Team track

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A team track is a small railroad siding or spur track intended for the use of area merchants, manufacturers, farmers and other small businesses to personally load and unload products and merchandise, usually in smaller quantities.^[1] The term "team" refers to the teams of horses or oxen delivering wagon-loads of freight transferred to or from railway cars.^[2] Earliest rail service to an area often provided a team track on railroad-owned property adjacent to the railroad agent's train station.^[3] As rail traffic became more established, large-volume shippers extended privately owned spur tracks into mines, factories, and warehouses. Small-volume shippers and shippers with facilities distant from the rail line continued using team tracks into the early part of the 20th century. Improved highway systems and abandonment of low-volume rail lines made full-distance truck shipments more practical in North America and avoided delays and damage associated with freight handling during transfer operations.^[4]

[edit] References

• DeVos, Jerry, Kohler, Gary, and McChesney, Chris (2003). Narrow Gauge in the Sheepscot Valley Volume II. M2FQ Publications. 
• Plant, Jeremy F. and Melvin, George F. (1999). Maine Central in Color Volume 2. Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-58248-030-3. 
• Raymond, William G. (1937). The Elements of Railroad Engineering, 5th Edition. John Wiley and Sons. 
• The Secretary of Transportation (1974). Rail Service in the Midwest and Northeast Region. U.S.Government Printing Office.