Chapter 243: Sorting and the helper
Twenty yards of sorting and the helper
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.
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.
20 yards, pars from 5 to 15 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 243 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 243.1 | 8 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 2 | Yard 243.2 | 5 | Boston on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 3 | Yard 243.3 | 7 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 4 | Yard 243.4 | 6 | Dover on 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 5 | Yard 243.5 | 10 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 6 | Yard 243.6 | 5 | The outbound Erie, Albany, Albany, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for 1 kick allowed. |
| 7 | Yard 243.7 | 6 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 8 | Yard 243.8 | 10 | Erie on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for waybills unread until pulled. |
| 9 | Yard 243.9 | 9 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 10 | Yard 243.10 | 8 | Dover on 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 243.11 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Boston, Boston, Albany, Boston on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 12 | Yard 243.12 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for 3 kicks allowed. |
| 13 | Yard 243.13 | 11 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead, waybills unread until pulled. |
| 14 | Yard 243.14 | 6 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 243.15 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Dover on 2, Boston on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 16 | Yard 243.16 | 8 | The outbound Concord, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard. |
| 17 | Yard 243.17 | 12* | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for 1 kick allowed, a helper on the far lead. |
| 18 | Yard 243.18 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Albany, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for 1 kick allowed. |
| 19 | Yard 243.19 | 9 | The outbound Concord, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 20 | Yard 243.20 | 15* | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead, waybills unread until pulled. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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