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Willy: George's explanation is very good. They are simply a big loop track with a single switch to enter and leave. In the 1960s, as unit coal trains became common, balloon tracks became the favored solution at power plants and coal mines, assuming the geography allowed it. There are many places where the mine is in a narrow canyon or the powerplant in a congested urban location and loop can't be made; in those cases, a siding and runaround move is required. Balloon tracks are now becoming common for grain shuttle train elevators at both origin and destination. Balloon tracks are also used for turning passenger and commuter trains at the end of a run, if you don't have push-pull operation and walk-over seats; for turning helpers; and for turning snowplows. They are particularly desirable for snowplows because no backing movement is required as it would be with a wye. Backing through deep snow is a good way to derail. Interurban and street car lines used balloon tracks by the thousands, as do light-rail lines, to avoid having to use double-ended cars on light-density lines that couldn't justify two cars back-to-back, each pointing in opposite direction. As far as I know the term "balloon track" is not used in transit, however, perhaps because the radius can be so much tighter. "Loop" seems to be the preferred term in transit. Functionally, they are identical to a balloon track.
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