belt track

Noun

belt track (plural belt tracks)

1. A continuous track used to propel vehicles that drive on difficult terrain.
   • It has been found that by simply substituting a belt track for an undercarriage with wheels in tandem, the unit load on the ground can be halved without increasing the bulk of the undercarriage.1954, Interavia - Volume 9, page 630
   • Figure III shows the Terrapin, a belt-track vehicle designed to transport cargo over very difficult terrain.1962, Science, Technology, and Development, page 141
2. A railroad track the traces a path around a city or other area.
   • The roadbed of this company (the Shreveport & Red River Valley Railroad Company) being entirely within the state of Louisiana, if it is required to pay the sum of $330,000, or an amount necessarily expended in the construction of the belt track down to Henderson street, it would be practically...1904, Thomas H. Thorpe, Charles G. Gill, Louisiana Reports, page 921
   • Said connection between the South Akron belt track and the canal yard tracks to cross Medsker street at grade.1906, Corporate History of the Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh, page 765
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see belt, track.; a track used in for aligning and controlling a belt, such as a conveyor belt.
   • The graph of the actual abrasion time of the cotton canvas reference material against the number of samples abraded on the belt track is used to provide the reference abrasion time for canvas.1996, James S. Johnson, Seymour Zack Mansdorf, Performance of Protective Clothing, page 63
   • The XLR system has a rear belt track that drives the power steering pump and the air conditioning compressor mounted to the right side of the engine, and a forward belt track that drives the generator and water pump mounted on the left side of the engine.2003, Daniel J Holt, Design of Racing and High-Performance Engines 1998-2003, page 43