Chapter 237: The helper and auto racks
Twenty yards of the helper and auto racks
A second switcher works the far lead with its own cut. Either engine can move, changing engines is free, and the two have to hand cars to each other through the tracks.
An auto rack is two car lengths long and takes two slots on a track and two behind the engine, so every capacity becomes a length budget.
20 yards, pars from 4 to 16 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 237 draws on the wye, yard orders and no-engine 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 237.1 | 5 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 2 | Yard 237.2 | 7 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 3 | Yard 237.3 | 7 | Dover on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 4 | Yard 237.4 | 9 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 5 | Yard 237.5 | 6 | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 6 | Yard 237.6 | 4 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 7 | Yard 237.7 | 6 | Concord on 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 8 | Yard 237.8 | 6 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 9 | Yard 237.9 | 8 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 10 | Yard 237.10 | 7 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 237.11 | 9 | The outbound Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 12 | Yard 237.12 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Boston, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 13 | Yard 237.13 | 16* | Dover on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead, a wye off the lead. |
| 14 | Yard 237.14 | 9 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 237.15 | 10 | The outbound Albany, Boston, Albany on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 16 | Yard 237.16 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 17 | Yard 237.17 | 10 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a helper on the far lead, a track closed to the engine. |
| 18 | Yard 237.18 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Dover, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 19 | Yard 237.19 | 8 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 20 | Yard 237.20 | 10 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead, a wye off the lead. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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