Chapter 123: Open slots and sorting
Twenty yards of open slots and sorting
Outbound patterns can leave slots open to any car, or to a set of destinations. Choosing which car fills a slot cheaply is the puzzle, because the handy one is rarely the right one.
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 4 to 15 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 123 draws on yard orders, no-engine tracks and stub tracks, 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 123.1 | 4 | The outbound Concord, Concord, any car on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 2 | Yard 123.2 | 6 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 3 | Yard 123.3 | 7 | The outbound Boston or Erie, Boston, Boston, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 4 | Yard 123.4 | 5 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 5 | Yard 123.5 | 6 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Concord, Albany or Erie, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 6 | Yard 123.6 | 13 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 7 | Yard 123.7 | 6 | The outbound Boston, Boston or Dover, Erie, Boston, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 8 | Yard 123.8 | 8 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 9 | Yard 123.9 | 10 | The outbound Albany, Erie, Concord or Erie, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 10 | Yard 123.10 | 5 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 123.11 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Boston or Erie, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 12 | Yard 123.12 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 13 | Yard 123.13 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Albany or Erie, Concord or Dover, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 14 | Yard 123.14 | 6 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 123.15 | 12 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Dover or Erie, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 16 | Yard 123.16 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 17 | Yard 123.17 | 15* | The outbound Boston, Concord or Dover, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 18 | Yard 123.18 | 9 | The outbound Dover, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 19 | Yard 123.19 | 9 | The outbound Erie, Albany or Concord, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 20 | Yard 123.20 | 11 | The outbound Albany, Boston, Boston or Concord, Albany, Albany or Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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