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Re: (erielack) team tracks without platforms
Gentlemen-
One of the most active team track areas was in East Rutherford. In
addition to a active freight house, there were, I believe, three tracks,
two of which had a large (40' wide and 300' long) concrete pad between
them. Early in the morning in the 1950's, while I was running milk off of
my brother-in-laws milk truck, most of the grocery stores had their trucks
unloading box cars and refrigerator cars full of fresh vegetables and
produce at the team tracks. Involved were Grand Union, A&P, Shop-Rite and
some small independent stores. This happened almost every morning. The BJ
Drill would bring these box cars/refeers out of Croxton and set them on the
team track in East Rutherford. There would be as many as eight cars being
unloaded at any one time.
After depositing these cars at the team track, and ducking the inbound
commuter rush, the BJ Drill would switch tank cars in and out of Royce
Chemical, Sun Oil Co., Printers Ink and a variety of other type cars to
other customers in the Rutherford, East Rutherford, Carlton Hill area.
- -Joe Jordan
Train Nut Central
www.20thcenturyhobbies.com/trainnut/
At 05:43 AM 4/19/07 -0400, Paul Brezicki wrote:
>
>Team tracks could also have end or side ramps for unloading farm and other
equipment. Also in some cases they had overhead cranes. Erie's two "inland
stations" had them; the one at 28th St was removed in the 1950's, while the
less specialized 149th St terminal in the Bronx had a large gantry crane
spanning 3 tracks; it remained in use until the terminal was closed in the
late 60's. It also had an end ramp.
>
>Produce terminals in larger cities had one or more team tracks as well as
one or more tracks at unloading platforms where produce was transferred to
the auction building. Another more modern example is the track for
unloading bulk commodities into trailers, either via a storage silo or more
directly using a pneumatic cyclone-equipped device connected to the hopper
car and bulk trailer via hoses. I don't recall EL getting into this but NYC
and then PC had several such "Flexi-Flo" terminals. IIRC Todd posted photos
of one in Syracuse.
>
>The team track is making a comeback as today's "distribution center",
where a wide variety of commodities are unloaded for truck delivery. For
small customers, this is often more efficient than using the customer's
siding, and another example of RR's emphasis on "wholesale" transportation.
>
>Paul B
>
>From: "Chuck Yungkurth" <raildata_@_comcast.net>
>Subject: Re: (erielack) team tracks without platforms
>
>It seems to methat the function of "team tracks" is not very well understood
>by this forum. Viturally every station had a siding or track for carload
>unloading. Freight houses were used primarily for warehousing LCL shipments.
>
>If a receiving industry got an entire carload of a commodity, it was spotted
>on a "team track" or siding for unloading by the company unless the company
>was large enough to have private sidings. The consignment was unloaded into
>trucks (formerly teams) and hauled to the revievers location.
>
>In Scranton the DL&W, D&H, CNJ, and Erie all had large areas of sidings with
>areas paved with cobblestones near them. The DL&W team tracks were laocted
>behind the building where the shopping mall is now. D&H had team trackage
>adjacent to it's passenger station on the lower end of Lackawanna Ave. At
>the same end of Lacakwanna Ave. was "the wholesale block" where there were
>many produce distibution companies. All of these unloaded fruit and other
>items from refrigerator cars. During the 40's and 50's there were usually
>around 10 to 15 refrigerator cars being unloaded at these team tracks.
>
>
>
>
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