Chapter 211: Open slots and placards
Twenty yards of open slots and placards
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.
Placarded hazmat cars may not couple directly to the engine, may not be humped and may not be kicked, so they have to travel with a buffer car between them and the power.
20 yards, pars from 4 to 14 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 211 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 211.1 | 4 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Dover or Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3. |
| 2 | Yard 211.2 | 7 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 3 | Yard 211.3 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord or Erie, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 4 | Yard 211.4 | 4 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 5 | Yard 211.5 | 7 | The outbound Albany, any car, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 6 | Yard 211.6 | 9 | The outbound Boston, Dover, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 7 | Yard 211.7 | 7 | The outbound Boston, Albany or Dover, Albany or Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 8 | Yard 211.8 | 10 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 9 | Yard 211.9 | 8 | The outbound Dover or Erie, Dover, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 10 | Yard 211.10 | 6 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 211.11 | 5 | The outbound Dover, any car, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 12 | Yard 211.12 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Concord, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 13 | Yard 211.13 | 9 | The outbound any car, Boston or Dover, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 14 | Yard 211.14 | 10 | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 211.15 | 8 | The outbound Albany or Erie, Albany, Albany or Erie, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 16 | Yard 211.16 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Boston, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 17 | Yard 211.17 | 14* | The outbound Erie, any car, Boston on Track 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 18 | Yard 211.18 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Erie, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 19 | Yard 211.19 | 8 | The outbound Boston or Concord, Concord, Dover or Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 20 | Yard 211.20 | 12 | The outbound Concord or Erie, Albany, Albany or Boston, Albany on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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