Chapter 233: Open slots and the running track
Twenty yards of open slots and the running track
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.
A running track loops to a far lead and far ladder, so open tracks can be worked from either end. One move takes the engine and its cut round the loop.
20 yards, pars from 4 to 13 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 233 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 233.1 | 4 | The outbound Albany, Albany or Concord, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 2 | Yard 233.2 | 6 | Concord on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 3 | Yard 233.3 | 8 | The outbound Concord, Erie, any car, Concord, any car on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 4 | Yard 233.4 | 4 | Concord on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 5 | Yard 233.5 | 7 | The outbound Erie, Boston or Erie, any car on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 6 | Yard 233.6 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Dover, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 7 | Yard 233.7 | 6 | The outbound Erie, any car, Dover, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 8 | Yard 233.8 | 7 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 9 | Yard 233.9 | 10 | The outbound Dover, Concord, Albany or Dover, Boston or Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 10 | Yard 233.10 | 5 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 233.11 | 8 | The outbound Albany or Erie, Boston or Erie, Dover, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 12 | Yard 233.12 | 9 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 13 | Yard 233.13 | 12* | The outbound Erie, Boston or Concord, any car on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 14 | Yard 233.14 | 5 | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 233.15 | 8 | The outbound Albany, any car, Boston or Concord on Track 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 16 | Yard 233.16 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Albany, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 17 | Yard 233.17 | 11 | The outbound Dover, Boston, any car, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead, a timetable. |
| 18 | Yard 233.18 | 11 | The outbound Dover, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a timetable. |
| 19 | Yard 233.19 | 10 | The outbound any car, Albany, any car, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 20 | Yard 233.20 | 13 | The outbound any car, Boston, Albany or Boston, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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