The beauty of team tracks

ATSF boxcar spotted on Roswell team track, in 1992. Note flour car spotted at Rainbo Bakery to the left. ©C Hunt photo

Roswell in the early 1990s had a busy team track.  (It stills sees a fair amount of action.)  Nestled between the depot and bakery sat a couple of tracks that received a wide variety of loads.  Team tracks are rail sidings where customers who do not have a siding of their own can utilize the railroad.  In the early 1990s, the team track in Roswell received loads of plastic pellets, lumber and other building supplies and at least once–a large transformer.

Aerial view of team tracks in 2013. To the right of the green dot is one of the team tracks. In this shot, a centerbeam flat car and two covered hoppers were spotted on the track. Above that track, sat an additional curved team track with a “wrap-around” unloading dock. That track is not currently used, but was frequently used in the early 1990s.

Team tracks are great because they give a modeller a place to spot a wide variety of freight cars–at least box cars, covered hoppers and flat cars in the case of the Roswell team track.  Open top hoppers will also make an appearance on my layout because a local business occasionally receives aggregates and a local “old school” rancher gets in an occasional load or two of coal (and because I like them!)

A transformer comes to the team track in 1993. ©C Hunt photo

Three boxcars spotted at the curved team track, 1993.