A conveyor system (300, 400, 500), comprising: a conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) trained around belt-guiding members to form a circuit having a carryway (340, 440, 540), an infeed (350, 410, 510), an outfeed (420, 520) and a returnway (322, 345, 450, 490, 550, 590, 750), wherein the conveyor belt has a smooth outer surface substantially free of discontinuities and an inner surface with a plurality of teeth at a given belt pitch; a drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) at the outfeed of the circuit for positively driving the conveyor belt through the circuit through positive engagement of the teeth on the bottom surface of the belt with the drive sprocket; and an infeed member at the infeed (350, 410, 510) of the circuit; and a tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) disposed in the returnway (322, 345, 450, 490, 550; 590, 750); characterised in that the infeed member is a freely rotatable nosebar (350, 411, 511, 710) having peripheral teeth with recesses therebetween for receiving the teeth of the conveyor belt and a diameter that is smaller than a natural arc of curvature of the conveyor belt; and in that the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) comprises either a brake connected to a sprocket or a plurality of belt-wrapping members (470, 471, 572, 573, 574, 575, 770, 771) disposed perpendicular to the circuit, wherein the belt-wrapping members (470, 471, 572, 573, 574, 575, 770, 771) are substantially resistant to rotational movement, so that the tension amplifier increases the tension in a first section (322, 490, 590) of the circuit between the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) and the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) when the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) is driving the belt (360, 460, 560, 760), while the returnway of the conveyor belt between the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) and the tension amplifier remains substantially untensioned, the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) imparting no additional tension to the conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) when the conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) is stationary. a conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) trained around belt-guiding members to form a circuit having a carryway (340, 440, 540), an infeed (350, 410, 510), an outfeed (420, 520) and a returnway (322, 345, 450, 490, 550, 590, 750), wherein the conveyor belt has a smooth outer surface substantially free of discontinuities and an inner surface with a plurality of teeth at a given belt pitch; a drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) at the outfeed of the circuit for positively driving the conveyor belt through the circuit through positive engagement of the teeth on the bottom surface of the belt with the drive sprocket; and an infeed member at the infeed (350, 410, 510) of the circuit; and a tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) disposed in the returnway (322, 345, 450, 490, 550; 590, 750); characterised in that the infeed member is a freely rotatable nosebar (350, 411, 511, 710) having peripheral teeth with recesses therebetween for receiving the teeth of the conveyor belt and a diameter that is smaller than a natural arc of curvature of the conveyor belt; and in that the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) comprises either a brake connected to a sprocket or a plurality of belt-wrapping members (470, 471, 572, 573, 574, 575, 770, 771) disposed perpendicular to the circuit, wherein the belt-wrapping members (470, 471, 572, 573, 574, 575, 770, 771) are substantially resistant to rotational movement, so that the tension amplifier increases the tension in a first section (322, 490, 590) of the circuit between the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) and the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) when the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) is driving the belt (360, 460, 560, 760), while the returnway of the conveyor belt between the drive sprocket (334, 430, 530) and the tension amplifier remains substantially untensioned, the tension amplifier (380, 480, 580, 780) imparting no additional tension to the conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) when the conveyor belt (360, 460, 560, 760) is stationary.