Chapter 23: Sorting and tonnage
Twenty yards of sorting and tonnage
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.
The engine carries a tonnage rating. Loaded cars weigh more than empties, and the engine cannot move a cut heavier than its rating, so big pulls have to be broken up.
20 yards, pars from 4 to 15 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 23 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 23.1 | 5 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 270 tons. |
| 2 | Yard 23.2 | 6 | Albany on 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 3 | Yard 23.3 | 6 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 320 tons. |
| 4 | Yard 23.4 | 8 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 5 | Yard 23.5 | 7 | Concord on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 170 tons. |
| 6 | Yard 23.6 | 6 | The outbound Albany, Boston, Boston, Albany, Boston on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3. Watch for 2 kicks allowed. |
| 7 | Yard 23.7 | 7 | Dover on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 250 tons. |
| 8 | Yard 23.8 | 7 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 9 | Yard 23.9 | 8 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 160 tons. |
| 10 | Yard 23.10 | 4 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 23.11 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Erie, Albany, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 130 tons. |
| 12 | Yard 23.12 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for 3 kicks allowed. |
| 13 | Yard 23.13 | 10 | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 140 tons, waybills unread until pulled. |
| 14 | Yard 23.14 | 5 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 23.15 | 6 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 260 tons. |
| 16 | Yard 23.16 | 4 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Boston, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 17 | Yard 23.17 | 11 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for 2 kicks allowed, an engine rated for 170 tons. |
| 18 | Yard 23.18 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3. Watch for 3 kicks allowed. |
| 19 | Yard 23.19 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Dover, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3. Watch for an engine rated for 130 tons. |
| 20 | Yard 23.20 | 15 | Dover on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 150 tons, waybills unread until pulled. |
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