- Timesaver
Timesaver is a well-knownCite book | author=Schleicher, Robert H. | authorlink= | coauthors= | title=The Big Book of Model Railroad Track Plans | date= | publisher=Motorbooks International | location= | isbn=0-7603-1423-3 | pages=39] model railroad
train shunting puzzle created by John Allencite web
url = http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/sw-timesaver.html
title = Classic Switching Puzzles John Allen's Timesaver
accessdate=2008-09-10
author=Adrian Wymann] . It consists of a specific track layout, a set of initial conditions, a defined goal, and rules which must be obeyed while performing the shunting operations.The standard layout consists of a simple yard, with five switches, five spurs, and a runaround track at the centercite web
url = http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Timesaver/timesaver-trackplan.html
title = Timesaver Shunting Puzzle - Track Plan & Layout Size
accessdate=2008-09-10
author=Adrian Wymann] . Power is supplied to the track, sufficient to run a locomotive at a fixed slow speed, controlled by a simple center-off reversing switch. Several freight cars are placed on the track, and the object is to move all of them to clearly marked destination positions.Timesaver can be played as a game, with the object to complete a given puzzle in the shortest amount of time (time spent thinking counts the same as time spent actually moving cars, and the number of moves is irrelevant). The switching game became a contest at the
National Model Railroad Association conventions .Optionally, two Timesaver layouts can be connected with an unpowered interchange track (adding a sixth switch to each), with space for a single car. In this configuration, (typically) each player must exchange two "outbound" cars with the other. In this form, it becomes a
cooperative board game . Because it can provide complex switching challenges in a small space, it has also been incorporated into a number of larger layouts.Timesaver was first published in the November 1972 issue of
Model Railroader , in what would be Allen's last article before his death.ee also
*
Inglenook Sidings References
External links
* [http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/sw-timesaver.html Model Railways Shunting Puzzles - Timesaver] - A full description of the puzzle.
* [http://www.railwaystation.com/trainsim/routes.html RailwayStation.com - Routes] A version of the Timesaver layout forMicrosoft Train Simulator (MSTS).
* [http://www.razorbackrailway.com Razorback Railway] The Razorback Shunt layout and associated scenarios forTrainz Railway Simulator 2004/2006 (TRS2004 TRS@006) includes multiple Timesaver based puzzles.
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