Chapter 61: The helper and outbounds
Twenty yards of the helper and outbounds
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 outbound train must stand on its departure track in exactly the order the sign gives, ladder end first, so the order you shove cars in is the whole puzzle.
20 yards, pars from 3 to 13 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 61 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 61.1 | 7 | The outbound Albany, Concord, Albany, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 2 | Yard 61.2 | 9 | Erie on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 3 | Yard 61.3 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Concord, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 4 | Yard 61.4 | 8 | Dover on 1, Albany on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 5 | Yard 61.5 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Dover, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 6 | Yard 61.6 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Boston, Concord, Boston on Track 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 7 | Yard 61.7 | 7 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Albany, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 8 | Yard 61.8 | 8 | Boston on 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a wye off the lead. |
| 9 | Yard 61.9 | 9 | The outbound Erie, Erie, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 10 | Yard 61.10 | 3 | Albany on 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 61.11 | 5 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Boston, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Erie on 2, Dover on 3, Albany on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 12 | Yard 61.12 | 6 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Erie, Erie, Albany on Track 1, Dover on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 13 | Yard 61.13 | 13* | The outbound Boston, Boston, Albany, Boston on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead, a wye off the lead. |
| 14 | Yard 61.14 | 8 | Boston on 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 61.15 | 8 | The outbound Erie, Concord, Erie, Concord, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 16 | Yard 61.16 | 8 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. Watch for yard orders on the clock. |
| 17 | Yard 61.17 | 8 | The outbound Dover, Erie, Erie, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a helper on the far lead, a track closed to the engine. |
| 18 | Yard 61.18 | 6 | The outbound Erie, Concord, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a hump yard, a track closed to the engine. |
| 19 | Yard 61.19 | 9 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a helper on the far lead. |
| 20 | Yard 61.20 | 13* | The outbound Concord, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Boston on 2, Erie on 3, Dover 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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