Chapter 173: Repair time and cabooses
Twenty yards of repair time and cabooses
A repair job takes time: the car must stand at its service track for a set number of moves, and taking it away part way through starts the work over.
A caboose rides at the rear of its train, which is the ladder end, so it must be the last car coupled on. It travels with the engine and never goes over the hump.
20 yards, pars from 5 to 18 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 173 draws on sealed blocks, outbounds and tonnage, 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 173.1 | 13 | The outbound Concord, Boston, Concord, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 2 | Yard 173.2 | 9 | Dover on 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 3 | Yard 173.3 | 11 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Dover, Albany on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 4 | Yard 173.4 | 9 | The outbound Albany, Boston, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 5 | Yard 173.5 | 11 | The outbound Boston, Concord, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 6 | Yard 173.6 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Albany on Track 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 150 tons. |
| 7 | Yard 173.7 | 11 | The outbound Dover, Concord, Concord, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 8 | Yard 173.8 | 7 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 9 | Yard 173.9 | 10 | The outbound Dover, Boston, Boston, Dover, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 10 | Yard 173.10 | 6 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 173.11 | 16 | The outbound Dover, Boston, Dover, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 12 | Yard 173.12 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Erie, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 240 tons. |
| 13 | Yard 173.13 | 12 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Dover, Dover, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 14 | Yard 173.14 | 5 | Albany on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 173.15 | 11 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Boston, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 16 | Yard 173.16 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 17 | Yard 173.17 | 15 | The outbound Erie, Concord, Concord, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 140 tons, cars that need the shop first. |
| 18 | Yard 173.18 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Boston, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 240 tons. |
| 19 | Yard 173.19 | 11 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for cars that need the shop first. |
| 20 | Yard 173.20 | 18* | The outbound Dover, Dover, Dover, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Albany 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.
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