Chapter 71: Placards and open slots
Twenty yards of placards and open slots
Placarded hazmat cars may not couple directly to the engine, may not be humped and may not be kicked, so they have to travel with a buffer car between them and the power.
Outbound patterns can leave slots open to any car, or to a set of destinations. Choosing which car fills a slot cheaply is the puzzle, because the handy one is rarely the right one.
20 yards, pars from 5 to 13 moves. Beside its theme, chapter 71 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 71.1 | 7 | The outbound Dover or Erie, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 2 | Yard 71.2 | 6 | Concord on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 3 | Yard 71.3 | 6 | The outbound Albany or Boston, Boston, Boston, Dover or Erie, Erie on Track 1, Albany on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 4 | Yard 71.4 | 7 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Boston, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 5 | Yard 71.5 | 8 | The outbound Albany, Boston or Erie, Albany or Concord, Erie, Albany on Track 1, Concord on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 6 | Yard 71.6 | 5 | The outbound Albany, Dover, Dover on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 7 | Yard 71.7 | 8 | The outbound Albany or Erie, any car, Concord on Track 1, Dover on 2, Albany on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 8 | Yard 71.8 | 5 | Albany on 1, Dover on 2, Erie on 3, Boston on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 9 | Yard 71.9 | 10 | The outbound Albany or Concord, Erie, Erie, Erie, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Dover on 3, Boston on 4. |
| 10 | Yard 71.10 | 5 | Albany on 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Concord on 4. |
| 11 | Yard 71.11 | 7 | The outbound any car, Concord or Dover, Erie, Erie on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 12 | Yard 71.12 | 7 | The outbound Concord, Concord, Boston, Concord on Track 1, Albany on 2, Erie on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 13 | Yard 71.13 | 12 | The outbound Albany, Albany, Albany, any car, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
| 14 | Yard 71.14 | 7 | Albany on 1, Concord on 2, Boston on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 15 | Yard 71.15 | 6 | The outbound Concord, Albany, any car on Track 1, Boston on 2, Dover on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 16 | Yard 71.16 | 5 | The outbound Dover, Dover, Concord, Concord, Dover, Concord on Track 1, Boston on 2, Albany on 3, Erie on 4. |
| 17 | Yard 71.17 | 11 | The outbound Dover, Albany or Dover, Erie, Albany or Erie, Dover on Track 1, Boston on 2, Concord on 3, Albany on 4. |
| 18 | Yard 71.18 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Boston, Albany, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Concord on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 19 | Yard 71.19 | 8 | The outbound Boston, Erie, any car, Erie on Track 1, Concord on 2, Albany on 3, Dover on 4. |
| 20 | Yard 71.20 | 13* | The outbound Concord, any car, Albany on Track 1, Erie on 2, Boston on 3, Dover on 4. Watch for a stub behind another track. |
* A par marked with a star is the best known line for a yard too large to solve outright.
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