Shunting puzzles and other mind-benders

[FJ and G]

OK, Thor and Elliot started this puzzle thing and no one has ever mentioned how much fun switching puzzles can be. We toy trainiacs always say how much fun our operating accessories are and how little fun HO and N scale folks have; but they have fun doing shunting or switching puzzles.

This is where one-tracked layouts with passing sidings and stub-end switch yards make the layout more exciting. A little switch engine can be more fun that a huge mainline locomotive. The little switcher must drop off and pick up cars, ducking out of the way of mainline traffic and dealing with turnouts that face the wrong way or tracks too short, or weird car consists.

There’s a lot about this on the Internet and I’ve included 2 samples. I think that we 3-railers could have a lot more fun with switching problems.

Also, I’ve included 3 fun quizzes dealing with trains.

Shunting puzzle:

http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/BAR/NMS-OP.html


http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/small-layouts.html#Operational%20concept:%20what%20a%20small%20shunting%20layout%20is%20all%20about




1. Train Full of Water

A train car is at rest on a frictionless track. The car is full of water and has a spout pointing downwards on the far right end. The spout is opened and the water pours out. Describe the movement of the car, if any.

2. A Bee and Two Trains

Two trains are 30 miles apart, and travel towards each other at 5 mph and 10 mph. A bee starts at the slower train and flies at 25 mph to the other train. Each time it reaches a train it turns around and flies back to the other train again. What is the sum of the distances that the bee has flown when the trains meet?


3. Backwards Bee and Two Trains

Two trains start end-to-end at the same point and travel away from each other at 5 mph and 10 mph. A bee also starts at the same point and flies back and forth at 25 mph between the ends of the moving trains. After 2 hours, where is the bee?

[FJ and G]

ooops, almost forgot to provide the answers:

ANSWERS

Train Full of Water

Answer: (Subject to debate.) The train moves to the left as the water moves to the right to get to the spout. But then the water leaving moves to the left and pushes the train back towards the right to conserve momentum, so the train ends up with a slight rightward velocity.

A Bee and Two Trains

Answer: 50 miles. The trains travel for 2 hours until they meet, and the bee flies at 25 mph the whole time, so he flies 50 miles. (Hope you didn't try to calculate each zig and zag!)


Backwards Bee and Two Trains

Answer: There is no way to know. Trick question.


Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

I have been toying with writing up an article on building an inglenook style bookshelf layout in O/O-27 and including how to incorporate it later into a "traditional toy train" layout. With a Beep and "non-valuable" cars, one could build it for little cost even.

[FJ and G]

ggnagy,

That's a good idea. To expand the concept, somewhat, you could have a behind-the-backdrop staging yard or fiddle yard to make it appear that the little switching module actually is part of a much larger rail system; as trains "magically" come and go to drop off cars. Instead of the Beep, which has trouble with 027, you could even use a Docksider or Plymouth switcher.

dav

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey Dave I got 17 moves on the first link's puzzle, but I didn't see an answer. Was there one? Personally I like even more complexity, and always try to include a runaround and both facing and trailing point operations.

[FJ and G]

Elliot,

I think you need to download a zip file (see instructions at http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Inglenook/inglenook-rules.html). I haven't gone that far yet.

dav

[Big_Boy_4005]

Here's one that I just whipped up off the top of my head. It turned out pretty good. I don't have the answer yet, but I'm working on it. Remember the engine counts as a car!!

[Anonymous]

How many letters are in the alphabet?

[Anonymous]

There are 11 letters in "THE ALPHABET"
Did you say 26?

[FJ and G]

blue and orange could be swapped by the train pulling straight forward then backing into the parallel siding; cutting the orange car and then returning the same way it came except backing up further down the track to be able to pull into the other crossover to the siding, where the orange car will now be ahead of the eninge. Now, simply follow the quickest route to the spur, pull in and pick up the blue car, pull it out of the siding and drop it off just ahead of the spur, then go back into the spur and drop it off.

It's kinda hard to explain it all without drawing diagrams so I'll just stop right here. Anyway, the whole thing is a lot of fun.

dav

[Big_Boy_4005]

Actually Dave there isn't enough room to swap blue and orange like that.

The first step is to take only the red car and pull forward, throw the switch, and push it into the runaround, 2 moves.

Then back to the train, makes 4.

Forward with the first white car, and push up it into the empty siding, that's 8.

Run the yellow car down with the red car, and back to the train makes 12.

Take the last two white cars and put them with the other white car, that's 14 moves.

Out and back to pick up orange makes 16.

That's how it starts, now the fun begins.

[Anonymous]

I always hated word problems in school. I'm surprised I like trains at all because the word problems always began: "A train is traveling East at 120 miles per hour.....blah blah blah" Not to mention what train in the U.S. is doing 120? :):):):)