Chapter 13: Open slots
Twenty yards of open slots
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.
20 yards, pars from 3 to 8 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 13 draws on placards, auto racks and timetables, 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 13.1 | 4 | The outbound Albany or Dover, Albany, Concord, Concord or Dover, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2. |
| 2 | Yard 13.2 | 5 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2. |
| 3 | Yard 13.3 | 4 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Concord or Dover, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2. |
| 4 | Yard 13.4 | 4 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3. |
| 5 | Yard 13.5 | 4 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Albany or Concord, any car on Track 1, Dover on 2. |
| 6 | Yard 13.6 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Dover, Concord, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2. Watch for a timetable. |
| 7 | Yard 13.7 | 4 | The outbound Albany or Dover, Albany, Albany or Erie, Albany, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2. |
| 8 | Yard 13.8 | 4 | Boston on 1, Erie on 2. |
| 9 | Yard 13.9 | 7 | The outbound any car, Dover, Albany or Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3. |
| 10 | Yard 13.10 | 6 | Concord on 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 13.11 | 4 | The outbound Concord or Dover, Concord, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2. |
| 12 | Yard 13.12 | 4 | The outbound Erie, Boston, Boston, Erie, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2. Watch for a timetable. |
| 13 | Yard 13.13 | 7 | The outbound Dover, any car, Concord, any car on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3. |
| 14 | Yard 13.14 | 3 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 13.15 | 5 | The outbound Boston, Boston or Dover, Erie, Dover or Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2. |
| 16 | Yard 13.16 | 4 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2. |
| 17 | Yard 13.17 | 8 | The outbound Concord, Boston or Concord, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3. Watch for a timetable. |
| 18 | Yard 13.18 | 6 | The outbound Dover, Concord, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2. Watch for a timetable. |
| 19 | Yard 13.19 | 6 | The outbound Concord or Erie, Concord, Boston or Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3. |
| 20 | Yard 13.20 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Dover, any car, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3. |
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