Chapter 249: Tonnage and sorting
Twenty yards of tonnage and sorting
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.
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.
20 yards, pars from 3 to 11 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 249 draws on doubled outbounds, the running track and the wye, 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 249.1 | 7 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 180 tons. |
| 2 | Yard 249.2 | 3 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Boston, Erie, Boston in two sections from Tracks 1 and 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 3 | Yard 249.3 | 10 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 170 tons. |
| 4 | Yard 249.4 | 8 | Boston on 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 5 | Yard 249.5 | 4 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 140 tons. |
| 6 | Yard 249.6 | 8 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 7 | Yard 249.7 | 8 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 210 tons. |
| 8 | Yard 249.8 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Concord, Concord in two sections from Tracks 1 and 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4, Boston on 5. |
| 9 | Yard 249.9 | 8 | Erie on 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 170 tons. |
| 10 | Yard 249.10 | 7 | Boston on 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 249.11 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 120 tons. |
| 12 | Yard 249.12 | 5 | The outbound Albany, Erie, Erie, Albany, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 13 | Yard 249.13 | 8 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Concord, Erie in two sections from Tracks 1 and 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4, Albany on 5. Watch for an engine rated for 110 tons. |
| 14 | Yard 249.14 | 6 | Dover on 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 249.15 | 9 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Albany on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 120 tons. |
| 16 | Yard 249.16 | 8 | The outbound Dover, Boston, Boston, Boston on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a running track to the far lead. |
| 17 | Yard 249.17 | 11 | Albany on 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead, an engine rated for 260 tons. |
| 18 | Yard 249.18 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 19 | Yard 249.19 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Erie on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for an engine rated for 130 tons. |
| 20 | Yard 249.20 | 10 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Albany in two sections from Tracks 1 and 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4, Concord on 5. Watch for an engine rated for 190 tons. |
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