Chapter 102: Sealed blocks and sorting
Twenty yards of sealed blocks and sorting
Sealed blocks are two or three cars coupled as a unit. A pull or shove that would cut between them is refused, and a block is never humped or kicked.
Every car has a destination and every track an assignment. Pull cuts to the lead, shove them back in the right place, and do it in as few moves as the yard allows.
20 yards, pars from 5 to 18 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 102 draws on the shop, the helper and placard spacing, with two breathers of plain sorting and extra cars. Difficulty runs as a sawtooth: runs of easy yards, a spike, a breather.
The yards
| # | Yard | Par | The job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yard 102.1 | 5 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 2 | Yard 102.2 | 10 | Dover on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 3 | Yard 102.3 | 6 | Concord on 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 4 | Yard 102.4 | 9 | Dover on 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 5 | Yard 102.5 | 6 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 6 | Yard 102.6 | 6 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Boston, Dover, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 7 | Yard 102.7 | 8 | Concord on 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 8 | Yard 102.8 | 13 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 9 | Yard 102.9 | 13 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 10 | Yard 102.10 | 7 | Erie on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 102.11 | 8 | The outbound Concord, Dover, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 12 | Yard 102.12 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 13 | Yard 102.13 | 18 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 14 | Yard 102.14 | 6 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 102.15 | 8 | The outbound Erie, Boston, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 16 | Yard 102.16 | 5 | The outbound Concord, Dover, Concord, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 17 | Yard 102.17 | 18* | The outbound Erie, Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 18 | Yard 102.18 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Albany, Erie, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 19 | Yard 102.19 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 20 | Yard 102.20 | 11 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
New to the game? How to play covers pulls, shoves, goals and par in a minute.