Chapter 167: Open slots and the hump
Twenty yards of open slots and the hump
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.
From the crest of the hump a whole cut rolls off one car at a time, each routed to a track as it goes, and the lot counts as a single move.
20 yards, pars from 3 to 10 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 167 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 167.1 | 5 | The outbound Albany, any car, Albany or Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 2 | Yard 167.2 | 6 | Boston on 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 3 | Yard 167.3 | 5 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Boston or Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 4 | Yard 167.4 | 6 | Dover on 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 5 | Yard 167.5 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Albany or Erie, any car on Track 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 6 | Yard 167.6 | 8 | The outbound Erie, Boston, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 7 | Yard 167.7 | 5 | The outbound any car, Dover, Boston or Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 8 | Yard 167.8 | 5 | Boston on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 9 | Yard 167.9 | 8 | The outbound Erie, any car, Albany or Concord, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 10 | Yard 167.10 | 6 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 167.11 | 3 | The outbound Boston or Dover, any car, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 12 | Yard 167.12 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 13 | Yard 167.13 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Albany or Erie, Albany, any car on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, yard orders on the clock. |
| 14 | Yard 167.14 | 8 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 167.15 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Albany, any car on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 16 | Yard 167.16 | 4 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 17 | Yard 167.17 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Boston, any car on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a stub behind another track. |
| 18 | Yard 167.18 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Erie, Erie, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 19 | Yard 167.19 | 6 | The outbound Boston, Dover or Erie, any car on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 20 | Yard 167.20 | 9 | The outbound Albany or Boston, Erie, Albany or Boston, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a hump yard, yard orders on the clock. |
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