby is going. a bunch of guys modeling prototypes that they have never seen. even an old fossil like me has locomotives on his layout that were scrapped before i was born.
where would we be without the preserved information available and especially without the internet?
thank you al gore.
grizlump
navyman636 Finally I get to build the railroad layout to go with the stuff I've been gathering for years. Tryin' to make sure I get everything right, I'm eating every bit of info I can get my hands on. I see constant references, here in the forums and elsewhere, to the term 'team track' but I have not yet been able to find a good explanation of what a team track is, and any (all?) details related to team track function, design and use. Anything anyone can tell me will be deeply appreciated. Thanx!
Team tracks are still in use..
However..
The marketing word is:
Distribution track..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
grizlump9 ever notice how a blind man knows he can't see and a cripple man knows he can't run but a dummy always thinks he is a genius?
One of the most true statements I've heard in a looooooong time.
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
grizlump9 where would we be without the preserved information available and especially without the internet? thank you al gore.
So true. With out internet, there would be no question about team tracks.
Team tracks, transload facilities, whatever you want to call them, is a place where the road meets the rail, allowing the movement of stuff from truck to train, or vice versa.
TomDiehl Ever wonder why the big truck driver's union is named the "Teamsters?" And why their emblem has two horse heads in it? Before the union, a "teamster" was one who drove a "team" of horses.
Yup, both my grandfathers were Teamsters who worked for years as teamsters - driving horses. Only late in their careers did they drive internal-combustion vehicles.
Oddly enough my Dad bought his first car in 1933 at age 15, and learned to drive a car before his Dad did, since Grandpa still drove horses.
NAVYMAN: Glad you asked that question because I had no idea what it meant either, but after seeing the answer/s , it was perfectly logical for those days.
BRAKIE Team tracks are still in use.. However.. The marketing word is: Distribution track..
Actually I am surprised at how often they are still referred to as "team tracks" in official railroad publications. There are several listed in my 2005 CSX employee timetables that I am using to design my layout. I also just recently found this web page on the Aberdeen & Rockfish website:
http://www.aberdeen-rockfish.com/html/intermodal.html
If you go down about 3/4 of the page, you will see a spine car being offloaded by a forklift to a truck:
This photo appears in the section titled Russell Street Transload Facility, Fayetteville NC. However, just below that, they have a section that shows facilities with "team tracks available for transfer between rail and truck." It seems they call the facility a transload and the individual track a team track. Also note that the title of that entire page says "Intermodal." Jamie
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CSXDixieLine BRAKIE Team tracks are still in use.. However.. The marketing word is: Distribution track.. Actually I am surprised at how often they are still referred to as "team tracks" in official railroad publications. There are several listed in my 2005 CSX employee timetables that I am using to design my layout. I also just recently found this web page on the Aberdeen & Rockfish website: If you go down about 3/4 of the page, you will see a spine car being offloaded by a forklift to a truck: This photo appears in the section titled Russell Street Transload Facility, Fayetteville NC. However, just below that, they have a section that shows facilities with "team tracks available for transfer between rail and truck." It seems they call the facility a transload and the individual track a team track. Also note that the title of that entire page says "Intermodal." Jamie
Ever notice how CSX uses a full page plus link for their TRANSFLO subsidiary? NS talks about their distribution net work? BNSF uses Transload..
And like you said these"transload tracks" are still called Team Tracks by some freight agents-oops customer service representatives..
Of course, posting a question in one of these forums is a sure-fire way to get the information you need, and I thank all you folks for helping me out with my question. The additional benefit of your doing so with the wit we always find here is icing on the cake! Thanks again, folks!
It's the track that circles the field where your favorite NFL team practices . . . . . . . . . . unless, of course, your favorite team calls themselves the Raiders and they don't need a team track because their record over the last few years indicates that they don't have a practice field!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet