Chapter 155: Sorting and open slots
Twenty yards of sorting and open slots
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.
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 14 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 155 draws on hidden waybills, the hump and kicks, 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 155.1 | 3 | The outbound any car, any car, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 2 | Yard 155.2 | 8 | Dover on 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 3 | Yard 155.3 | 7 | The outbound Concord, any car, Albany, Albany or Boston, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3. |
| 4 | Yard 155.4 | 5 | Concord on 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 5 | Yard 155.5 | 6 | The outbound Boston or Dover, Albany, Boston, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 6 | Yard 155.6 | 6 | The outbound Boston, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for 2 kicks allowed. |
| 7 | Yard 155.7 | 5 | The outbound any car, Albany, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 8 | Yard 155.8 | 9 | Concord on 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 9 | Yard 155.9 | 9 | The outbound Concord or Dover, Boston or Concord, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 10 | Yard 155.10 | 8 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 155.11 | 5 | The outbound Dover, any car, Dover, any car, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 12 | Yard 155.12 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for 3 kicks allowed. |
| 13 | Yard 155.13 | 9 | The outbound Erie, Albany or Erie, Concord, Boston or Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 14 | Yard 155.14 | 6 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 155.15 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Boston or Erie, Boston, Albany or Concord, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 16 | Yard 155.16 | 9 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 17 | Yard 155.17 | 10* | The outbound Boston, Boston, Erie, Boston, Albany or Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for 1 kick allowed. |
| 18 | Yard 155.18 | 9 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Dover, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for 2 kicks allowed. |
| 19 | Yard 155.19 | 10 | The outbound Boston or Dover, Boston or Erie, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 20 | Yard 155.20 | 14 | The outbound any car, Concord, any car, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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