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USE Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains, and ''unit'' freight trains, such as coal trains. Balloon loops do not include track layouts where combinations of junctions allow a train reversal, where this reversal is not regularly used. In some transport simulators (eg: Transport Tycoon Deluxe , 1996 but still played worldwide), Balloon Loops are referred to as RoRo stations or Roll On, Roll Out. They are frequently used at busy stations. EXAMPLES Passenger
Freight New South Wales, Australia
HISTORY Balloon loops first appeared in large numbers in the 1960s when the modernising British Rail introduced so-called ''merry-go-round'' coal trains that operated without shunting from mines to power stations and back again, around the clock. DISADVANTAGES The only real disadvantage of a balloon loop is that it needs a lot of space to build, and even so, the curves can be very sharp. The very sharp 180 m radius curves on the Olympic Park balloon loop cause noise, wear and tear on both the wheels and rails. ADVANTAGES The advantages of a balloon loop include -
If Olympic Park station were not on a balloon loop and were a stub platform:
OTHER OLYMPIC STATIONS
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