Chapter 189: Open slots and stub tracks
Twenty yards of open slots and stub tracks
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.
Some tracks hang off another track instead of the ladder. The engine only reaches the back track while the front one is clear up to the switch, and the fouling point is marked.
20 yards, pars from 3 to 14 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 189 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 189.1 | 5 | The outbound Albany or Erie, Dover, Erie, Dover, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 2 | Yard 189.2 | 10 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 3 | Yard 189.3 | 7 | The outbound Boston, any car, any car, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 4 | Yard 189.4 | 4 | Dover on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 5 | Yard 189.5 | 9 | The outbound Boston or Dover, Erie, Dover, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 6 | Yard 189.6 | 10 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 7 | Yard 189.7 | 8 | The outbound Albany or Erie, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 8 | Yard 189.8 | 6 | Dover on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 9 | Yard 189.9 | 11 | The outbound Albany, any car, Albany, any car, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 10 | Yard 189.10 | 3 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 189.11 | 4 | The outbound Erie, any car, Boston, Erie, any car on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 12 | Yard 189.12 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Albany, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 13 | Yard 189.13 | 13* | The outbound Concord or Erie, Concord, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 14 | Yard 189.14 | 6 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 189.15 | 9 | The outbound any car, Erie, Boston or Erie, Erie, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 16 | Yard 189.16 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Albany, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 17 | Yard 189.17 | 12 | The outbound any car, Albany or Erie, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track, a timetable. |
| 18 | Yard 189.18 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 19 | Yard 189.19 | 12 | The outbound Albany, any car, Erie, any car, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 20 | Yard 189.20 | 14* | The outbound Albany or Dover, Dover, any car, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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