Chapter 236: Yard orders and cabooses
Twenty yards of yard orders and cabooses
Yard orders fire on the clock: a track closes and reopens, the yardmaster reassigns a track, the work train needs one clear, and the other crew moves cars on its own schedule.
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 4 to 14 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 236 draws on stub tracks, cabooses and sealed blocks, 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 236.1 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Albany, Albany, Dover, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 2 | Yard 236.2 | 8 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 3 | Yard 236.3 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Boston, Erie, Erie, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 4 | Yard 236.4 | 6 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Dover, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 5 | Yard 236.5 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 6 | Yard 236.6 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Albany, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 7 | Yard 236.7 | 10 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Erie, Albany, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 8 | Yard 236.8 | 9 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 9 | Yard 236.9 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 10 | Yard 236.10 | 4 | Concord on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 236.11 | 9 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Concord, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 12 | Yard 236.12 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord, Concord, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 13 | Yard 236.13 | 11 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Albany, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track, yard orders on the clock. |
| 14 | Yard 236.14 | 8 | Concord on 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 236.15 | 14* | The outbound Dover, Dover, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 16 | Yard 236.16 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Erie, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 17 | Yard 236.17 | 10 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Concord, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 18 | Yard 236.18 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Concord, Concord, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 19 | Yard 236.19 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 20 | Yard 236.20 | 13 | The outbound Boston, Dover, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track, yard orders on the clock. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
New to the game? How to play covers pulls, shoves, goals and par in a minute.